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Vivosano has called on the authorities to act on bisphenol A. Picture courtesy of Hogar sin Tóxicos website
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Spanish group campaigns for BPA ban in food contact materials

A Spanish non-profit health organisation has called for the country to draft legislation that bans bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials.

EFSA: new EDC tests will help assess risk

Internationally agreed testing methods for endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDCs) will become available shortly and will help with the risk assessment of them, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)....

bisphenol A (BPA) is one chemical under scrutiny

European Parliament backs stronger EDC regulation

The European Parliament has backed a proposal to list endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as “substances of very high concern” under the REACH legislation.

OSHA cites Berry Plastics for safety violations

Berry Plastics placed in severe violator enforcement program by OSHA

Berry Plastics has been cited for six safety violations and placed in a severe violator enforcement program after a US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection.

Worker pulps fingers in sausage machine

A worker had two fingers crushed by a hydraulic ram in a sausage roll machine in another UK food manufacturing incident in which machine guard issues were a contributory factor....

Food ingredients and sources of radiation approved

FSIS allows three substances to help meat and poultry safety

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal meat and poultry products inspection regulations to allow sodium benzoate, sodium propionate, and benzoic acid for use in meat...

The Scottish government is seeking to define the new food body's scope

Scotland seeks to define scope of independent food authority

The shape of a new Scottish food body is set to be sketched out following a consultation period opened last week on the responsibilities and functions of an authority separate...

Mane and Henningsen Foods cited by OSHA

OSHA cites food firms for safety violations

The US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a food flavouring company and a processing plant for safety violations.

Firm fined after worker fractures skull

UK food manufacturer Cranswick Country Foods paid £10,000 in fines after one of its workers fractured his skull and was left partially deaf following a three-metre fall.

Intralytix gets backing for phage-based product to control salmonella
News in brief

Intralytix gains approval for phage-based salmonella control

Intralytix has received regulatory approval for one of its phage-based products for controlling salmonella.

Food safety

China's watchdogs might finally get more teeth

Sick of lurching from one food crisis to the next, it seems the Chinese authorities are planning to form one cohesive food safety unit based on America’s FDA model.

FDA shutters sprout producer

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has entered into a consent decree of permanent injunction with a sprout producer due to unsanitary conditions.

PCA officials indicted in salmonella outbreak

Four former officials of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) have been indicted on charges relating to the contamination of peanuts with salmonella in 2009, according to the US Justice Department....

Candy factory worker has hand crushed

A UK confectionery manufacturer has been fined for safety breaches after a worker's hand was crushed in machinery, another case in which inadequate machine guard measures proved a factor.

FDA inspection leads to warning for seafood processor

Stonington Sea Products hit by FDA warning letter

Stonington Sea Products has been issued with a warning letter after an US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection at their seafood facility in Maine.

Germany queries anthraquinone amid cancer fears

Fears about food contact material anthraquinone’s carcinogenic properties have prompted Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) to drop it from its recommended list for food packaging substances.

Science in brief

'Masked' toxins in food should be subject to safety regulations: Experts

Regulatory limits on the levels of moulds and toxins present naturally in  foods produced from grain crops should be expanded to include so-called ‘masked mycotoxins’, suggest researchers.

OSHA finds violations at tortilla manufacturing site

Landes Foods cited for four repeat violations by OSHA

Landes Foods has been hit with a $129,500 penalty after inspectors found a number of violations at their facility in Dallas.

Food firms need to be aware of HACCP standards

UL launches food safety validation service

UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc) has unveiled a food safety process validation service, which enables food manufacturers to ensure they comply with US Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) standards.

News in brief

AMI boss to Obama: Meat industry will shut down if you furlough federal meat inspectors

Furloughing 6,000+ federal meat inspectors due to automatic budget cuts imposed under sequestration would effectively shut down the meat and poultry industry and violate the government’s legal obligation to keep...

Employee loses thumb at crisp factory

A crisp manufacturer has been fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs after a man lost his thumb in an unguarded machine at its factory in Crumlin, Newport, Wales.

CFIA suspends operations at St. Ann's Foods Inc.
News in brief

CFIA shutters beef slaughter plant due to hygiene deficiencies

A Canadian beef slaughter plant has had its operating licence suspended by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The scandal has raised new questions about industry's traceability standards

More regulation on the horizon following horse meat scandal?

The ongoing horse meat scandal in the UK and Ireland is very likely to prompt more and stricter legislation to ensure traceability, according to partner at UK law firm Roythornes...

FDA warns seafood processor over HACCP failures

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a warning letter to a seafood processing facility after an inspection found serious violations of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point...

FSSAI in freefall

Food registration deadline extended once again

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has once again extended the licencing and registration deadline for the country’s food business operators. In an embarrassing move by the...