Listeria as a bacterial genus contains several species, however, only one is known to be pathogenic to humans and of real concern to food, dairy, and beverage processors - Listeria monocytogenes.

The presence of Listeria monocytogenes in food products may give rise to consumer safety concerns and the risks presented to vulnerable customers cannot be overstated. There are legal requirements throughout the UK and the European Union (EU) regarding its presence of L. monocytogenes, and detailing three food safety criteria, in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods.

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Chocolate products made by a company in its Belgium establishment have been identified as the source of a multi-country outbreak of Salmonella, say EFSA and ECDC in a Rapid Outbreak Assessment.

As of 8 April 2022, 150 confirmed and probable cases of monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported in nine EU/EEA countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden) and the UK – with the first one occurring on 21 December 2021 in the UK. Infections have mainly occurred among children under 10 years old.

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Nutricia infant formula has been found to contain Cronobacter after testing in Australia.

A batch of KetoCal 3:1 was positive for Cronobacter spp. during testing at the border by customs officials. There have been no illnesses linked to the product, and the source of contamination is being investigated by the company.

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Twenty-five years ago, by an Act of Parlament, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) was created by amalgamating all federally mandated food inspection and animal and plant health activities into one organization. 

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and safefood today released findings from a comprehensive study which shows a potential low-level risk of illness for consumers who eat non-ready-to-eat* frozen vegetables, fruits or herbs without prior cooking. The microbiological study analysed almost 1,000 samples of frozen vegetables, fruits and herbs for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes,Salmonella, Listeria spp. and E. coli. Listeria monocytogenes was found in 27 of the samples tested (3%), the majority of which were non-ready-to-eat frozen vegetables (21 samples).

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As the UK’s supply of sunflower oil continues to be severely impacted by the conflict in Ukraine, further information is being issued to consumers and retailers about oil substitutions and product labelling.  

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Food fraud has beset governments for centuries, and the legal responses to it have been uniquely suited to the sensibilities of the time.

This publication follows the concept of food fraud described to occur when a fraudster intentionally deceives a customer about the quality and/or contents of the foods they wish to purchase, and such act is done to obtain an undue advantage, most often economic, for the fraudster.

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"80% of global sunflower oil exports originate from Ukraine or Russia and many manufacturers will need to switch to alternative vegetable oils and certain other ingredients (e.g. emulsifiers). This has implications for information included on product labels. Based on our initial work with Government, pragmatic enforcement has now been advised in order to help minimise any supply disruptions.

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safefood invites tenders from external organisations (either public or private sector) to provide programme support services for our Knowledge Network. The successful tenderer will designate one individual to act as a Programme Administrator and to fulfil the requirements specified in Section 3.

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) welcomed the outcome in Tuam District Court yesterday, 26 April 2022, in relation to Judge James Faughnan’s sentencing of three defendants in cases taken by the Health Service Executive (HSE), supported by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The cases were taken against Mr Aiden Cummins, The Front Room (also known as Hibernia Inn), Tuam, Co. Galway, Mr Joe Cummins, Tuam Retail Limited trading as Cosmo Off-Licence, Tuam, Co. Galway and Ms Rachel Cummins, Tuam Retail Limited trading as Cosmo Off-Licence, Tuam, Co. Galway.

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EFSA's Food Ingredients and Packaging unit has launched an open consultation on the draft guidance on the data required for the risk assessment of flavourings to be used in or on foods. This document provides guidance to applicants on the data required for the evaluation of flavourings to be used in or on foods. It applies to application for new authorisations as well as for modifications of existing authorisations of food flavourings, submitted under Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008. Interested parties are invited to submit their comments by the indicated deadline (considering midnight CET). When submitting the comments, specific reference to the line and page numbers to which the comments relate must be made. Additional data or files to support the comments may be submitted using the relevant function in the digital form.

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A new pan-European study of more than 20,000 consumers reveals that less than half of consumers have confidence in the food sector, with just a third believing that the food they eat is sustainable. 

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The UKHSA, Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland are investigating an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes linked to smoked fish.##continue reading

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Seafood labelling is covered by the EU Information to Consumers Regulation (169/2011), and EU Marketing Regulation for Fishery and Aquaculture Products (1379/2013). This study analysed the labels of seafood products sold in six European countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the UK, which was still a Member State in 2019 when the samples were collected), in order to verify the presence of mandatory information required by these EU Regulations.

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High-pressure processing (HPP) of food is effective at destroying harmful microorganisms and poses no more food safety concerns than other treatments. These are two of the conclusions of a scientific opinion published by EFSA today.

EFSA experts assessed the safety and efficacy of HPP of food and, more specifically, whether it can be used to control Listeri

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The Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) has published a food safety guide for directors of companies in the sector.

The group said it hopes to reinforce placement of food safety on the agenda of every board of directors involved with the production, processing, sale and supply of food to consumers.

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Antibiotic resistance in Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria is still high, says a report released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Campylobacteriosis was the most reported zoonosis in the EU in 2020 and the most frequently reported cause of foodborne illness. Campylobacter bacteria from humans and poultry continues to show very high resistance to ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, that is commonly used to treat some types of bacterial human infection.  

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The supermarket Marks and Spencer has reported better results for Campylobacter in chicken in the latest quarterly figures from the United Kingdom.

The data covers October to December 2021 for nine retailers on high levels of Campylobacter in fresh, shop-bought, UK-produced chickens.

Results at Morrisons, Lidl, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s went up while Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Co-op, Aldi and Asda recorded lower levels of contamination compared to the previous quarter.

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Gastrointestinal infection outbreaks halved during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic in England but bacterial pathogens declined the least, according to a study.

Compared with the 5-year average from 2015 to 2019, there was a 52 percent decrease in such outbreaks in the first half of 2020 from 3,208 to 1,544.

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Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency are today advising consumers that some food products labelled as containing sunflower oil may instead contain refined rapeseed oil. This is happening to maintain the supply of certain food products containing ingredients that have become increasingly difficult to source because of the conflict in Ukraine.

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