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.
The percentage of chicken sold at smaller retailers that is contaminated with high levels of Campylobacter remains above a Food Standards Agency target.
A UK-wide survey sampled 1,008 chickens from August 2019 to October 2020. It looked at levels of Campylobacter on whole fresh retail chickens from independent shops, butchers and smaller chains such as Iceland, McColl’s, Budgens, Nisa, Costcutter and One Stop.
Canada has pulled ahead of the United States in the latest edition of a report that measures food security.
The Economist Impact’s Global Food Security Index (GFSI) has the United States in ninth while Canada is seventh. In the previous edition, the United States was eleventh with Canada in twelfth.
Today marks the final day of World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) 2021. The campaign aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and to encourage best practice among public, health workers and policy makers.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has today published its Consolidated and its Westminster Annual Report and Accounts for the past financial year. These cover our performance and activities in 2020/21 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland at a net cost of £114.2 million.
The European Commission has published the results of the first coordinated control plan on the authenticity of herbs and spices launched by Directorate-general for Health and Food Safety and carried out by 21 EU Member States, Switzerland and Norway.
This was the first time national authorities in charge of food controls and the European Commission pooled their experience and resources together to focus on the herbs and spices sector. The goal was to protect consumers from misleading and potentially unsafe products.
For more information, see the attached Guidance Note or visit EIT Food website.
Six projects have been funded in the United Kingdom that connect researchers with the public on issues about food safety.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded £200,000 ($269,000) to the projects that are set to last between six and nine months and begin in late 2021.
More than 500 people in the United Kingdom have been affected by a Salmonella outbreak linked to pork scratching products.
There were 534 sick people as of late October with the majority falling ill since June. The first patient was in September 2020 and the peak was 80 cases reported in one week.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s (FSAI) Food Safety Consultative Council today hosted an open meeting to discuss recently introduced EU regulation, requiring food businesses to establish, maintain and demonstrate an appropriate food safety culture. ‘Food Safety Culture – How Food Businesses and Consumers Benefit’ provided an opportunity for leading specialists to provide unique insights into the role and value of food safety culture in food businesses. Over 700 people registered for the virtual event with guest speakers including experts from the Irish food industry and international experts on food safety culture including from the US food regulator.
Antimicrobial drugs are commonly used. We have all heard of antibiotics, which fight bacteria, but there are also antifungals, antivirals and antiparasitics that fight fungi, viruses and parasites, respectively.
The more we use these drugs, the less effective they become and this problem is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It means that microbes have developed resistance to our commonly used medications, meaning these medicines do not always work to treat infections.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) demands action and education by professionals and the public alike. This blog collates resources and materials for raising awareness that have been developed by UKHSA, Health Education England and partners.
The Future of Food Conference will provide a high-level platform to discuss future trends and priorities in food innovation in Europe, in the broader context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Farm to Fork Strategy.
Our audiences: EU policymakers, EIT Food partners and other key stakeholders active in agri-food innovation, education, entrepreneurship and consumer engagement, as well as industry, farmer and consumer associations.
Two months after the UN Food Systems Summit, the Conference will take stock of the Summit’s outcomes and it will look at the role of the EU in implementing its commitments through the uptake of innovation which can deliver both economic and societal impact in line with the SDGs.
We will also address the role of younger generations in transforming food systems. We will discuss challenges and solutions in areas such as: soil health and regenerative agriculture; circular food systems; sustainable food labelling. The program will include sessions on the impact of information on consumer trust in food, and education, with a special focus on vocational education and training.
The main objective of this procurement procedure is to gain insights on the characteristics of the water and practices followed by the industry to maintain water quality used during the post-harvest handling and processing operations for fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and herbs (ffFVHs).
Transcript of FSA Chair Professor Susan Jebb's speech to the Global Conference for Food Safety Regulation and Sustainability on Wednesday 10 November
