Recent enforcement actions in Portugal have covered products including eggs, shellfish, meat, and oils.
The Food and Economic Safety Authority’s (ASAE) central regional unit recently inspected egg classification and packing centers in Leiria and Ansião.
Checks revealed that eggs, already packaged and ready for consumption, did not have all the necessary identification details, violating national and European regulations.
According to scientists, no interventions precisely control Campylobacter on meat.
Several methods have been tested with mixed success. Some showed promise in reducing prevalence in specific stages of production, while others had little to no effect.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) document found effective Campylobacter interventions are still minimal.
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbial Risk Assessment (JEMRA) previously released a report on measures to control Salmonella in poultry meat.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a campaign to explain the difference between free-from and vegan labeling.
Vegan labels are used to support a dietary choice and do not intentionally contain products of animal origin. However, vegan food could still be prepared alongside eggs, milk, fish, crustaceans, or mollusks.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is seeking feedback relating to new MSM guidance that is intended to provide support for Food Business Operators (FBO) following court judgments that clarify how the definition of mechanically separated meat (MSM) should be interpreted and applied.
The European Commission has published its first monthly report on agri-food fraud suspicions. The report compiles information gathered from the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN), which facilitates the exchange of information between Member States on agri-food controls. The report includes cases of cross-border non-compliance, which ACN members have identified and shared as suspected fraud.
Researchers in Germany have provided an initial evaluation into the microbial quality of plant-based “meat.”
The microbiological status of 10 raw plant-based ground meat products was assessed. Items produced by different companies made from soy, pea, oats, or wheat were obtained in 2021 from Kiel, northern Germany stores.
The FSA has developed new guidance to provide support for food businesses following a series of court judgments on the definition of MSM. MSM is obtained by the removal of meat from bones, reducing food waste, and it must be produced in a hygienic and safe way.
Resistance of Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria to commonly used antimicrobials continues to be observed frequently in humans and animals, according to a report issued today by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), based in Parma, Italy is looking for a Senior Science Coordinator (Temporary Agent, Grade AD8)
In the 20 years since it's foundation, APC Microbiome Ireland (APC) has had a profound and pioneering impact on the world of microbiome research. The focus on such major societal challenges as chronic and infectious disease, anti-microbial resistance and sustainable food development means that the ground breaking scientific research has huge relevance to human and planetary health.
Findings from the testing of food products for authenticity, contaminants, and allergens have been published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The survey is targeted to areas of potential risk and where sampling is needed to inform FSA policy and science. It took place in October 2022 and included products from a typical food basket, plus a range of other items. A total of 1,215 food samples from 28 different commodity types were tested.
Two examples showing the benefits and challenges of agencies moving from paper-based to digital systems have been published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The first covers how the country of Georgia developed a digital system for food control data.
The National Food Agency used to receive control results from the regions on spreadsheets and text files. Collection of the data was ineffective, cumbersome, and prone to mistakes. Authorities experienced problems receiving timely data throughout the supply chain, including information on registrations of food businesses, inspection results, and other relevant food safety data. This impacted the understanding of Georgia’s food safety situation and food control development.
Taking a One Health approach, which recognises the connection between the health of people and animals, the report presents data primarily collected between 2019 and 2021 on antibiotic consumption and AMR in Europe.
For the first time as part of this project, the three agencies analysed trends of antimicrobial consumption and AMR in Escherichia coli (E. coli) from both humans and food-producing animals. They also looked into how these trends were changing in humans and food-producing animals during 2014 – 2021. For example, during this timeframe, antibiotic consumption in food-producing animals decreased by 44%.
The Retail Surveillance Survey is specifically targeted where we know there is potential risk, as well as where sampling is needed to help inform FSA policy and science.
The survey took place in October 2022 and sampled products from a typical basket of food, along with a range of other foods.
Food samples were bought from national supermarkets and smaller independent retailers, with some samples bought online. The samples were tested for undeclared allergens, contaminants, adulteration, inaccurate composition or incorrect labelling.
The number of children sick in a severe E. coli outbreak in France linked to raw milk cheese has risen to 11.
The 11 hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) cases were reported in late 2023. HUS is a severe complication associated with E. coli infections that causes kidney failure. Santé publique France surveillance on HUS only covers children younger than 15 years old in the country, so there could be other sick people in the outbreak.
Scientists have called for Chagas disease to be included in new estimates of the global burden of foodborne disease.
Chagas disease, caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, has a complicated transmission cycle with many infection routes. The disease mainly occurs in Latin America but is rising in other regions, such as North America and Europe.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has national responsibility for coordinating the enforcement of food safety legislation in Ireland. It is a statutory, independent and science-based body, dedicated to protecting public health and consumer interests in the area of food safety and hygiene.
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The WHO practical guidance provides a generic framework to assist national authorities on how to design, implement and communicate a national risk-based food inspection system. It provides step-by-step guidance, specific examples and case studies, as well as risk prioritization tools to categorize the risk of food and establishments, and how to estimate the inspection frequency based on risk.
EFSA is calling on stakeholders involved in the production, use, distribution and/or research and innovation related to novel proteins to support EFSA’s future risk assessments by taking part in a short survey.
New research shows that consumers believe that food safety in Ireland has improved in the past five years, with some 9 in 10 people considering food in Ireland safe. Comprehensive industry and consumer research undertaken by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) revealed today that overall food safety concerns by the food industry have also reduced due to what the industry perceives as robust regulations combined with their increased knowledge of food safety procedures and robust controls by food inspectors.
