Thailand's tardy admission that its poultry industry is being
decimated by an outbreak of Avian 'flu brought forth a swift EU
response. A ban on Thai imports into the bloc was put in place
almost immediately.
The antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic
properties attibuted to essential oils can be used as natural
additives in a range of foods. New research into basil and thyme
essential oils reveals their ability to...
NSF International (NSF) has unveiled a new protocol that
establishes product safety and performance requirements for
microbiological water purifiers. Protocol P231: Microbiological
Water Purifiers is based on recommendations from...
In a bid to clarify labels and in response to consumer concerns,
the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation on
the use of alternative phrases to 'may contain' on food labels.
A new article raises concern that the banning of antibiotics in
food animals may harm both human and animal health. The report,
published this month in the Journal of Antimicrobial
Chemotherapy, argues there is little to no scientific...
The adoption of a bill in Germany last week enforcing European regulations on genetically modified
food and feed has done little to calm unease among many consumers.
Europe's food industry faces increased recalls and further costs as
a Commission clampdown yesterday extended rules on illegal
carcinogenic red chemical dyes to include curry powder.
As fierce opposition to genetically modified plants continues
across the globe, findings from a breakthrough study in the UK
suggest that foreign DNA can survive to the small intestine,
providing fuel to the anti-GMO fire.
A cancer-causing red dye found in chilli powder or chilli products
has contaminated over 120 food products on the supermarket shelves
in the UK, a figure set to climb as the UK's food watchdog
continues to track the movements...
MAP80 Systems, a Prisym Group company, has included RSS (reduced
space symbology) barcodes in its labelling and identification
software. The aim is to help manufacturers prepare for EU
legislation on food traceability coming into...
Two more cattle herds in Washington State, US were quarantined over
the weekend as the number of animals linked to a cow infected with
mad cow disease increased.
Agilent Technologies has launched a simplified method for detecting
sulphonamide antibiotics in pork. The company claims that the
method reliably measures sulphonamides at lower than half the
European Union and Canadian regulatory...
Across Europe, governments have been working flat out to calm
public fears about the dangers posed by the current avian 'flu
crisis in Asia. The EU does not import any poultry from Vietnam,
South Korea or Japan, the countries...
Putting paid to media lip-service and the 'wildly false picture' it
has painted, EU Commissioner David Byrne defends European proposals
to clarify health and nutrition claims on food products.
Laws on GMO traceability for food companies operating in the
European Union moved up a gear on Friday with the Commission
clearing a new system of coding for all GMO varieties.
The European Commission has rejected warnings about the safety of
farmed salmon, saying that levels of harmful chemicals detected in
a recent scientific study are within safe limits. EU officials
contradicted the findings of US...
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is using technology
developed by Prionics, a Swiss-based company, as part of its
ongoing BSE surveillance programme. The firm's Prionics-Check
Western rapid BSE test was extensively...
US agriculture secretary Ann Veneman has announced a series of
e-Government initiatives in response to public fears over beef. In
a recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care
Poll, over one in five American adults...
US-based firm e-Foodsafety.com has entered into a distribution
partnership with Tru-Pure Ozone Technologies. Under the terms of
agreement, e-Foodsafety.com has exclusive rights to market and
distribute Tru-Pure's patented food...
As the first case of mad cow disease sends US cattle prices
plunging on the markets and dozens of nations ban US beef imports,
new research shows that problems are starting at home in the
American kitchen as consumers begin to get...
When UK retailer Tesco announced in November last year that it was
to expand trials of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags on a
number of non-food items, its decision was met with a storm of
protest on the grounds that the...
Radio frequency identification (RFID) will eventually be used to
track every domesticated animal, claims an American beef industry
specialist. The current BSE crisis in the US has generated renewed
interest in RFID for tracking cattle...
US-based SureBeam, a leading provider of electron beam food safety
systems and services for the food industry, will be out of business
by the end of the week. The company announced today that it has
been unable to reach a restructuring...
