European experts and commercial growers have listed a series of recommendations to help reduce the risk of produce contamination.
A workshop in 2019 featured researchers, regulators, growers and other stakeholders to examine best practices to control human pathogenic microorganisms in plant production systems.
The European Commission has tightened the rules around imports of Galia melons from Honduras because of a recent Salmonella outbreak.
Emergence of a risk to human health because of possible Salmonella Braenderup contamination means official controls are to be increased with identity and physical checks on 10 percent of consignments entering the EU beginning Jan. 6.
Topics involving Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter were discussed at the latest meeting of a European network dedicated to microbial risk assessment.
The Scientific Network on Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA Network) has 25 European Union member states as well as Switzerland and Norway as observer countries. It is coordinated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is proposing recommending a removal of import checks on products from Fukushima and nearby areas.
The FSA is reviewing the controls on imports of food from Japan, that have been in place since a nuclear accident in March 2011, to provide food safety and public health advice to ministers, so a decision can be made on whether they are still needed. Northern Ireland will still follow EU rules and the final decision will be made by ministers in each country of England, Wales and Scotland.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dirt removal (bacteria and organic matter) of several hand-cleaning procedures. The results from the hand hygiene experiment indicated that washing hands with warm water and soap for 20 s is the most effective method investigated when hands are either dirty or greasy. Even if not proper washing, rinsing under running water for 5 s is a cleaning procedure that may significantly reduce the probability of cross-contamination, as it removes 90% of the hands' dirt. Although less effective than water and soap, the usage of antibacterial wipes was significantly more effective than wet wipes, indicating that they are a better choice when water and soap are not available. The results of this study enable us to inform consumers about the effectiveness of hand-cleaning procedures applied in their homes when cooking. Moreover, it can make consumers understand why, during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities recommended washing hands as a preventive measure of infection and using an anti-bacterial hand gel or wiping hands with an antimicrobial wipe if water and soap are not available.
EFSA is looking for a passionate and distinguished scientist, who will be in charge of shaping EFSA’s scientific strategy and will act as our scientific ambassador in high level scientific fora. Fostering cooperation and innovation you will create and nurture scientific networks both inside and outside EFSA.
Risk-benefit assessment (RBA) of food poses significant scientific challenges given the need to weigh the nutritional and health benefits of food types against the potential health risks from hazards such as environmental contaminants present in food. EFSA invites experts in this field to take part in a scientific colloquium on RBA in February 2022.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has re-evaluated the risks of bisphenol A (BPA) in food and proposes to considerably lower the tolerable daily intake (TDI) compared to its previous assessment in 2015. EFSA’s conclusions on BPA are explained in a draft scientific opinion that is open for public consultation until 8 February 2022. All interested parties are encouraged to contribute to the consultation.
The TDI is an estimate of the amount of a substance (expressed on a kilogram body weight basis) that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable risk. In its 2015 risk assessment of BPA, EFSA set a temporary TDI of 4 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day.
Four lessons have been identified involving regulation during COVID-19 by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
They include the role of early warning and emerging risk systems to help authorities respond quickly to new threats and how by accepting an impact on official controls, agencies can maintain high priority activities during crises and still protect public health.
There was a decline in reports of four foodborne pathogens and the number of incidents and recalls in the past year, according to the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) annual report.
It covers activities in 2020-2021 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK leaving the European Union, as well as enforcement and food crime statistics.
Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) provides new opportunities for improving bacterial food safety but also brings with it some concerns, according to Belgian experts.
Campylobacteriosis was the most reported zoonosis in the EU in 2020, with 120,946 cases compared to more than 220,000 the previous year. It was followed by salmonellosis, which affected 52,702 people compared to 88,000 in 2019. The number of reported foodborne outbreaks also fell by 47%. These findings are based on the annual EU One Health zoonosis report, by EFSA and ECDC.
A decline in foodborne infections ranged from 7 percent to 53 percent in 2020 in Europe largely because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) report also saw Yersinia retake third place from E. coli for the number of infections.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that eight Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order were served on food businesses during the month of November 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).
Norovirus poses the highest burden on society out of 13 pathogens analyzed in the United Kingdom.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) ranked the foodborne pathogens in order of their detrimental effect on UK society. They were Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, E. coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Shigella, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, adenovirus, astrovirus, norovirus, rotavirus and sapovirus.
What is superchilling and how can it help?
Superchilling technologies, use a technique of cooling a product down to a temperature at which the product starts to freeze, generally around –1.5°C to–2°C, and then storing it at that temperature. At this range some of the product is ice and some contains liquid water – this is called the aqueous phase. The process can be achieved using standard blast chillers.
Emily Miles addressed the 2021 Chartered Institute of Environmental Health's (CIEH) Year Ahead Conference which, in partnership with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), hosted key policy discussions, examining the challenges to the future of public health and the impact of the pandemic.
Almost 50 people fell ill in France with Salmonella infections this past year linked to chicken from one slaughterhouse. Salmonella in beef from Germany was also documented.
Without whole genome sequencing (WGS), the persistent low-level outbreak could have gone undetected, according to a presentation at the European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology conference, organized by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
The global herb and spice industry, valued at approximately US$4 billion, continues to grow year on year. This industry works extremely hard to ensure they provide consumers with safe and authentic products. However, it is continuously under threat from those less scrupulous operators seeking to profit from the trade in economically motivated adulteration. Opportunities for criminals to adulterate herbs and spices exist at many points along the long and complex supply chains.
