The European distribution fraud (EDF) questionnaire has been created by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) for the food industry to help fully understand potential vulnerabilities regarding EDF.

The NFCU would like to invite you to complete this questionnaire as the data captured will help in the development of bespoke materials to address these issues and share best practice amongst industry allowing food businesses to potentially develop/implement procedures to protect themselves from EDF.

The questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes of your time. All submissions are anonymous unless you choose to provide your companies name within the questionnaire. If you have any issues accessing the questionnaire or would like to give more information after completing the questionnaire, please send an email to NFCU.Prevention@food.gov.uk 

Questionnaire Link.

When you start a new food business, or take over an existing business, you must register with your local authority. You should do this at least 28 days before you start trading.

Registration is required regardless of where a business operates from in the UK. This includes food businesses trading from physical customer-facing premises, from home, a mobile unit or temporary premises such as a stall of van, or through online or distance selling

Registration of your food business is free and can’t be refused. If you are already trading and have not registered yet, you need to register as soon as possible as this is a legal requirement.

You should register your food business on the GOV.UK food business registration porta

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What is Cronobacter sakazakii? And why is it a danger in powdered infant formula? This pathogen is not well known but can cause serious illness and death in infants, especially babies who were premature, low birth weight, or have other health conditions or compromised immune systems. It is one of the costliest foodborne pathogens because of loss of life and serious health problems that can persist even when a patient recovers. The fatality rate in infants, even older infants, ranges from 40 to 80%. The cost of each case is estimated at $1,000,000, according to a study published in Front Microbiol.

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There was a decline in most causes of foodborne illness, plus 25 outbreaks were reported in 2019, according to data released by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

The zoonoses report is published by the FSAI, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Health Service Executive (HSE), Local Authority Veterinary Service (LAVS), Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA), and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

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This report has been produced by Campden BRI (Nutfield) under a contract placed by the Food Standards Agency (the Agency). The views expressed herein are not
necessarily those of the Agency. Campden BRI (Nutfield) warrants that all reasonable skill and care has been used in preparing this report. Notwithstanding this
warranty, Campden BRI (Nutfield) shall not be under any liability for loss of profit, business, revenues or any special indirect or consequential damage of any nature
whatsoever or loss of anticipated saving or for any increased costs sustained by the client or his or her servants or agents arising in any way whether directly or indirectly
as a result of reliance on this report or of any error or defect in this report.

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The recently published (November 2021) UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) report ranked the foodborne pathogens in order of their detrimental effect on UK society.

Thirteen major foodborne pathogens were included:

• Bacteria Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, E. coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shigella
• Parasites Cryptosporidium and Giardia
• Five viruses including Norovirus

The report concluded by ranking the pathogens as High, Medium, or Low, in order of their significance.

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The pressures to reduce the environmental impact of packaging, comply with regulations around single-use packaging, and satisfy consumer preferences offer significant growth opportunities for the use of new recyclable and novel materials.

When we think about new packaging, it is important to consider the material, environment, and product. What are the key considerations with the use of these alternatives?

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Norovirus was the main cause of foodborne outbreaks in Finland from 2017 to 2019, according to figures published recently by the Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto).

About 2,900 people were reported to have fallen ill in 162 foodborne outbreaks with 110 hospitalizations and nine deaths.

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On 2 September 2021, France reported an increase in Salmonella Enteritidis ST11 infections. By 11 January 2022, 272 confirmed cases had been reported in five European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries and the United Kingdom (UK): Denmark (n=3), France (n=216), the Netherlands (n=12), Norway (n=7), Spain (n=22), and the UK (n=12) in 2021. Two deaths were recorded in adult men. Twenty‐five cases were hospitalised. Sixty cases reported consumption of eggs/egg products.

Some cases reported in France in 2021 had visited restaurants serving eggs distributed by a common supplier, Spanish Packing Centre A. The eggs originated from three Spanish farms, one testing positive for the outbreak strain. Fresh table eggs from the farms linked to the outbreak were withdrawn and redirected for use in heat‐treated egg products. No other countries received eggs from the same farms via Packing Centre A during summer 2021. Therefore, the source of infection for cases in late 2021 and in countries other than Spain and France could not be established.