US-based technology firm One Network Enterprises has launched
Supply Chain On Demand, a new IT solution aimed at distributors and
manufacturers. The company claims that the concept makes it easier
to access supply chain technology...
Sparking criticisms, the Australian government's gene technology
regulator has given the green light for the commercial use of a
genetically modified canola from Monsanto - the second approval for
GM canola made by the country...
UK pressure group Friends of the Earth has called for stricter
controls and improved labelling for fish, following a study in the
industry journal Science. The report showed higher levels of
cancer-causing pollutants in farmed salmon...
Ireland kicks off the year with the presidency of Europe and, as
part of the scientific programme linked to the six-month
responsibility, the country will organise an international food
conference for the 17 and 18 June in Dublin.
People who eat a regular diet of highly salted food double their
risk of stomach cancer, according to a report published this week
in the British Journal of Cancer.
Agricultural biotechnology company Embrex is set to supply
Perdigao, the second largest broiler chicken producer in Brazil,
with cutting edge in ovo (in the egg) technology designed to
cut production costs and improve animal health....
The US department of agriculture (USDA) has decided to cull the
bull calf operation in Washington State where the single case of
BSE was discovered last month. But this is not enough for Japan,
which believes that new US procedures...
US-based William Frick & Company, a leading supplier of custom
printed labels, has launched a complete line of security labels for
packaging, manufacturing and distribution companies. The
AuthentiCal Rights Protection Labelling...
Enterobacter sakazakii, a bacterium that can be dangerous to
premature babies and young infants, could be more widespread than
previously thought, according to recent research published in this
week's issue of The Lancet. In...
The recent announcement of a first confirmed case of BSE in the US
shows that concern about the safety of meat and meat products is
far from over, and that consumer demands for meat whose source is
traceable and quality unimpeachable...
US-based Orbid Corporation, a developer of secure track and trace
systems used in the identification and protection of products, has
announced a partnership with CCL Label, the company responsible for
packaging and labelling many...
The EU Council of Ministers has adopted a regulation on the
identification and registration of sheep and goats as part of its
ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of animal diseases. The body
believes that stopping animal disease...
Bernard Matthews, a leading producer of fresh, chilled and frozen
turkey products, is to install cutting edge maintenance and
management software at all six of its facilities in the UK. The
company has signed an agreement with technology...
Infant formula to alpha-cyclodextrin via enzyme processing are all
on the table as the nascent food authority in Oceania calls for
comments on its food standards code.
Researchers working in Canada have discovered that an optimal UV
irradiation system can be developed for individual food products,
taking into account the UV transmittance of each product. These
findings, published in the Journal...
They say technology never stays still. As if to prove this adage,
Vivid Learning Systems, a provider of web and intranet-based
compliance and regulatory training programmes, has just announced
its purchase of the website Foodsafety.com...
BOC, a developer of engineered solutions for the food processing
industry, has acquired the food safety product portfolio of RGF
Environmental Group. Those assets include a full line of food
safety equipment and ozone and ultra-violet...
The issue of food labelling, which has been a hot topic of late,
has arrived in the ice cold waters of Norway. In the near future,
salmon raised in certain conditions will be able to bear the label
'This is a free range salmon...
The Slovakian Ministry of Agriculture has announced a project to
team up with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food
Quality in an effort to help meet food safety and consumer
protection standards laid down by the European...
Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi will soon hand over the reins of
the European Presidency to Ireland's prime minister Bertie Ahern.
Food safety should remain high on the agenda, and who know's maybe
a decision on the location...
Set to fuel the debate on GM foods, a market experiment conducted
in 2000 in Canada found that consumers preferred sweetcorn which
had been engineered to be pest resistant over the conventional
sweet corn variety.
The major issues affecting the food and drink industry supply chain
were discussed at Ross Systems' recent annual users conference,
Rossworld 2003. The global software provider touched on vertical
industry-specific functionality,...
The new chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland
(FSAI) Ann Westby said yesterday that she wants all food
laboratories dealing with the FSAI in Ireland to be fully
accredited to ISO 17025 by the end of 2005. Speaking...