A new mark required on the packaging of Chinese food exports from
next month will allow importers to tell certified products from
fakes, according to food safety officials.
Imports of seafood from China are to be detained by the US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) until they are proven to be free of
residues from drugs that are not approved in the United States for
use in farm-raised aquatic animals.
China must continue to reform its food safety practices if it
is to maintain consumer confidence in its products, says a food
safety expert from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The safety of America's food supply again remains a government
priority for next year, according to details released yesterday
from the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 2008 budget.
Food safety scares could result in a long lasting impact on
purchasing decisions, with new research revealing that 15 percent
of consumers stop eating a product entirely after a food safety
incident.
A number of Democratic senators have called for the establishment
of a joint task force to examine recent outbreaks of E.coli, and
suggest legal changes designed to prevent future problems.
About 5 per cent of mixed raw vegetable salads in the UK are
contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to a national
survey that uncovered two products with levels above the EU's
regulatory limit.
Some food manufacturers are not doing enough to prevent the cross
contamination of their products by allergens, according to a survey
by the US food regulator.
Food companies may have more to lose than to gain by placing
freshness dating on their refrigerated products, says a new study,
which reveals that consumer taste perception is influenced by how
fresh they believe a product to be.
Different standards and warnings imposed on food in one state but
not in others impede commerce, confuse consumers, and increase the
cost of food without commensurate benefit, according to an
authority on food law.
Senators and prominent industry figures yesterday addressed a
Senate committee on the National Uniformity for Food Act,
expressing both support and contempt for a bill that could
standardize food safety requirements and warning labels...
Limited recourses when it comes to monitoring food safety could
pose a threat to public health, while some consumers also put
themselves at risk through the food choices they make, according to
scientists who spoke at the IFT in Orlando...
Chocolate has a nice feeling to it - tasty, fun, luxurious and
slightly sinful. This is comfort food, accessible to all and
epitomised in the recent film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) has
urged Scots to improve food hygiene standards to tackle what it
calls the 'annual food poisoning epidemic'.
Orange juice and other foods traditionally not associated with
foodborne disease outbreaks could still be a source of disease,
according to scientists.
The majority of food recalls around the world are caused by
preventable problems, with poor allergen control and failure to
follow international standards as the major culprits, according to
a UK consultancy.
The National Uniformity for Food Coalition this week released a
legal analysis that claims the proposed legislation would only
affect 11 state laws as part of an effort to set national standards
for food safety regulations.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this week announced his
opposition to legislation that would standardize food safety
labeling requirements throughout the US.
Purac has launched a powder form of its sodium lactate and sodium
diacetate ingredient in order to help meat and poultry
manufacturers meet stringent food safety targets.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that
would standardize food safety labeling requirements throughout the
US, a move that would bring significant benefits to the food
industry.
The House of Representatives yesterday lunched a debate on a bill
that proposes to create a uniform system for all food safety
standards and warning labels on food products regulated by the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The results from an FSA study into the occurrence of irradiated
ingredients in food supplements shows that the industry is tackling
the problem, argues the HFMA.
The exiting chief executive of the UK's Food Standards Agency will
leave behind an organisation well equipped to deal with crises, and
make difficult but necessary decisions.
ConAgra Foods has recalled nearly 47,000 children's lunch kits that
may be contaminated with listeria, the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) announced yesterday.
A petition from a food and spice company could end up with the US
food regulator rescinding its decision last year allowing
processors to use carbon monoxide to keep packaged meat red and
fresh-looking.
After all the increased safety procedures put in place over the
past decade, one might have been lulled into thinking that
poisonings and deaths from food contamination would be rarer than
before. While it is true that the new regulatory...
Better training procedures, new requirements on allergen and
pathogen controls, and tougher record keeping rules to ensure food
safety in processing plants, are among the legislative changes
proposed by the industry's regulator.
Regulations concerning the jurisdiction over certain food products
that contain meat and poultry are to be re-examined next month to
avoid inconsistencies, said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
and the Food and Drug Administration...
New legislation may be passed to create a uniform system for all
food safety standards and warning labels on food products regulated
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Investing in faster tools to fight the risk of food contamination,
the venture capital arm of leading ingredients firm Danisco will
pour more funds into German technology company Profos.
Fresh basil, the most probable source of an outbreak of
gastrointestinal illness in Florida earlier this year, is now the
target of an FDA traceback operation, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
Understanding the most extreme conditions for food products will
bring gains for product formulation, particularly functional foods,
on Earth, says Arla Food Ingredients, the firm that has developed a
new yoghurt for consumption by...
The US government is investing a further $2 million to enhance
research on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and $5 million
to establish a Food Safety Research and Response Network.
With food safety a major priority in Europe, some third countries
are concerned that issues like organic, dioxin and GM foods could
become barriers to trade, according to CORDIS.
Producers of 28 different foodstuffs will be required by the
Chinese government to apply for production licences as part of the
Beijing government's ongoing measures to improve food quality and
safety, writes Chris Jones.
US food safety procedures could be improved if the system was
consolidated suggested a report published on Wednesday by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), but it failed to define
possible cost savings.
The UK food maker that last week triggered the country's largest
product recall to date identifies two further foods contaminated
with the carcinogenic red food dye sudan 1, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Underlying the destructive power of foodborne disease against the
backdrop of the increasingly complex food industry, the head of a
food safety centre warns the rise in demand for food carries an
"invisible price tag".
Speciality oil firms will have the chance to voice their concerns
on global food codes as 100 government delegates meet to discuss
the fats and oil industry at a week-long session, kicking off in
the UK next week.
Tracking the harmful foodborne pathogen Listeria in the food chain,
UK firm Oxoid has designed a new broth that could accelerate
detection time for the food industry.
Markos Kyprianou, the new Commissioner for Health and Consumer
Protection in Brussels, will continue in his predecessor David
Byrne's foodsteps, pushing to maintain high levels of food safety
in the EU.
The number of food-linked alerts in the European Union leapt by
over 40 per cent in 2003 on the previous year, with the majority
sourced in the 'old' member states.
Food risk will be a defining issue of a 21st century marked by
globalisation and foodborne illness. Safety experts gathered at the
weekend in the US to examine new methods to minimise risk.