The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials (FCM) assessed the safety of the recycling process NGR LSP (EU register number RECYC328). The input is hot washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes mainly originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications.
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The number of enforcement measures taken against food businesses went up in 2024 in Ireland prompting officials to describe the rise as “unacceptable.”
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported that 133 enforcement orders were served on companies for breaches of food safety legislation in 2024, an increase from 92 in 2023.
A coalition of environmental groups has sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the use of highly toxic phthalates in plastic food packaging because the chemicals have been found to leach at alarming rates and present a serious health risk, especially for developing children.
The suit is the latest salvo in an ongoing eight-year battle in which advocates have pressured the FDA to ban the chemicals’ use in food packaging, but the agency has sided with industry that opposes the calls. Since 2016, the FDA has either illegally ignored petitions or rejected demands to revoke a 40-year-old authorization for the chemicals that is based on long-outdated science.
Revised foodborne illness figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) are the main thing to watch out for in 2025.
There are also new regulatory requirements around Campylobacter in Europe and Singapore is working on a Food Safety and Security Bill.
Amid a wave of reported avian influenza (bird flu) infections of cattle and other mammals, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released new guidelines advising its members how to implement effective surveillance programmes for early detection of influenza in cattle.
Since its emergence over two decades ago, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has evolved into various clades.
In recent times, Frank Yiannas, the former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, has been a prominent voice on LinkedIn, calling for rethinking and innovation in food safety practices to protect the consumer. His calls come amid a troubling series of food recalls, foodborne illness outbreaks, food allergen issues, and other food safety challenges in the U.S. Yiannas' use of the term "rethinking" emphasises the urgent need to reassess our approach to food safety—not just at the policy level, but also on the kitchen/production floor, where daily food safety practices are implemented. This is a global issue that is not confined to any one country.
While there continues to be no evidence of human-to-human spread of avian influenza, new outbreaks in wild and domestic birds were reported in Europe and around the world between September and December 2024. These are the main findings of our last avian influenza monitoring report, produced together with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the EU reference laboratory (EURL).
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) published its new Strategy for 2025-2029, setting out an ambitious strategic roadmap to safeguard consumer health and assure continued trust in Ireland’s food systems. At its core is a commitment to protect consumers in Ireland and consumers of Irish food in more than 180 markets across the world. The five-year Strategy seeks to ensure that Ireland’s food safety regulatory system is robustly equipped to respond to the challenges and opportunities presented to food safety, within an evolving global food supply chain with new innovations and changing consumer preferences and tastes. As the central competent authority, the FSAI will continue to lead and support Ireland’s food safety inspectorate to implement a fair, consistent and effective system of enforcement.
Adulteration, pesticides and unauthorized ingredients were among fraud and non-compliance issues discussed by European countries recently.
The number of food and other fraud suspicions raised by EU member states dropped in November. The 232 alerts are down from 292 in October. This compares to 213 in September and 222 in August. There were 325 notifications in July, 265 in June, 281 in May, 341 in April, 345 in March, 318 in February, and 277 in January.
A global food standards setting agency has supported guidance on several topics to try and improve food safety, including traditional markets and ciguatera.
The United Nations food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Texts adopted at a meeting in November include guidelines for food hygiene control measures in traditional food markets and a code of practice for the prevention and reduction of ciguatera poisoning.
According to a new study from Stanford University, the influenza virus can remain infectious in raw milk stored at refrigeration temperatures for up to five days. The research, published Dec. 12 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, underscores the potential health risks associated with consuming unpasteurized milk at a time when outbreaks of avian influenza in dairy cattle are raising alarm.
Suspected or confirmed cases of Norovirus and Yersinia will soon have to be reported to government health officials by laboratories in England.
The move is part of a decision to amend the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010.
Subject to parliamentary approval, the updated legislation will come into force in April 2025.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has initiated a public consultation on its latest draft scientific opinion concerning the potential health risks associated with perchlorate in food. This consultation is a response to a request from the European Commission to re-evaluate perchlorate's health implications, incorporating updated methodologies and new evidence since EFSA's previous assessment in 2014.
A recent investigation, conducted by CVUA Stuttgart - one of the 4 official food control and animal health laboratories of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a state in southern Germany-, raises concerns about the safety of some spices typically used during Christmas festivities, revealing unexpected pesticide residues.
The European Commission has officially adopted a ban on Bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials (FCM), addressing rising concerns over its potential health risks. The ban also extends to other bisphenols known to harm reproductive and endocrine systems.
WHO and FAO have published the full report of an exercise that ranked foodborne viruses according to frequency and severity.
The first part of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) meetings focused on food attribution, analytical methods, and indicators.
While raw milk consumption is an elusive figure, it’s generally accepted that it is both more popular and more risky today than at any time in the past several decades.
It’s not just the usual threats like E. coli 0157:H7 and campylobacter but the new threat from the H5N1 avian flu virus. About 99 percent of the H5N1 threat can be controlled by pasteurization, but this would mean that raw milk, sometimes referred to as “fresh” milk, would cease to be raw milk.
In 2023, listeriosis cases reached their highest level since 2007, while campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis remained the most frequently reported zoonotic diseases in the EU. Overall, reported cases of zoonotic diseases in humans increased, but foodborne outbreaks saw a slight decline. These are the main findings of the annual EU One Health Zoonoses Report by EFSA and ECDC.
Researchers have shown the significant impact and costs of Campylobacter infections from contaminated chicken in Australia.
Scientists quantified the cost of illness attributable to specific domestic risk factors for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. They used data from a 2018 to 2019 case–control study to estimate odds ratios and attributable fractions for risk factors. Data on national incidence, hospitalization, and premature mortality was used to quantify burden. The team then applied costs related to healthcare use, pain and suffering, premature mortality, and lost productivity to each risk factor.
A recently released report covering food safety in the supply chain has revealed there were 60 outbreaks that affected 1,500 people in the United Kingdom in 2023, which is up from the year before.
The United Kingdom Food Security Report includes data available from 2021 to 2024. There are five themes, including one on food safety and consumer confidence.
