In a bid to help food companies understand the EU's complex new
food safety hygiene rules, the European Commission yesterday
published three guidance documents on the regulations.
Recent regulatory measures by Italy againstimported wheat,
chocolate and poultryhave raised questions over whether the country
isusing the EU's food safety and labelling laws tobatter down
foreign competition.
The search for mislabelled meat products in the UK continues, with
the country's food regulator calling on buyers to be on the lookout
for frozen chicken wings originally sourced from Euro Freeze
(Ireland) Ltd.
The EU's food safety regulator's endorsement yesterday of four
chemicals for cleaning chickens marks a shift in policy to allow
the use of antimicrobials in meat processing plants.
A new aflatoxin test has received regulatory approval for screening
16 commodities, making it easier for food companies to weed out bad
batches of ingredients.
Greenpeace, together with a former manager of Monsanto and
Limagrain in Romania, claim that Monsanto is contaminating European
agriculture with its Roundup Ready genetically modified (GM) soy.
A deadly outbreak of avian flu in Turkey is spreading westward,
with health officials confirming that a further three human cases
have been found in the capital Ankara on Sunday, along with
infected domestic fowl.
A report into the mass outbreak of E. coli in Wales calls on the
UK's food regulator to look into whether there should be more
legislation and guidance on plant inspections.
Consumer watchdog Which? has revealed that most readymade chicken
sandwiches contain a hidden blend of additives - but Food Standards
Agency (FSA) chicken labelling policy lacks muscle to enforce
better practice.
Food processors are a growth market for pest control companies as
they traditionally rely on staff to keep insects and rodents at
bay, according to a new report.
A general increase in reported cases of campylobacteriosis over the
last few years in the EU's fifteen original member states indicates
that food companies need to step up their safety procedures against
the disease.
Netherlands-based Van der Graaf has developed an internally powered
drum motor featuring specially designed sprockets for driving food
industry modular conveyor belts.
US and EU scientists researching how to crack through hard
formations of bacteria on surfaces say their discoveries could lead
to new cleaning methods for fruit, vegetables and other foods
A new device can analyse fat and dry matter in cheese in seconds
while it is being processed, giving operators a qualitative
advantage over methods currently used in the industry.
Northern Ireland's coldstores are all due to get a visit from Meat
Hygiene Service (MHS) auditors, as the investigation into Euro
Freeze and the use of illicit health certifications continues.
With the implementation of EU allergen labelling regulations, more
and more companies are producing testing kits to meet the demand
from food processors.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) needs to crack down on labelling
and the use of water retention agents by poultry processors, EU
inspectors reported yesterday.
The controversy surrounding the leaking of a printing chemical into
baby milk will likely result in a new EU law aimed at preventing
such contamination from happening, the European Commission said
yesterday.
Food makers have until 1 January to implement procedures for
testing their processing plants and products for dangerous bacteria
such as listeria and E. coli.
The EU's food regulator has chided Nestlé and Tetra Pak for what it
says are their misinterpretations of its preliminary advice about
the safety of using the chemical ITX (isopropylthioxanthone) in
food packaging.
After an evaluation of a special class of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB),the EU's food safety regulator has issued a call for a
continued effort to lower their levels in foods.
Statistics from Finland indicate that a high level of plant
pesticides in fruit, vegetables, cereals and processed foods
continues to pose a problem for the EU's importers.
Sue Davies' appointment as chair of the EFSA's Stakeholder
Consultative Platform is one more step towards the achievement of a
coordinated food safety policy in the EU.
Fresh produce is catching up with chicken as a major culprit of
Salmonella infections in the US, according to an analysis of
food-poisoning outbreaks by a consumer lobby group.
Denmark is to pay compensation in cases where conventional or
organic production has suffered economic losses following
genetically modified (GM) material contamination.
The chief executive of the UK's Food Standard Agency (FSA) used
last week's keynote speech to discuss food safety detached from the
everyday context of media hype and public scare stories.
Sweden-based Gyros' laboratory automation system has received an
endorsement from analyst Frost & Sullivan, which has awarded
the company the top prize in the category for this year's
annualinnovation awards.
Allegations that DuPont hid studies showing the high health risks
of a chemical used to line grease-resistant packaging for candy,
pizza, microwave popcorn and hundreds of other foods, could affect
processors on both sides of the...
A new computerised device allows food workers to accurately measure
and add ingredients to recipes, reducing human error and the number
of spoilt batches.
Proteins called bacteriocins, produced by bacteria, can reduce
Campylobacter and Salmonella pathogens to very low levels in
chicken intestines, helping to reduce human exposure to
food-borneinfections, according to scientists at the...
Food processors using Key Technology's older optical sorters now
have the opportunity to upgrade their machines without having to
make a big spend on buying a new one, according to the company.