With six countries placing import bans on UK poultry due to the
outbreak of avian influenza, one of the country's largest
processors is fighting a rearguard action to retain its markets.
Poultry processors across Europe are bracing themselves for another
downturn in consumption after the discovery of the deadly form of
bird flu in a domestic flock of turkeys in the UK.
A case of mistaken identity has led to another breach of the UK's
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) regulations, the country's
food regulator said yesterday.
High pressure processing could help inactivate human norovirus
strains in raw foods like shelf fish, according to new research
published in the January 2007 issue of the journal Applied and
Environmental Microbiology.
Processing firm ABP Shrewsbury is under investigation by the UK's
food regulator after allowing a heifer to enter the food chain
without undergoing mandatory testing for bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE).
A high-speed imagining system using satellite technology to detect
contamination and defects could soon be part of standard food
safety equipment if prototype testing proves successful.
A campylobacter testing system, aimed at the poultry industry, can
reduce result times from days to hours compared to traditional
methods, the manufacturer claims.
A UK-based consultant is looking for processors to join a
collaborative research project aimed at exploring the benefits that
nanotechnology can bring to the food and drink industries.
A panel of independent experts will review the UK's regulator
research programme for the year in a bid to ensure these help lower
the presence of food borne pathogens in the supply chain.
A new gas flow controller can help processors save on costs by
accurately adjusting oxygen levels in packaging or at produce
storage facilities, its manufacturer claims.
Toxin levels in Irish fresh and processed fish are "well below"
legal limits and are unlikely to present a risk human heath, the
Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said yesterday.
A major meat distributor and two processor are under judicial
investigation in France, after foodregulatory authorities accused
the companies of using spoiled meat in a canned corn beef product.
A new round of court hearings against two processors, and the
possible consideration of chargesagainst a third, indicates that
the UK regulator is taking a tougher approach to breaches of
foodsafety law.
A biocompatible radio-frequency identification (RFID) ink would
allowprocessors to track individual cuts of meat or vegetables,
allowing them to make speedy recalls during food contamination
outbreaks.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued positive
scientific opinions on another batch of 10 packaging substances,
part of an EU-wide effort to prevent the chemicals from
contaminating foods.
New processing methods, sanitizers, and washing techniques are some
of the technologies highlighted by the federal inspection service
as helping businesses meet food safety laws.
A liquid system for sterilizing aseptic packaging provides
diaryprocessors with a cheaper alternative to hydrogen peroxide
solutions, its manufacturer claims.
A new report has found that funding designed to initiate and
promote organic certification amongst Bulgarian food processors and
producers is failing smaller domestic enterprises in the country.
Using cold water instead of warm during a second wash of eggs can
help cooling, which reduces the risk of pathogen growth both inside
and outside the shell, according to research published yesterday.
Two European companies have devised a method of sorting wheat
grains and other additives based on internal content, allowing
processors to monitor the quality of the ingredients going into
their products.
Updated software from Sybase allows managers to locate individual
products in real time usingradio frequency identification (RFID)
technology and tie that information to temperature and humidity
conditions.
Campylobacteriosis has overtaken salmonellosis as the most reported
animal infection transmitted to humans in the EU, according to
findings published yesterday.
An upgraded software programme using radio frequency identification
(RFID) to track and trace products, will improve food safety
management information, its manufacturer claims.
EU-funded projects devoted to improving food safety and quality are
among those showcased by the European Commission yesterday at a
conference in Brussels.
Bulgarian dairy and meat producers that fail to comply with EU food
safety measures face a continued ban on trading with member states
even after the countries upcoming ascension to the bloc.
The EU yesterday opened a commmunity reference lab for food
packaging, part the bloc's plan to ensure the chemicals used in
their manufacture do not affect human health.
Analysis of fresh, whole broilers bought in the US revealed that 83
per cent harboredCampylobacter or Salmonella, a spike from the 49
per cent level found in 2003, according to Consumer Reports
magazine.
Beef production in the Czech Republic took a blow this week, after
a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was confirmed
in a herd within the country - the second outbreak of its kind this
year.
The US food safety inspection service has posted answers to
commonly posed questions it receives on hazard analysis and
critical control point (HACCP) procedures in a bid to help smaller
companies stay on the right side of the law.
An EU scientific advisory body yesterday approved Bulgaria and
Romania's contingency plans forcontrolling outbreaks of avian
influenza, Newcastle disease, classical swine fever and
foot-and-mouth disease.
The UK's food watchdog will next year present a project on ways to
share information internationally among industry and regulators in
a bid to prevent future outbreaks of disease.
The EC has called threats by Russia to ban all imports of EU meat
products into the country as "unjustified", as processors
and food producers in the bloc face the possibility of losing a
major market for their products.
A decontamination process for packaging chilled products reduces
the amount of chemicals needed for sterilization and increases
shelf-life, claims its manufacturer.
A new fragile-food sorting system can remove up to 100 per cent of
foreign material while losing less than 0.5 per cent yield, its
manufacturer claims.