New research shows exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) in pregnant mice can disrupt the immune system and lead to multiple sclerosis in infancy, but experts say the chemical poses no risk to humans.
A health claim approval can spell good business for some, while rejections disaster for firms who have invested big to collect their supporting dossier only to be told their evidence is insufficient. So it's no wonder food firms keep one eye firmly...
“I get personal because they [EFSA] get personal to me"
Veteran probiotic researcher professor Gregor Reid is not a happy man. It’s time the probiotic community fought back against those forces that have for too long denied a perfectly valid body of nutrition science in the form of commercial claims. It’s...
Chr Hansen CEO Cees de Jong today praised the Danish enzymes, cultures and colours specialist’s 2012-2013 performance that saw revenues grow 6% to €738m for the year, and highlighted 5% growth in sluggish EMEA as a major achievement.
The European Food Safety Authority says recent research linking Monsanto’s herbicide and genetically modified maize to an increased risk of cancer and premature death is of ‘insufficient scientific quality to be considered valid.’
Probiotics should be classified by a Category Tree system in the US and Europe in order to better inform consumers and counter the impasse imposed by ‘bureaucrats’, says a leading probiotic researcher.
Researchers have called on US food safety authorities to regulate arsenic levels in rice, following a report on the risk associated with the contaminant.
The hand on the tiller that is food safety in Europe has been left somewhat unsteady by the recent regulatory actions taken by the European Commission on BPA and food colours – moves that are pandering to consumer fear and showing contempt for the food...
Industry bodies on both sides of the Atlantic have hailed the verdict from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that current safe intake levels for bisphenol A (BPA) should remain unchanged.
Here’s a radical thought for the marketers - the benefits of antioxidants may not be related to antioxidant activity. Last week’s NutraIngredients Antioxidants Conference suggested some tough choices are ahead.
Acrylamide reductions in bread of up to 90 per cent have been claimed in initial test results announced this week for a proprietary yeast product from Phyterra Yeast, a division of Canadian firm, Functional Technologies Corporation.
In a world with a chronic ‘globesity’ problem spreading beyond western shores to places like India and China, products that promise to help individuals manage their weight via calorie control, fat burning, satiety, or some other mechanism, enjoy rampant...
As the old year draws to a close, we review the significant waypoints of 2009 and look ahead to what is likely to dominate next year’s news. Join us now for a whistle-stop tour of the news topics that made the headlines on our flagship food and nutrition...
October 1 was not a good day for many in the functional foods and food supplements business in the European Union as the meaning of life under a highly restrictive health claims regime came more into focus.
Not again! As if industry is not struggling enough with the severity of the European Food Safety Authority’s nutrition and health claims rulings so far, the situation has not been helped by the kind of articles that appeared in the UK press today and...
In response to a recent BMJ editorial claiming that only drugs are effective for weight loss, members of the global food and supplements industries have defended the efficacy of their products, calling the article the “latest misinformed campaign”.
A new study has found that nearly all of the campylobacteriosis cases in the patients evaluated were caused by bacteria in animals farmed for meat, in particular chicken and cattle.
Food supplements manufacturers may have to reformulate thousands of
products aimed at both children and adults if calls for bans on the
use of certain artificial colours become reality.
The US Center for Food Safety (CFS) has issued a statement
supporting legislation being introduced at federal and state level
to protect consumers against an unregulated introduction of cloned
animals, their off-spring and products...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has indicated key
functional food groups may be exempt from potentially draconian
nutrient profiling regulations being debated within the European
Union and due to be written into law by January...
The European Food Safety Authority is expecting to complete its
evaluation of the safety of 2,800 flavouring substances by April to
allow for a positive list to be established, but is seeking for
more information from industry.
Changes to the European novel food regulation could bring the
waiting time for approval down from around three years to just one,
according to the European Advisory Service.
The European Food Safety Authority's review of additive safety
could have a bigger effect on the ingredients industry than the
ejection of certain colours and flavours with a suspect safety
record. It could give the natural ingredients...
The European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) GMO panel has no safety concerns after reviewing data from French scientists suggesting toxicity concerns in rats fed the MON863 variety of GM maize from Monsanto.
The European Parliament is next month set to vote on a report that
calls obesity a "European epidemic" and proposes that all countries
implement certain measures to combat the growing condition.
EFSA has concluded that the use of cassia gum - complying with
newly defined specifications as an additive for proposed food uses
- is not a safety concern.
Scientific experts from European Union member states yesterday met
with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to discuss ways to
strengthen scientific co-operation in the risk assessment of GMOs.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has received the primary
data for Ramazzini Foudation's recent study on the sweetener
aspartame and is commencing its risk assessment as a matter of
priority.
Improving communication between food scientists working on the
harmful chemical acrylamide identified in starch-rich fried foods
two years ago, Europe's food agency this week publishes an
'information base' with updated...
As Europe's food agency finally makes the permanent move to Italy,
a framework plan for 2005 consolidates the key objectives for the
EU's major risk assessor.
Australia's food watchdog reassures consumers on the safety of a
genetically modified corn refined for use in a range of food
products after new research sparks rumours.
In a bid to gauge the popularity and concerns of new European rules
on food allergens the UK's food watchdog has launched a public
consultation on the regulations that will mean food labels will
have to list certain potentially...
The countdown begins to new food allergen labelling rules in Europe
that herald an end to the 20 year old '25 per cent' rule. Taken
together with escalating incidences of food allergies, new
opportunities have arisen in...
A study of Brazilian poultry and poultry products has found that
the presence of nitrofurans and semicarbazide has increased.
Further investigation showed that most of the chicken products
containing semicarbazide had been coated...
If traceability is at the heart of new food labelling rules in
Europe then the life blood keeping it beating must be risk
management. On the eve of the first ever risk assessment on
genetically modified organisms delivered by Europe's...
