A European rosemary extract firm believes that if the EU allows the
ingredient to be labelled as an antioxidant, the sector could turn
solid growth into rocketing sales.
Anglo-Beef Products (ABP) Shrewsbury became one of the first
abattoirs in the UK this week to open its doors to cattle over the
age of thirty months, under new bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE)control rules.
Advice on assessing cancerous agents from the scientific committee
of the European food regulator could allow food makers to be more
flexible in what ingredients or food contact materials they can use
in making products.
New coatings on cellophane film designed to wrap large blocks of
yeast used in bakery processing plants could help managers ensure
the ingredient remains alive and no contamination ends up in their
products.
The European Commission is belatedly investigating reports that
French beef containing E Coli has been exported across the EU,
while half of the 43 tonnes of infected meat still circulates.
A technique based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification
of DNA sequences may help food companies by providing a rapid and
inexpensive method of identifying microorganisms.
A UK cooked meat processor is fighting in court to reopen after it
was closed down in the wake of an outbreak of E. coli 0157 that
resulted in the death of a five-year-old boy and caused sickness in
scores of schoolchildren.
Proposed regulatory changes in the Italian market has led a
Canadian machine maker to team up with two other companies in
developing what they say is a cheaper way of making a lighter
single-servebottle.
Processors will not have to change any of their large scale holding
tanks or pipe fittings covered with novolac glycidyl ethers (NOGE)
after the EU's food safety regulator ruled that the epoxy coating
is safe as a coating.
Processors making products like mayonnaise, mousse and icing will
be looking for a consumer reaction to the latest bird flu advice
from the EU's food safety regulator, which yesterday called
onconsumers to avoid eating raw eggs.
EU farm ministers clash yet again on the contentious issue of GM
food ingredients, failing to clear a new GMO corn from US biotech
firm for import into the EU bloc.
European Commission calls for comments ahead of April Codex meeting
on proposed maximum levels of the potentially carcinogenic chemical
contaminant 3-MCPD in hydrolysed vegetable protein and soy sauces.
With the US public starting to be aware of the impact avian
influenza could have, poultry processors have started taking action
now to ward of a potential drop in demand.
With the human-pathogenic form of bird flu hitting Greece, EU
poultry processors are facing immense potential to damage to their
industry due to losses from plunging consumer demand and exports.
A series of five EU-funded projects announced today in the UK are a
sign that the bloc is moving to rebuild public confidence in its
food industry and is willing to invest more in research
anddevelopment for the sector.
Calls for hard legislation to replace voluntary codes on salt
removal likely, even though Burger King denies rumours it has
pulled out of government and industry link-up to remove salt from
food formulations.
With bird flu creeping up on the EU, the bloc's members have been
jolted into a more active response to the danger, which not only
threatens human health, but also the poultry processing sector's
livelihood.
Ishida Europe has donated a state-of-the-art packing machinery line
for a new technical food training centre at the University of
Lincoln's Holbeach campus in the UK.
Efforts to detect carcinogenic colours in foodstuffs still a
priority for the food industry as Europe's risk system flags up
illegal red colours in spices from India.
In issuing a set of successful procedures on reducing acrylamide
formation during manufacturing processes, the EU's food industry
association is attempting to help its smaller members get on the
right side of public opinion.
UK scientists are offering food processors risk assessments to help
them determine how to keep their products from becoming botulism
producing factories.
Scientists from Manchester University have developed a new
technique that uses infrared light to spot bacterial contamination
in food within seconds rather than hours, while products are on the
processing line.
The UK's Food Standards Agency has widened the investigation into
the outbreak of E. coli food poisoning illness in Wales as parents
start calling for a public inquiry.
Food processors, especially those pasturising egg whites and
importing poultry ingredients from abroad, should remain vigilant,
according to advice on avian influenza from the EU's food safety
regulator.
A method of using smart labels to indicate remaining shelf life on
food products is about to be launched commercially by UK-based
Timestrip and Nestlé.
A Norwegian university spinoff has developed a cheaper, rapid test
for shellfish that can help processors check that their food
products confirm to the EU's safety standards.
A new packaging line at German frozen food manufacturer Frenzel
will allow the company to produce a new range of trays that allow
meals to be steamed cooked in the microwave.
The UK's health protection regulator has pointed the finger at
imported food as the potential source of a deadly E. coli superbug,
which has already killed 83 people in the country.
South Korea officials are planning to step up inspections of
imported Chinese freshwater fish after finding cancer-causing
chemicals in some fish sent from the country.
A UK-funded testing lab is developing a variety of gene-based,
chemical and biological tests to determine food authenticity, a
means for plants to determine whether they received the right
ingredients.
Improving communications in food science and safety Europe's food
agency is calling for feedback from scientific organisations to
form a formal scientific network.
Changes in EU legislation is forcing companies to look at better
ways of managing their compliance, quality and food safety
activities to avoid the need to comply with unnecessary and costly
regulatory approval.
The heavy fine levied against a Spanish cooked chicken processor
for poisoning 2,700 people with salmonella serves as a warning to
plant managers they are on the line for their companies when
itcomes to food safety.
A new imaging camera helps food processors detect when they are
serving up misshapen or off-colour products, before they are
shipped off to the customer.