OPPORTUNITY

There are different ways that food and beverage fraud can be committed for instance, the ingredients can be substituted with one of a lower quality, the food label can be distorted to provide false information or the food can be counterfeited. What each have in common is that these malicious acts do not happen by chance as theybring an economic advantage to the perpetuator and cause deception to the consumer.

The prevention and detection of food fraud is not only an important ethical matter, it is an issue which impacts the global economy as well as the health of the citizens.

Key Focus Areas

• Increase supply chain transparency 
• Monitor and improve food logistics
• Improve certification process
• Detection of counterfeit food products and beverages
• Improve consumer confidence and experience
• Support food safety

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With Brexit on the horizon, Professor Chris Elliott questions the resilience of the UK’s food supply.

Very soon we will reach the 50-day countdown to the end of the Brexit transition period. Amidst all the other massive issues we face around COVID-19, it seems (to me, at least) that it’s not getting the media attention it warrants.

Frankly, we should all be deeply concerned on many fronts. However, for my article I will stick to the issues relating to the UK food supply.

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Later infections in a deadly Listeria outbreak traced to sandwiches served in hospitals in England could have been prevented, according to an investigation into the incident.

The first outbreak patient in April 2019 was not confirmed for almost two months because Public Health England did not get the isolate for typing from the hospital until early June.

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A 2008 Canadian outbreak of listeriosis with 22 deaths for a mortality rate of 38.5 percent out of the 57 infections may finally be over for Toronto’s Maple Leaf Foods.

Twelve years after the deadly listeriosis outbreak, Canada’s Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Mr. Sub franchisees against Maple Leaf Foods.

Mr. Sub franchisees had sued in an attempt to make Maple Leaf Foods responsible for  financial losses from the outbreak. Cold cuts from a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto were the source of the Listeria contamination.

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Changing consumer behavior is driving many of the emerging issues in food safety, according to experts.

This factor was identified for half of the 13 issues discussed in 2019 by emerging risk specialists as part of work by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Potential issues were classed according to the hazard, with nine being microbiological and five chemical, or driver identified with six being due to new consumer trends and two because of new processor technology.

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Abstract

Outbreaks of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) are uncommon. In May 2019, national surveillance in Peru detected an increase in GBS cases in excess of the expected incidence of 1.2 cases/100,000 population. Several clinical and epidemiologic findings call into question the suggested association between this GBS outbreak and Campylobacter.

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Intestinal colonization by ESBL Escherichia coli and its association with community-acquired MDR infections is of great concern. This review determined the worldwide prevalence of human faecal ESBL E. coli carriage and its trend in the community over the past two decades

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Researchers have described the first national outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in the United Kingdom associated with burgers that affected 12 people in 2017.

It was also the first known outbreak in the UK linked to frozen burgers. Four small, local outbreaks occurred in England and Wales between 2009 and 2015 and they were likely due to the consumption of undercooked fresh burgers or cross-contamination outside the home.

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Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising technology with far-reaching implications for the food industry. The combination of immutability, enhanced visibility, transparency and data integrity provides numerous benefits that improve trust in extended food supply chains (FSCs). Blockchain can enhance traceability, enable more efficient recall and aids in risk reduction of counterfeits and other forms of illicit trade.

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How safe is your Sage? That’s the question posed by researchers at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) after finding more than a quarter of samples of the popular herb were adulterated – some by as much as 58%.

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This is another example of where an authenticity issue can have a very direct effect on food safety. The consequences for nature and humans are incalculable. Nobody knows what these pesticides are made of, which and how much toxins they contain.

Grass-based milk production is a major contributor to Irish agricultural output. The study characterized the Irish milk pool using stable isotope ratio analysis of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur. Authentic raw milk samples were collected from 50 farms on five occasions over 13 months. Mean values of −27.11, 6.79, −3.27 and 6.16‰ were obtained for δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O and δ³⁴S, respectively. δ¹³C values reflected a high level of grass input and values increased with increasing cereal concentrate feed input (P < 0.001). δ¹⁸O values were most negative in spring. There was a significant interaction between feed and season for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values (P < 0.05), with the impact of concentrate feeding most evident in spring. δ³⁴S values were lowest at the highest level of concentrate input (P < 0.05). The isotopic values reported here describe the Irish milk pool and may offer the potential to discriminate Irish milk and dairy products from similar commodities from other countries.

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Food security scientists at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) have helped identify the cause of a humanitarian crisis and avert a larger catastrophe in Uganda.

Researchers at the university’s Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) were called in to support an investigation after a major food-poisoning incident in Uganda in March 2019, which killed five people and saw hundreds hospitalised.

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Cocoa beans, the seeds of the tree Theobroma cacao L., are the key raw material for chocolate production that implies an extensive post-harvest process. Chocolate properties can vary depending on cocoa origin, composition and manufacturing procedure, which will give unique sensory properties to the final product. On the other hand, the high global consumption of cocoa products, long recognized as a major source of dietary polyphenols with important health benefits, has increased interest in tracking the geographical origin of cocoa and authenticating chocolate to guarantee product quality and reveal possible commercial fraud. However, the sustainable production of high-quality cocoa is still far from reality, and the cocoa sector continues to face many challenges in this field. This review provides an update on the progress toward the authenticity, traceability and sustainability of cocoa products, issues that chocolate producers still need to resolve.

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The Cuban police dismantled a criminal organisation adulterating pork sausages with water,flour and other non-authorised ingredients. The pork products were illegally sold through the
black market.
Cibercuba 02/09/2020

The Italian authorities seized 1 000 kg of Mozzarella cheese produced illegally in two unauthorised production plants, destined for delivery to restaurants, bars and hotels. The
criminal organisation produced fake labels as well, falsifying the origin, production date and organoleptic properties.
Repubblica 03/09/2020
Ottopagine 03/09/2020

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Researchers in the United Kingdom have examined the emergence and spread of a strain of Salmonella common in pigs.

Scientists hope that understanding how and why new strains of Salmonella emerge in livestock will help develop improved strategies to reduce the incidence and make the food supply safer.

Work was led by the Quadram Institute and the University of East Anglia with Public Health England, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Earlham Institute, and the Teagasc Food Research Centre. It was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and published in the journal Microbial Genomics.

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French authorities have renewed warnings about eating wild mushrooms after hundreds of poisoning cases in the past few months.

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) reported that since the start of the mushroom-picking season in early autumn, poison control centers have recorded a sharp increase in cases, particularly in recent weeks.

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The recommendations set out in the review aim to improve the quality, nutritional value and safety of food served in hospitals.

The Independent Review of NHS Hospital Food was announced by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock following a listeriosis outbreak in 2019. 

The final report (Opens in a new window), published today, includes a number of recommendations to improve food safety, based largely on evidence provided by the FSA. These recommendations include having dedicated food safety specialists in each trust, hospitals implementing robust food safety management systems, and a compulsory function to report concerns across the entire hospital food chain. Crucially, NHS Trusts must also recognise that they are food business operators and responsible for ensuring that the food they provide is safe.  

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