Breaking News on Food Safety & Quality Control

News headlines > Public Concerns

Swedish agencies map out bisphenol A action plan

31-Aug-2010 - Sweden's food safety and chemical agencies met last week to begin mapping out an action plan to decide if the country would impose a national ban on bisphenol A (BPA).

Bisphenol A alters male testosterone levels, claims breakthrough study

30-Aug-2010 - A breakthrough study claims to have demonstrated for the first time that bisphenol A (BPA) can cause changes in male human sex hormones.

Canada to add bisphenol A to toxic register in face of industry protests

25-Aug-2010 - Canada has confirmed bisphenol A (BPA) is to be added to its national register of toxic substances after dismissing industry calls to review its stance on the chemical.

China makes arrests after latest melamine scare

25-Aug-2010 - Chinese police have arrested six people for allegedly distributing melamine tainted milk powder, following the seizure of more contaminated materials in July.

FSA to review strategies to prevent E.coli outbreaks

23-Aug-2010 - UK food safety watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to review strategies designed to reduce the shedding of E. coli 0157 by ruminant livestock.

Food safety concerns driving manufacturer and consumer behaviors: Survey

18-Aug-2010 - Manufacturers have changed their practices to respond to food safety concerns, as US consumers claim to have changed their shopping habits, according to a new survey from Michigan State University.

Review finds reasons for standardised welfare labelling

17-Aug-2010 - Welfare labelling of animal-based products and reliable monitoring methods could help meet growing demand for specific consumer segments, and promote higher incomes for those welfare food supply, according to a review.

Chinese investigation clears Synutra milk powder

16-Aug-2010 - The Chinese health ministry has found no link between Synutra International milk powder products and recent cases of premature breast development among infant girls.

Weekly comment

‘MacStatins’ are not the answer to unhealthy food

16-Aug-2010 - Do you want a statin with that cheeseburger and milkshake? Touting pharmaceuticals as the neutralisers of fast food is not the answer to unhealthy diets and even the suggestion sends out the wrong message.

Belgian food safety authorities not concerned by clones

12-Aug-2010 - Meat from the offspring of a cloned cow, raised and slaughtered in the UK has been exported to Belgium, the UK’s Food Standards Agency has confirmed. But Belgian authorities say there is no food safety issue, so no rapid alert was required.

EFSA reports on PCB levels in foods

06-Aug-2010 - Fish, raw milk, dairy and egg products are foods containing the highest levels of non dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL PCBs), while fruit and vegetables have the lowest traces, said the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

News in brief

Russians lift restrictions on Finnish dairy products

04-Aug-2010 - Recently imposed restrictions on the export of Finnish dairy products to Russia are to be lifted at the end of the week.

EFSA needs more data on furan formation in foods

03-Aug-2010 - The European Food Safety Authority is urging member states to step up monitoring of the carcinogen furan in food products, in a bid to amass enough data to inform a dietary risk assessment.

FSA investigates claims of ‘cloned’ milk in UK

02-Aug-2010 - The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said it is investigating claims that milk from a cloned cow has entered the nation’s dairy supply.

Children seeing fewer 'high fat' food adverts, says UK watchdog

28-Jul-2010 - UK Media watchdog Ofcom has found that children are exposed to less high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products through TV advertising since 2005 and it sees no need to tighten the current regulations.

Weekly comment

Nanotechnology in food: What’s the big idea?

26-Jul-2010 - Let's get talking about nanotech. The science of the very small has filled the food industry with big ideas – but industry is torn on how to present nanotechnology to consumers, stalling product development.

Benzophenone from packaging taints Italian couscous

22-Jul-2010 - German safety authorities have seized tonnes of couscous from Italy that were contaminated after the chemical benzophenone leached from the packaging.

Study sheds light on Alicyclobacillus spoilage in juices

20-Jul-2010 - A new study has investigated how Alicyclobacillus spoilage occurs in juices in an effort to help companies chose the right processing option.

Opinion

Functional foods at a crossroads

19-Jul-2010 - Do functional foods work?

Food companies go quiet on nanotech research activity

19-Jul-2010 - Many major food companies have become hesitant to promote their research into the potential of nanotechnology for fear of piquing consumer concerns while it is still in its infancy, according to an expert from market researcher Lux Research.

Seafood processor facing heavy fine for alleged safety breaches

16-Jul-2010 - A US seafood processing company is facing fines totalling US$279,000 after being accused by federal authorities of flouting more than a dozen health and safety regulations.

Denmark censures EFSA over bisphenol A delay; upholds ban in meantime

16-Jul-2010 - Denmark has criticised a second EFSA delay in delivering its verdict on bisphenol A (BPA) as “unsatisfactory” and “weird”, saying it would wait for the full opinion to be published before even considering lifting its ban on the chemical.

Commission proposes letting member states decide on GM cultivation

15-Jul-2010 - The European Commission has unveiled new proposals to give EU member states the right to decide whether or not to cultivate genetically-modified crops – a move that could speed up approvals but which has led to fears over market distortion.

Give FDA stronger food recall powers, urge US consumers

13-Jul-2010 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should receive full powers immediately to recall food when it threatens health and safety, according to 80 percent of respondents in a telephone survey conducted by Consumers Union Poll.

Former EFSA chief calls on UK to keep FSA

13-Jul-2010 - Abolishing the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) would be a backward step that could sacrifice the body’s independent science-based approach and push food policy formation back into the political arena, former EFSA chairman Professor Patrick Wall told FoodProductionDaily.com.

Sign up for your free newsletter

Product Brochures