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Danish researchers are part of a project that is going to develop and test ways of producing chicken meat with lower levels of Campylobacter.

Chicken is one of the main food sources of Campylobacter infections in Denmark and Europe. Illness affects about 4,500 Danes each year. However, many cases are never reported and researchers believe the actual number is about 10 times higher.

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that five Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order were served on food businesses during the month of January for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE).

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Want to understand more about how procurement works at EFSA? What procurement procedures we use and the types of contracts we sign? Check out our new Procurement Infographic available here https://lnkd.in/eyk3PYi5 EFSA also awards grants to organizations designated by their Member State to assist EFSA with its mission. Find out more about EFSA grants in our new Grants Infographic available here https://lnkd.in/ezN_V2_w

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Many common hand disinfectants do not inactivate the Hepatitis E virus (HEV), according to a study.

Researchers found HEV has strong stability against alcohols and alcohol-based hand disinfectants but did identify one substance that worked.

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LGC’s National Laboratories, based in Teddington, deliver a range of expert science functions and services in partnership with the UK Government, business and academia. The business unit manages and operates several national laboratories on behalf of government agencies, as well as hosting the unique function of the ‘Government Chemist’.

As home to many world-leading scientists, LGC’s National Laboratories provide a wide range of expert analytical science services and subject matter expertise to a broad spectrum of customers, stakeholders and global forums.

This role is an exciting full time opportunity to work across several externally facing networks; including the Community for Analytical Measurement Science and the Food Authenticity Network. Both are membership based communities aimed at promoting world-class analytical measurement science training, research and innovation by bringing together a network of industrial and academic partners with interests in these fields.

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Russian scientists have developed a rapid test for chicken and pork in processed meat products, which takes 33 minutes to complete and can be done in-situ without the need of laboratory equipment. The test consists of a 3 min of crude DNA extraction, 20 min of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) at 39 °C, and 10 min of lateral flow assay (LFA) detection. The RPA–LFA assay is based on designed fluorescein and biotin-labelled primers developed from the cytochrome B gene, which can identify as little as 0.001% w/w  of the target meat component. The assay was tested on  processed meat products and to meat after heating, and the results were confirmed by real-time PCR.

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While the thousands of tons of seized fraudulent product get the headlines, the most crucial result of Operation OPSON is the insight on the shifting food fraud vulnerability. The report has both general information and detailed case studies (and amazing crime scene pictures).

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Description

Food fraud, food adulteration, food crime, food integrity, food authenticity and food counterfeiting are all commonly applied terms to a problem that has existed since the commercialisation of food. Varying definitions of the terms can constitute a significant hurdle in the actions that can be taken to both prevent it and take legal action against people who perpetrate it.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland commissioned the Food Authenticity Network, via LGC, to undertake an examination of published literature to identify the major definitions related to food fraud and global standardisation activities in this area (with a focus on terminology and testing methods). The purpose of this is to update the Food Authenticity Network with this current information and to feed the information gathered into global standardisation initiatives on food authenticity terms and definitions and guidance on food fraud prevention and control via CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) and CODEX Alimentarius committees (international food standards).

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Developmentally neurotoxic chemicals are a diverse set of substances that have the potential to interfere with the normal development of the human nervous system. The potential for exposure to environmental chemicals to have adverse impacts on neurodevelopment led to the development of in vivo testing batteries starting in the 1980s. However, for multiple reasons the use of in vivo testing is still limited. This, coupled with an increasing need to assess the hazards of hundreds of pesticides and thousands of industrial chemicals, has led to calls for the development and use of new approach methodologies (NAMs) that make less or no use of animals and are efficient and predictive.

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The European Food Risk Assessment (EU-FORA) Fellowship Programme is a key initiative for ensuring preparedness for future risk analysis needs. The upgraded programme (2.0) introduces several significant changes based on five years of experience, the implementation of 80 work programmes, and the participation of more than 60 supervisors from 33 organisations in 16 EU Member States and the UK.

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