Breaking News on Food Safety & Quality Control

Weekly comment: Food prices

Will value-added lose out to the basics?

09-Oct-2007 - Food companies have been focussing on value-added products in a bid to reduce their reliance on commodities, which can fluctuate wildly and deliver slim margins. But now that prices of basic foods are at an all-time high, can value-added foods still compete for their share of the consumer buck?

Unipektin issues recall over additive concerns

31-Jul-2007 - Manufacturers across Europe, Japan and Australia who used a thickening agent from Unipektin might be on the hook for recalls, after a Swiss company said the additive contained high levels of the cancer-causing chemical dioxin.

Bird flu hits Germany and Czech Republic

28-Jun-2007 - The deadly form of bird flu is spreading again in Europe, with Germany and the Czech Republic both reporting outbreaks of H5N1.

Regulators investigate China imports for melamine

09-May-2007 - EU regulators are investigating whether the banned chemical melamine has made its way into Europe's food and feed supply chain from China.

Testing finds pet killer chemical in hogs

27-Apr-2007 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an investigation into whether a chemical thought to be responsible for a number of pet deaths has entered the human food chain.

Ireland's egg industry declared Salmonella free

12-Apr-2007 - A regulatory effort to reduce Salmonella contamination throughout Ireland's food chain is beginning to pay off in the egg sector.

National salt guidelines ignore WHO advice, says professor

06-Apr-2007 - Global salt intake is still too high, according to a leading academic, and many countries ignore the WHO's advice on a maximum intake of 5g/day by issuing guidance far in excess.

California calls for suspension of GM rice testing

21-Mar-2007 - Government regulation for GM contamination of rice is clearly not working, according to the California Rice Commission, which has called for a moratorium on GM field testing in the state.

BASF withdraws rice after GM contamination

09-Mar-2007 - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is preventing the planting and distribution of a long-grain rice seed from BASF because it may contain genetic material not yet approved for commercialization.

Fake vodka poses health risk in UK

06-Mar-2007 - Thousands of litres of fake vodka seized at an illegal bottling plant in Wales may pose a serious danger to consumers' health, officials have said, warning the drinks trade to be on its guard.

UK food product recalls fall by 7 per cent

21-Feb-2007 - Product recalls in the UK food sector fell by seven per cent last year, according to a report by law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.

Regulator releases poultry held over bird flu scare

15-Feb-2007 - Bernard Matthews, which is at the centre of a storm over an outbreak of avian influenza at its turkey production site in the UK, has been given the go ahead to release a batch of poultry products held over the possibility they contained meat from Hungarian birds.

Cadbury faces prosecution over salmonella, newspaper reports

13-Feb-2007 - UK-based Cadbury Schweppes is set to be prosecuted under environmental health laws after the company allegedly released chocolate for sale that was contaminated with salmonella, according to the Guardian newspaper.

Sweden culls poultry due to Salmonella infection

08-Feb-2007 - Sweden's claim to have poultry stocks with the lowest Salmonella infection rates in the EU hascome under severe attack after 100,000 birds had to be culled this week after an outbreak of thedisease.

Six countries ban UK poultry exports

06-Feb-2007 - 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.

Avian influenza hits UK domestic flock

05-Feb-2007 - 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.

Another BSE slip hits UK meat industry

30-Jan-2007 - 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.

UK processor under fire for BSE slip

26-Jan-2007 - 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).

Salmonella found in one of six broiler farms in Germany

23-Jan-2007 - One in six broiler flocks in Germany is infected with salmonella, according to a pilot survey bythe country's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR).

Food safety certification service offered to associations

18-Jan-2007 - Two companies have teamed up to develop branded food safety compliance systems and certifications for food industry associations.

French meat companies under investigation

17-Jan-2007 - 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.

FSA publishes 'metals in food' findings

11-Jan-2007 - A UK survey of the concentrations of metals elements in a variety of ingredients suggests that estimated intakes do not pose a health threat.

EFSA calls for data on furan food contamination

04-Jan-2007 - EFSA has invited the food industry to submit data on furan contamination in food and beverages from 1 January.

Allied Bakeries hit by new round of malicious tampering

03-Jan-2007 - Allied Bakeries' Kingsmill sliced bread brand has been hit with a new round of sabotage,with the company reporting the new incidents to the UK's food regulator over the holidays.