Breaking News on Food Safety & Quality Control

IFT submits product tracing recommendations to FDA

12-Mar-2010 - The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has made recommendations to the FDA about how industry could better track ingredients, after a food product tracing exercise and study of the supply chain.

China vows further food safety clampdown

12-Mar-2010 - China has said its aim this year on food safety is to avoid any major contamination crises as it continues to struggle to impose national standards on food producers and processors.

Bisphenol A exposure greatest in bottle-fed infants, but below safety limits

11-Mar-2010 - Infants aged up to six months have the greatest exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) through polycarbonate bottles although levels are well below safety limits set by regulatory bodies, a new study has found.

Special Edition: Decontamination

Plant design and personal hygiene crucial to reducing listeria risk

10-Mar-2010 - Cheese contamination has hit the headlines in recent weeks after Austrian authorities linked seven listerioisis deaths to Prolactal cheese. In light of this news, food safety expert Dr. Eleftherios H. Drosinos explains how risk of contamination from Listeria monocytogenes can be minimised in cheese processing.

Consumers suspicious of nanotech, irradiation and cloning

05-Mar-2010 - New technologies such as nanotech, animal cloning and irradiation trigger feelings of “unease, uncertainty, and sometimes outright negativity” among consumers, said a new report from the UK.

Sugar-derived epoxy lining could replace bisphenol A

04-Mar-2010 - Researchers in the United States have developed a chemical derived from sugar with the potential to replace bisphenol A (BPA) in a number of products, including the lining of food cans.

Foodborne illnesses cost United States $152bn a year- report

03-Mar-2010 - Acute foodborne illnesses cost the United States a staggering $152bn a year, with almost a quarter of this burden attributed to fresh, canned and processed produce, said a report from Produce Safety Project (PSP).

Dung beetles and human error explain Prolactal cheese contamination

03-Mar-2010 - Prolactal has revealed that an error led to the wrong cultures being used in the production of cheese that authorities in Austria and Germany have linked to seven deaths.

Carvacrol is effective antimicrobial for cereal dough, study

02-Mar-2010 - Antimicrobial compounds such as carvacrol and 2-Nitro-1-propanol (2NPOH) are effective inhibitors of pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 and B.cereus and can be used with foods including cereal dough to prevent spoilage, claims a new study.

Weekly comment

What's the colour of money? Bonuses should be green

01-Mar-2010 - Never before has the dangling of golden carrots in the boardroom been so closely scrutinised. DSM and others’ decisions to ensure those carrots have green shoots of sustainability attached to them is a wise and forward thinking move.

Bisphenol A levels in cans triggers call for ban

01-Mar-2010 - Tests have revealed the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in the linings of beverage cans and some of the drinks themselves, including ones made by Nestle and Red Bull, said Friends of the Earth (FOE).

Should we be worried about antimony levels in juices?

01-Mar-2010 - A recent study uncovering levels of antimony in juices above EU limits for drink water has provoked calls for more research into the issue but industry insists that juices are safe.

Third party food safety certification vital for consumers

26-Feb-2010 - Evidence that food product safety has been verified by a third party certification scheme is more important to consumers than brand name, proof of traceability or government inspection, said new research.

UK introduces voluntary COOL code for pork

24-Feb-2010 - A new country of origin labelling (COOL) code of practice for pork introduced in the UK yesterday will benefit meat processors, producers and consumers, said one industry body.

China melamine-tainted milk health threats assessed

24-Feb-2010 - Tens of thousands of Chinese children sickened by melamine-tainted milk showed signs of kidney damage months afterwards - with the potential for long-term harm a serious concern, said new research.

Romanian industry fears junk food black market and fraud

24-Feb-2010 - The Romanian food industry association Romalimenta Federation believes the proposed junk food tax will boost the black market and stimulate fiscal fraud, and in the worst case could harm food safety.

Weekly comment

Banning energy drinks is a doomed shot in the dark

22-Feb-2010 - Energy shot drinks have come under fire from German authorities which are employing an old-school prohibition logic that history has repeatedly dunce-hatted.

California may name and shame BPA as toxin

18-Feb-2010 - The controversial chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) could be listed as a toxin by the Californian Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

Prolactal “deeply shocked” by listeria cheese deaths

17-Feb-2010 - Austrian and German health authorities have revealed that six people died last year after eating listeria contaminated cheese made by Prolactal.

News in brief

Most melamine contaminated product destroyed, says China

17-Feb-2010 - China declared this week that most melamine-tainted dairy products have been destroyed over the past three months.

Weekly comment

Do drink makers have stomach for anti-obesity fight?

15-Feb-2010 - Bravo! The beverage industry has responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Obama’s campaign to tackle childhood obesity - but there’d better be more than froth behind that sparkling rhetoric.

News in brief

FAO launches Haiti food security tool

15-Feb-2010 - The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has launched a new tool to help aid agencies and NGOs measure the food security situation in Haiti following last month’s earthquake.

French bisphenol A opinion puts debate back on scientific ground

12-Feb-2010 - A European plastics industry body has hailed a decision by the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) to use scientific rather than political considerations to guide its ongoing evaluation of bisphenol A (BPA).

News in brief

French censured over bisphenol A stance

10-Feb-2010 - The French Food Safety Agency’s (AFSSA) opinion on bisphenol A is confused and it has been sidetracked by conflicting results from animal studies, said a non-governmental organisation (NGO).