Breaking News on Food Safety & Quality Control

EU food watchdog examines ethyl carbamate levels

03-Oct-2006 - Food and drink processors might soon be under pressure to reduce the levels of ethyl carbamateand cyanides in their fermented products.

Illegal pesticide levels found in 2 per cent of UK foods

15-Sep-2006 - About two per cent of foods sampled in the UK during the first quarter of 2006 contained pesticide residues above the maximum permitted levels.

Food allergens still pose a threat in US foods

14-Sep-2006 - Some food manufacturers are not doing enough to prevent the cross contamination of their products by allergens, according to a survey by the US food regulator.

EC analyses GM rice contamination controversy

13-Sep-2006 - The EC's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health has now discussed the possible illegal GM contamination of long grain rice imports from the US.

Sale of Bulgarian pork could be prohibited with EU accession

06-Sep-2006 - The sale of Bulgarian pig meat could soon be prohibited unless the government can prove it is successfully tackling increased outbreaks of Classical Swine fever (CSF) in the country, according to a new USDA report.

EFSA finds against noni - hepatitis link

06-Sep-2006 - EFSA has concluded that case reports questioning the safety of noni juice are unfounded, enabling products to remain in the EU market.

Food safety experts launch battle against E. coli bacteria

05-Sep-2006 - Food safety experts are meeting in Dublin, Ireland this week to discuss international standards they hope will cut back on the rising number of infections caused by the deadly enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) bacteria.

FSA moves to block illegal GM rice

04-Sep-2006 - The UK's Food Standards Agency has taken action to ensure that testing and monitoring is carried out on consignments of American long grain rice in the UK.

Bottled water sellers face lawsuit deadline

31-Aug-2006 - Lawyers in the US have warned they will sue any US retailer that has failed to recall, by the end of this week, bottled water found to contain cancer-causing bromate above the legal limit, BeverageDaily.com has learnt.

Bluetongue measures restrict meat supply

30-Aug-2006 - An outbreak of bluetongue disease has led to an export restriction on all ruminants in a 150 km area covering Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany and France.

Cadbury probe set to receive cash boost

30-Aug-2006 - The UK Cadbury salmonella scare continues to dog the company as its local council applies for around £30,000 (€44,500) in funding to investigate safety breaches at the factory where contamination occurred.

Italy hunts for mouldy coffee beans

28-Aug-2006 - The discovery of mouldy coffee beans at a port in Italy has put further pressure on an already tight market this month, with prices expected to continue rising.

Special report

Soft drinks firms settle in benzene lawsuit

25-Aug-2006 - Two soft drink firms accused of using ingredients that could mix to form a cancer-causing chemical in drinks plan to sign a settlement with lawyers today, agreeing to change formulas and offer refunds.

China returns US milk powder with excess nitrite

24-Aug-2006 - China has sent back more than 100 metric tons of American milk powder after it was found to contain potentially dangerous levels of nitrite.

FDA to recall more bottled water in bromate scare

24-Aug-2006 - America's food safety watchdog is expected to announce the recall of several bottled water drinks, thought to contain cancer-causing bromate above the legal limit in the US, BeverageDaily.com has learned.

India rejects soft drink pesticides claims

23-Aug-2006 - India's Health Ministry has rejected a campaigns group study that found Coca-Cola and PepsiCo soft drinks containing pesticide residues an average 24 times above the proposed maximum limit.

US: Bottled water pulled in bromate scare

14-Aug-2006 - Bottled water containing cancer-causing bromate above the level allowed by America's food safety watchdog has been pulled from shelves by one of the country's upmarket retailers.

Latex threat - it's all hype, says group

14-Aug-2006 - The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is pushing ahead with product testing methods after scientists found new ways to detect latex allergens in food packaging.

Government lab criticises pesticides in soft drinks study

10-Aug-2006 - Tests in India that found soft drinks contaminated with pesticides are 'doubtful', warns a lab affiliated to the UK government, as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola face more bans and threats of legal action across Indian states.

Japanese soft drink breaks benzene limit

04-Aug-2006 - Japanese food safety authorities have found unacceptable levels of the carcinogen benzene in a nationally distributed soft drink.

Cadbury contamination proves costly

02-Aug-2006 - A UK product recall due to Salmonella contamination could cost £20m (€29.3m) and perhaps more, Cadbury Schweppes said yesterday.

Dioxins, PCBs, metals still at "safe" levels, UK regulator says

27-Jul-2006 - Metals, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a majority of foods and offals remain at levels considered safe in the EU, according to three scientific surveys published yesterday by the UK's regulator.

Cadbury apologises for Salmonella outbreak

25-Jul-2006 - Cadbury Schweppes has apologised for allowing Salmonella-contaminated chocolates to leave its factories and poison 37 people in the UK.

Fresh bird flu outbreak in Thailand blow to poultry sector

25-Jul-2006 - Thailand's poultry industry suffered a further blow yesterday as agriculture officials confirmed a fresh outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in the northern province of Phichit.