Canada has pulled ahead of the United States in the latest edition of a report that measures food security.
The Economist Impact’s Global Food Security Index (GFSI) has the United States in ninth while Canada is seventh. In the previous edition, the United States was eleventh with Canada in twelfth.
Today marks the final day of World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) 2021. The campaign aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and to encourage best practice among public, health workers and policy makers.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has today published its Consolidated and its Westminster Annual Report and Accounts for the past financial year. These cover our performance and activities in 2020/21 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland at a net cost of £114.2 million.
The European Commission has published the results of the first coordinated control plan on the authenticity of herbs and spices launched by Directorate-general for Health and Food Safety and carried out by 21 EU Member States, Switzerland and Norway.
This was the first time national authorities in charge of food controls and the European Commission pooled their experience and resources together to focus on the herbs and spices sector. The goal was to protect consumers from misleading and potentially unsafe products.
For more information, see the attached Guidance Note or visit EIT Food website.
Six projects have been funded in the United Kingdom that connect researchers with the public on issues about food safety.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded £200,000 ($269,000) to the projects that are set to last between six and nine months and begin in late 2021.
More than 500 people in the United Kingdom have been affected by a Salmonella outbreak linked to pork scratching products.
There were 534 sick people as of late October with the majority falling ill since June. The first patient was in September 2020 and the peak was 80 cases reported in one week.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s (FSAI) Food Safety Consultative Council today hosted an open meeting to discuss recently introduced EU regulation, requiring food businesses to establish, maintain and demonstrate an appropriate food safety culture. ‘Food Safety Culture – How Food Businesses and Consumers Benefit’ provided an opportunity for leading specialists to provide unique insights into the role and value of food safety culture in food businesses. Over 700 people registered for the virtual event with guest speakers including experts from the Irish food industry and international experts on food safety culture including from the US food regulator.
Antimicrobial drugs are commonly used. We have all heard of antibiotics, which fight bacteria, but there are also antifungals, antivirals and antiparasitics that fight fungi, viruses and parasites, respectively.
The more we use these drugs, the less effective they become and this problem is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It means that microbes have developed resistance to our commonly used medications, meaning these medicines do not always work to treat infections.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) demands action and education by professionals and the public alike. This blog collates resources and materials for raising awareness that have been developed by UKHSA, Health Education England and partners.
The Future of Food Conference will provide a high-level platform to discuss future trends and priorities in food innovation in Europe, in the broader context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Farm to Fork Strategy.
Our audiences: EU policymakers, EIT Food partners and other key stakeholders active in agri-food innovation, education, entrepreneurship and consumer engagement, as well as industry, farmer and consumer associations.
Two months after the UN Food Systems Summit, the Conference will take stock of the Summit’s outcomes and it will look at the role of the EU in implementing its commitments through the uptake of innovation which can deliver both economic and societal impact in line with the SDGs.
We will also address the role of younger generations in transforming food systems. We will discuss challenges and solutions in areas such as: soil health and regenerative agriculture; circular food systems; sustainable food labelling. The program will include sessions on the impact of information on consumer trust in food, and education, with a special focus on vocational education and training.
The main objective of this procurement procedure is to gain insights on the characteristics of the water and practices followed by the industry to maintain water quality used during the post-harvest handling and processing operations for fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and herbs (ffFVHs).
Transcript of FSA Chair Professor Susan Jebb's speech to the Global Conference for Food Safety Regulation and Sustainability on Wednesday 10 November
More than 500 people in the United Kingdom have been affected by a Salmonella outbreak linked to pork scratching products.
There were 534 sick people as of late October with the majority falling ill since June. The first patient was in September 2020 and the peak was 80 cases reported in one week.
Slightly more than half are male with an age range of 0 to 92 years old and a median of 54. A dozen were admitted to hospital but this information is only available for 35 people. The majority of those sick are in England but some patients live in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
A new free eLearning tool for small and medium-sized food businesses across Northern Ireland has been launched by safefood to provide basic food safety training to new staff as they manage a post-pandemic increase in demand.
Food industry workshops hosted by safefood revealed that many staff working in SME food businesses don’t have a high level of food safety knowledge.
Staff also revealed that they struggle to prioritise food safety due to the competitive pressures of the food industry, coupled with small profit margins and high staff turnover.
‘Safefood for business’ is a free online training programme in basic food safety for SME food businesses across food service, catering, retail and manufacturing sectors in Northern Ireland.
The interactive training programme covers key areas of food safety training in short, practical and engaging modules using real-life scenarios and work-place scenarios.
Nine out of 10 people believe a better food safety culture in the workplace would improve food safety overall, according to research from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The FSAI’s Food Safety Consultative Council on Thursday hosted an open meeting to discuss new EU regulations, requiring food businesses to establish, maintain and demonstrate an appropriate food safety culture.
‘Food Safety Culture — How Food Businesses and Consumers Benefit’ provided an opportunity for leading specialists to share insights into the value of food safety culture in food businesses
Introducing the new eLearning tool, Ray Dolan, CEO of safefood said, “Building a culture of good food safety benefits both the public and those food businesses that supply them. There are approximately 50,000 business producing food across the island of Ireland and around 80% of these are small food producers. Having met many small food business owners through our Knowledge Network, we understand the pressures they face and how they have a lot on their plate, including food safety training. Our aim is to provide business owners with a free and practical food safety training tool that fits their needs.”
A company in the Republic of Ireland has been punished for breaches of food law including forging and altering documents.
Arrabawn Co-Operative Society Limited was convicted in a recent district court ruling and fined €40,000 ($46,400). Arrabawn employs 400 people and collects milk from more than 1,000 shareholder farmers. It also has food ingredient and agri business units.
