Breaking News on Food Safety & Quality Control

Basic Food Flavors knew HVP contained salmonella, says FDA

11-Mar-2010 - Basic Food Flavors knew its hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) was contaminated with salmonella but continued to ship the product for a month before recalling it, according to an FDA report.

HVP recall expands to Canada

09-Mar-2010 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has recalled products manufactured in Canada, after it emerged they contained recalled hydrolyzed vegetable protein from a salmonella-tainted facility in the US.

New global monitoring tool identifies food safety offenders

05-Mar-2010 - A new monitoring tool presented at a recent EFSA conference has named China, Iran, Turkey, the United Sates and Spain as the top five offenders in food contamination between 2003 and 2008.

Large-scale recall looms due to salmonella-tainted flavor enhancer

05-Mar-2010 - A large-scale product recall is likely following discovery of salmonella in hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), a flavor enhancer ubiquitous in processed foods, the FDA has said.

US government to hold food safety meetings

04-Mar-2010 - Federal agencies in the US have announced two major public meetings later this month will look at progress on the success of food safety measures, including the tracing of E.coli contaminated products.

Bulk red pepper recalled on salmonella fears

01-Mar-2010 - Wholesome Spice has issued a recall of 25-pound boxes of crushed red pepper, after salmonella was found in the ingredient at Daniele International, the salami manufacturer linked to a salmonella outbreak.

Seventh Listeria death linked to Prolactal cheese

25-Feb-2010 - A seventh person has died after eating cheese made by Prolactal contaminated with Listeria, Austrian authorities confirmed yesterday.

Hygiene violations at Listeria waffle plant resolved, says Kellogg

18-Feb-2010 - Kellogg said it has fully addressed all the “significant deviations” from food production good practice at its Listeria-hit waffle plant, as catalogued by US safety regulators in a letter published Tuesday.

Salami salmonella suspicion expands to red pepper

17-Feb-2010 - Crushed red pepper is now under suspicion for a multi-state salmonella outbreak that has been linked to salami, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said in an investigation update.

Massive recall triggers more questions over US meat safety

15-Feb-2010 - Huntington Meat Packing Inc has recalled a further 4.9 million pounds (2.2m kg) of meat that was not processed in line with the company’s HACCP plan over the course of almost a year, said US authorities.

China forced to relaunch food safety crackdown

10-Feb-2010 - China is launching a new national food safety drive following a wave of recent damaging revelations over melamine-tainted milk products in the country.

Chinese dairies shut down on melamine discovery

08-Feb-2010 - Chinese authorities have closed two dairies in the northern region of Ningxia following the discovery of a further 170 tonnes of melamine tainted milk powder, according to media reports.

News in brief

China launches new melamine probe

02-Feb-2010 - China has launched a new investigation after the discovery of more melamine-tainted milk products.

Nestle USA heat-treated flour switch planned for months

19-Jan-2010 - Nestle USA said the switch to heat-treated flour in the production of its Toll House dough has been planned since late summer and confirmed it had yet to find the source of the E.coli detected in its samples.

News in brief

Baby food recalled after packaging defects triggers safety alert

18-Jan-2010 - Nurture Inc baby food company has issued a partial recall after fears a packaging defect could cause the product to become contaminated with bacteria.

Nestle to use heat-treated flour after E.coli found in dough

14-Jan-2010 - Nestle USA has said it is to begin using heat-treated flour in the manufacture of its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough two days after finding E.coli in samples of the product.

Seafood processor targeted over HACCP breaches

11-Jan-2010 - A US seafood processing company could be shut down if it continues to flout Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned.

Alert widens over iodine-tainted soya milk

05-Jan-2010 - Ireland has become the latest country to issue a food safety alert over iodine-contaminated soya milk from Japan believed to have sickened 10 people in Australia.

China uncovers more melamine tainted milk powder

04-Jan-2010 - Chinese authorities have closed a Shanghai dairy involved in the 2008 melamine scandal and arrested three of its executives after finding more milk powder tainted with the toxic chemical.

Beef recall sparks tenderization debate

04-Jan-2010 - A multi-state beef recall in the US has led to renewed focus on mechanical tenderization as a possible cause of increased E. coli risk in beef and pork products.

Hazelnuts recalled on salmonella fears

21-Dec-2009 - Oregon hazelnut processor Willamette Shelling has recalled more than 114,000 pounds of shelled hazelnuts – also known as filberts – after finding salmonella in a production lot, the company has said.

Heinz recalls baby cereal on mycotoxin contamination fears

15-Dec-2009 - Heinz has issued a recall of some of its baby food in Canada on fears it may be contaminated with elevated levels of a mycotoxin.

China uncovers more melamine-tainted milk powder

11-Dec-2009 - Employees from a Chinese dairy company have been taken into police custody on suspicion of selling tonnes of melamine-tainted milk powder.

UK salmonella probe names Spanish egg plant

07-Dec-2009 - A Spanish egg production facility has been named and linked a steep jump in the number of salmonella cases in the UK in 2009, said food safety officials.