The ADI, which reflects the safe amount of a substance that can be consumed daily over a lifetime, covers saccharin and its sodium, calcium and potassium salts (E 954). The previous ADI was set in 1995 based on the increased incidence of bladder tumours observed in rat studies. However, there is now scientific agreement that these tumours are specific to male rats and not relevant to humans.
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A rise in Salmonella infections in Sweden has been linked to the consumption of alfalfa sprouts.
Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden) said 92 people from 18 regions have been infected with one of 12 genetically closely related Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type (ST) 36 variants.
The European Commission has reported on developments related to the food safety control systems of five potential European Union countries, including Ukraine and Turkey.
As part of the Enlargement Package, the EU Commission assessed how prepared Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey are as they work toward EU accession. A previous article covered Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
One person has died in a multi-country Salmonella outbreak linked to salad from Italy.
A foodborne outbreak with about 200 Salmonella Umbilo cases occurred between July and September 2024 in nine European countries. Germany was the most affected with 118 infections.
Abstract
A cross-border outbreak of Salmonella Strathcona ST2559 is ongoing in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK). From 1 January 2023 to 5 November 2024, 232 confirmed cases of S. Strathcona ST2559 have been identified in 16 EU/EEA countries according to the European case definition: Austria (33), Croatia (3), Czechia (10), Denmark (9), Estonia (1), Germany (62), Finland (3), France (23), Ireland (1), Italy (67), Luxembourg (2), the Netherlands (2), Norway (3), Slovakia (5), Slovenia (2) and Sweden (6). Twenty-nine cases were also identified in the UK. Among the travel-associated cases, the most frequently visited country was Italy.
The UK Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (FSA’s NFCU) has made an arrest as part of an ongoing investigation into a case of suspected food fraud.
The suspected case of food fraud involves document falsification to allow the illegal movement of cattle, having potentially adverse impacts on the food chain. According to FSA, a joint operation with NFCU, West Yorkshire Police, and South Yorkshire Police led to an “emergency slaughter of cattle on farms” on November 6, 2024.
The Chair of the Food Standards Agency Professor Susan Jebb has said that the way the FSA regulates the food system has to evolve to ensure it can meet the challenges of the future.
Professor Jebb was speaking at City University’s Food Thinkers seminar on Wednesday 13 November, where she set out the unprecedented challenges facing the food system and those who regulate it. Risks from global conflict and financial pressures, alongside opportunities offered by new technologies all demand new thinking about our regulatory system, she said.
A multi-country Salmonella outbreak in Europe linked to tomatoes from Italy has sickened more than 250 people.
From January 2023 to November 2024, 266 confirmed cases of Salmonella Strathcona have been identified in 16 European countries and the United Kingdom.
Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden have also reported Salmonella Strathcona sequence type (ST) 2559 infections. Among 197 cases with age and gender data available, females were more affected than males.
In its annual report, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) warned that food incidents are becoming more complex and often serious.
FSAI marked its 25th anniversary in 2023. External challenges impacting food safety include the potential for supply disruption due to political unrest in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, regulatory divergence after Brexit, and the focus on environmental sustainability and its unintended consequences for safe food.
Norwegian scientists are working on a project investigating the separate or combined effect and suitability of different methods to reduce the presence of Listeria in salmon and trout.
The DeList project is funded by FHF, the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund, and will run until the end of January 2025.
The main food microbiology lab in the United Kingdom has shared highlights of its recent activity in an annual report.
The report covers work of the UK’s national reference laboratory (NRL) for food microbiology between April 2023 and March 2024.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides the service for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS). It covers Listeria monocytogenes, coagulase-positive staphylococci, E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and antimicrobial resistance.
More than a dozen people have fallen ill in Ireland, and more cases have been recorded in Iceland in two different E. coli outbreaks.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) in Ireland reported that the community outbreak contains 13 laboratory-confirmed Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157:H7 cases. No cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) or deaths were noted.
An analysis has provided evidence of higher temperatures leading to more Salmonella and Campylobacter infections.
A search was conducted for peer-reviewed epidemiological studies published between January 1990 and March 2024.
Out of 3,472 results, 44 studies were included in the systematic review, covering more than 1 million cases each of Salmonella and Campylobacter infections. Overall, 22 studies examined Salmonella infection, 15 investigated Campylobacter, and seven assessed both infections. Studies covered 27 countries across five continents, but most were from high-income nations.
Following a comprehensive procurement process, and extensive engagement with industry and stakeholders, Eville and Jones and Hallmark Meat Hygiene have both been successful in their bids to supply vets and meat inspectors for the delivery of Official Controls in meat plants.
Eurospar Baltinglass joined retailing colleagues from all over Ireland recently to receive their food safety and quality awards at the Eurospar Supermarkets Retailer Forum.
The awards are assessed by the LRQA, who are a leading independent provider of accredited certification services across a broad spectrum of retailing standards, specialising in food safety. Eurospar supermarkets throughout Ireland were presented with their award in Lawlor’s Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare.
FSAI is a statutory, independent regulatory agency focused on protecting public health and consumer interests in food safety.
The overall mission of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland is to protect consumers and raise compliance through partnership, science and food law enforcement, and its vision is “safe and trustworthy food for everyone”.
As Ireland’s agri-food industry is the largest indigenous manufacturing sector and is of critical importance to the national economy, its success requires confidence and trust in the safety of food it produces. FSAI, as an independent state agency, underpins the credibility and performance of the regulatory system for the food industry in Ireland.
An Irish agency responsible for seafood safety has published its annual report, revealing the number of food safety incidents investigated in 2023.
The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) was involved in 25 reports of alleged illnesses following the consumption of fishery products or live bivalve mollusks.
Sea-Fisheries Protection Officers (SFPOs) carried out 2,297 food safety official controls across 2,325 premises. Of these checks, 535 were inspections of approved establishments, and 1,553 consisted of official controls, such as checks prior to certifying a consignment of food being exported to a non-EU country and temperature and labeling checks.
Applications must be sent directly to Odgers Berndston through the link below:
• Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety Authority of Ireland (this opens in a new tab).
Closing date: 5pm, Monday 28 October 2024.
Gastrointestinal complaints were the most common health issue reported by people going abroad who took part in a survey on travel-related illnesses.
The study was based on data from a mobile application developed by researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH) with the World Health Organization (WHO).
French authorities have again reported hundreds of poisonings linked to wild mushroom consumption.
The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) said more than 400 cases had been recorded since July. Figures from the Directorate General of Health (DGS) put the number of people affected at 1,179 since the beginning of July. This includes 32 serious cases of mushroom poisoning.
