The draft theme papers, outlining vision, scope, opportunities, cooperation and impact for EFSA and its partners, are now open for consultation.

• Application of Omics and bioinformatic Approaches: Towards Next Generation Risk Assessment
• Advancing the Environmental Risk Assessment of Chemicals to Better Protect Insect Pollinators

EFSA would appreciate feedback on all aspects of the 2021 theme papers. The consultation is open until 30 June 2021. As EFSA is looking for one response per MS we would appreciate any comments you may have by Monday 28^th June. We will then collate the responses and submit a response

Survey-insect-pollinators.pdf

Omics-bioinformatics_theme_paper-for_consultation.docx

Survey-OMICS-bioinformatics.pdf

Theme_paper_insect_pollinators.docx

The number of people sick in the United Kingdom in an outbreak linked to melons has almost doubled.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Public Health England (PHE) are investigating the incident with 99 people sick since April. It was previously known that 52 people were ill in the UK.

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The purpose of this call for tender will be to explore the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for extracting and integrating data obtained through New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for chemical risk assessment.

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA), Food Standards Scotland (FSS) with Ipsos MORI have published a survey of consumer practices relating to coated frozen chicken products.

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STEC-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is rarer in adults than children but causes more severe disease and death in older people, according to a study.

Researchers looked at HUS caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in 96 adults in France during 2009 to 2017. A total of 69 of the patients had underlying health conditions. HUS is a severe complication associated with E. coli infections that causes kidney failure.

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A study from the Roslin institute published in BMC Genomics has identified genes in chickens that could offer resistance to harmful bacteria commonly found in poultry and could inform ways to limit the risk of associated food poisoning in people.

The research identified a large number of genes in chicken guts that may determine whether the birds are resistant to Campylobacter, according to the Roslin Institute.

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The role of food‐producing environments in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in EU plant‐based food production, terrestrial animals (poultry, cattle and pigs) and aquaculture was assessed. Among the various sources and transmission routes identified, fertilisers of faecal origin, irrigation and surface water for plant‐based food and water for aquaculture were considered of major importance. For terrestrial animal production, potential sources consist of feed, humans, water, air/dust, soil, wildlife, rodents, arthropods and equipment.

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None of the top nine retailers in the United Kingdom reported Campylobacter in chicken test results near the FSA limit in the first three months of this year.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) maximum acceptable level is 7 percent of birds with more than 1,000 colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) of Campylobacter.

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The FSA Board reiterated its commitment to working with a range of other government agencies and increasing its science and research capability to become a “champion of the food hypersensitivity cause” as members responded to two reports on the issue.

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The role of food-producing environments in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in EU plant-based food production, terrestrial animals (poultry, cattle and pigs) and aquaculture was assessed. Among the various sources and transmission routes identified, fertilisers of faecal origin, irrigation and surface water for plant-based food and water for aquaculture were considered of major importance. For terrestrial animal production, potential sources consist of feed, humans, water, air/dust, soil, wildlife, rodents, arthropods and equipment. Among those, evidence was found for introduction with feed and humans, for the other sources, the importance could not be assessed. 

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The chief scientists of FAO and WHO highlighted the role of science in keeping food safe while stressing the importance of technology during a webinar earlier this week.

The virtual event was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) to mark the third annual World Food Safety Day.

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Under the best circumstances, agriculture can be a tough business. Today, increasing pressures on the world’s land and water resources are jeopardizing humanity’s ability to feed itself. Exacerbated by climate change, these pressures are making agriculture a more vulnerable and challenging enterprise. Elevated temperatures, changes in water availability, deteriorating soil quality, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification, among other factors, can have an impact on food production, processing, storage, and distribution, right up to the moment it reaches our tables. In other words, our entire food system is threatened by climate change.

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Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is one of the new buzzwords in food safety. This article is a brief review of what WGS is and how it has revolutionized food safety in recent years. It has now become an integral part of public health surveillance and is increasingly used by the food industry in the United States and abroad to study foodborne bacterial pathogens, indicator and spoilage organisms, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance, virulence, and more. WGS in food safety has particularly focused on bacteria (the subject of this article), but it is equally efficient to use with viruses and parasites.

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This handbook provides detailed guidance on assessing the burden of diseases caused by microbiological agents commonly transmitted through foods. It is particularly intended for use at national level, and gives a complete picture of the requirements, enabling factors, challenges and opportunities involved, and the steps in the process. It also aims to foster harmonization of methodologies for estimating foodborne disease burden across countries.

The goal of a national burden of foodborne disease study is to rank and prioritize foodborne diseases based on their overall public health impact in the population. The objectives of such a study are to: 

• estimate the burden of disease for selected foodborne hazards;
• develop a framework for routine updating of estimates and evaluation of trends; and
• provide a baseline against which food safety interventions can be evaluated.

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Three German organizations have created a consortium to monitor bacterial pathogens and detect outbreaks faster.

The University of Münster, Research Center Borstel and the Robert Koch Institute formed the miGenomeSurv network (microbial genome-based surveillance of infectious agents).

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The number of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections in Europe declined in 2019 slightly compared to 2018 but is higher than previous years, according to a new report.

For 2019, 8,313 confirmed cases of STEC infection were reported but no multi-country outbreaks were detected or investigated. This compares to 8,658 cases in 2018 and 6,455 in 2017.

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Whole genome sequencing (WGS) provides a level of additional information that more than balances out the additional costs if used effectively, according to a recent study.

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has set out a plan of how local authorities can get back to food hygiene and standards work after dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

The recovery plan for local authorities proposes a restart to the regulatory system for the highest risk businesses and providing greater flexibility for lower risk firms.

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A mathematical model has been developed by scientists in Denmark to control the risk from Clostridium botulinum in certain foods.

The tool could be used in development or reformulation of fresh and lightly preserved seafood and poultry products that do not support the growth of Clostridium botulinum. Botulism poisoning is a serious but rare illness caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria.

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Today, BSI, the business improvement and standards company, unveiled its annual Supply Chain Risk Insights 2021 Report that identifies the trends and associated risks likely to impact global supply chains in the year ahead. The report is powered by the global data in BSI's proprietary web-based, comprehensive intelligence system. Using this insight, BSI predicts the following trends will likely dominate the global supply chain throughout the year ahead:

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