Food manufacturers are upping their game on allergen management, but many still take information from ingredients suppliers about allergens “at face value without further verification”, according to a survey by Deloitte & Touche.
US Pharmacopeia has drafted new ingredient quality standards for inclusion in the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), for probiotics, steviol glycosides, benzoates, infant formula and flavoring ingredients, and is seeking industry comments.
US health authorities have issued a warning in relation to a variety of cheese and dairy products potentially contaminated with listeria monocytogenes – weeks after Canadian officials recalled the same products.
A year ago today, President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law. FoodNavigator-USA tracks its development and implementation - as well as all the controversy along the way - in our exclusive interactive timeline.
A coalition of consumer advocacy groups has filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), demanding that it respond to a 2006 petition to require labeling of nanotech ingredients in consumer products, and extra health and environmental...
The cost of foodborne illness in the United States is about $77.7bn per year, according to Dr. Robert Scharff, an Ohio State University assistant professor and former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) economist – slashing in half his previous, widely...
New US guidance on the prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in eggs through improved bio-security measures has been published, with the intention of preventing cross contamination.
No traces of Cronobacter have been found at the Mead Johnson infant formula plant and there is no need for a product recall, said US safety bodies last week as part of an investigation into four babies infected with the bacteria - two of whom have died.
US food safety authorities have urged producers of ready-to-eat meats not to change listeria-related food safety practices in the run up to inspections.
US and Canadian food safety authorities have issued separate warnings on a brand of jalapeno and Serrano peppers potentially contaminated with Salmonella.
An unknown quantity of ground beef products potentially contaminated with a multi-drug resistant strain of Salmonella Typhimurium has been recalled in the US, food safety authorities have announced.
US food safety authorities are still considering setting guidance levels for inorganic arsenic in apple juice, despite reiterating its confidence in the overall safety of the beverage.
The Canadian government yesterday sought to draw a line under the deadly listeriosis outbreak that killed 23 people in summer 2008, after publishing a final report into action taken since the incident.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has deregulated the biotech trait in Monsanto’s Vistive Gold soybeans, allowing the production of low saturated- and trans-fat oils from the beans within the United States.
Use of low dose x-ray irradiation on vacuum packed asparagus can increase both shelf life and microbiological safety of the product, according to new US research.
Several dairy products, potentially contaminated with listeria, remained on the market over a month after an initial manufacturer recall because of an administration blunder, Canadian food safety authorities have revealed.
An influential US government office has criticised the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failings in overseeing state food facility inspections, stressing that it paid for inspections that didn’t take place and failed to ensure that ‘systemic...
Cookie dough manufacturers should reformulate ready-to-bake products to make them as safe as a ready-to-eat product, according to a study that has linked raw dough to an e-coli outbreak in 2009.
Romaine lettuce has been identified as the likely source of a US E.coli outbreak that sickened scores of people, US disease control authorities have announced.
A US meat processor could be hit with a fine of nearly $150,000 for breaching health and safety regulations including those surrounding potentially hazardous chemicals, a statement from workplace safety authorities has revealed.
A group of US Senators from the Gulf region has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assist them in assuring the public of the safety of seafood from the Gulf of Mexico.
US authorities have awarded over $10m in food safety grants to universities across the country with the aim of boosting research and education and reducing concern.
Food companies should aim to stay ahead of regulation to ensure the safety of foods that use nanotechnology, urges a new report from As You Sow, a non-profit organization that aims to increase corporate accountability.
The majority of a $50m increase in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) funding for fiscal 2012 will go toward implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act, after a lobbying group backed by several food industry trade associations played a key role in...
The online publication of meat, poultry and eggs product testing data could improve food safety and public health, said a report by the US National Research Council (NRC).
The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) could be poised to perform a U-turn on levels of arsenic in apple juice through the development of new guidelines - a letter sent to consumer groups has revealed.
The American Beverage Association (ABA) has savaged a US government-affiliated report linking energy drinks to a rising number of hospital emergency department (ED) visits in the country, as well as associations with sexual risk, fighting and drug misuse.
A potential case of listeria contamination in Canada has led to the shutdown of an entire food production line, as the company involved attempt to address any possible infection.
The pervasiveness of food fraud is almost infinite – and needs a continuing public-private partnership approach to tackle it, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Food Science.
The congressional super committee charged with developing a strategy for deficit reduction has failed to reach an agreement, threatening FDA funding to implement food safety laws, and funding for the 2012 Farm Bill after next year.
Authorities in the US have remained tight-lipped over the potential prosecution of Jensen Farms – the company responsible for listeria-infected cantaloupes that have killed dozens.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be granted an extra $50m of funding for 2012 according to the provisions of a bipartisan compromise bill, some of which would help implement the Food Safety Modernization Act.
A new global food safety fund was announced at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, to support global food safety improvements and understanding of best practices.
There is “no silver bullet” to reverse the growing trend of alienation from today’s farms, according to the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), a non-profit industry-backed group that aims to ease consumer fears about the US food supply.
Dilly-dallying over whether to dish up an extra $1.4bn over five years to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act is not only scandalous – it’s also false economy.
A compound in honey could be used as a natural antimicrobial ingredient to prevent foodborne illness and food spoilage, according to a new study published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
The safety of about one-third of food additives in the US food supply has been decided by industry, without review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), claims a new report.
Packaging equipment and cold storage facilities have been identified as the source of the deadly US cantaloupe Listeria outbreak that has killed dozens.
A new four-year project aiming to reduce acrylamide content in processed potatoes has received a $3.7m Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may have underestimated the risk to pregnant women and children posed by consumption of seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new risk assessment study.
The number of food recalls in Canada has increased in the past year – and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it is a trend that is likely to continue, as it boosts the number of inspectors and frequency of testing.
Officials have seized food products for the first time under the provision of the Food Safety Modernization Act, after they found “widespread and active rodent and insect infestation” at a Dominguez Foods facility in Washington State.
Americans are willing to pay more for safer food – but the amount they are willing to pay is highly dependent on the duration and severity of the illness prevented, as well as cost, according to new research.
Functional foods is a dynamic area for innovation – but standards setting organization US Pharmacopeia (USP) says cooperation is necessary to ensure a stable, safe supply of innovative ingredients.
As many as one in five Americans are particularly susceptible to foodborne illness due to age or conditions that weaken the immune system, according to a new study published in the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease.
Kraft Foods has moved to reassure customers, despite admitting that its food safety systems did not detect the potential contamination of cheese-containing products with wire bristles in 2 US factories.
Upcoming standards for the food industry will represent a watershed in US food safety, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief Margaret Hamburg said at a food policy conference this week – but she renewed her call for more funding to ensure the agency...
A US firm accused by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of deceptive advertising doesn’t believe it violated any laws, despite agreeing to repackage and label its super-strength alcoholic products.
