safefood Knowledge Network 's Posts (855)
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People’s hand hygiene habits have changed for the better during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research in the United Kingdom.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Ipsos Mori studied consumer hand hygiene behavior during the pandemic in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between April 2020 and January 2021. Each quarter, 2,000 adults were surveyed. A dozen people also did an app-based diary for two weeks and were interviewed.
The program involves:
• Series of LECTURES providing an insight into contemporary trends in ANALYTICAL & BIOANALYTICAL STRATEGIES IN FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY CONTROL and CHALLENGES / NOVEL APPROACHES IN FOOD AND NATURAL PRODUCT ANALYSIS
• Series of VENDOR WEBINARS (November 3 & November 4) offered by leading companies providing the opportunity to introduce recent instrumentation and analytical strategies for advanced food quality, safety and authenticity control.
Five European countries have reported salmonellosis infections linked to the consumption of sesame-based products such as tahini and halva imported from Syria.
Up to 121 people have been affected since January 2019 in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Several types of Salmonella are linked to the outbreak – S. Mbandaka, S. Havana, S. Orion, S. Amsterdam, S. Senftenberg, and S. Kintambo.
The products are sealed and ready to be consumed, which suggests that contamination occurred before they reached the European market.
Cold plasma has captured scientists’ imagination in almost every field, and food safety is no exception. The USDA and consumer groups continue to fund cold plasma research, and the results are potentially revolutionary.
Plasma, which is considered the fourth state of matter after solids, liquids and gases, is created by breaking apart gas molecules and making a plume of charged electrons and ions, according to ScienceMag.org.
Marks and Spencer has recorded the highest Campylobacter in chicken results in the most recent quarterly figures reported in the United Kingdom.
The newest data covers April to June for nine retailers on Campylobacter in fresh, shop-bought UK-produced chickens.
Results of a study suggest that Salmonella prevalence in pigs at slaughter in the United Kingdom did not change much from 2013 to 2019.
Findings are from an abattoir-based survey that sampled cecal contents pigs in nine British pig abattoirs during 2019. The cecum is at the start of the large intestine.
A sensor is being developed by an EU-funded consortium to check for pesticides or bacteria in fruits and vegetables.
The project, called GRACED, is coordinated by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Centre and includes experts from across Europe.
Millions of people living with food allergies, intolerances and coeliac disease will be able to make safer choices about the food they buy as a new allergen labelling law comes into effect today, 1 October.
Would you go into a supermarket, buy three shopping bags of food, and then immediately throw one away? Statistically, that’s what’s happening to our food today. One third of all the food that is produced for human consumption, is wasted. When we waste food, we waste all the resources that go into producing and transporting the food, such as land, water and fuel use, without gaining any of the benefits of feeding people. When food ends up in landfill it also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste remains a problem in Europe and around the world.
A sensor is being developed by an EU-funded consortium to check for pesticides or bacteria in fruits and vegetables.
The project, called GRACED, is coordinated by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Centre and includes experts from across Europe.
The United Kingdom government is to change the rules relating to gene editing to allow use of the technology.
The plans were published as part of the government’s response to the gene editing consultation by Environment Secretary George Eustice. The first step is to cut red tape and make research and development easier now that the UK has left the European Union.
Scope of Consultation
EFSA's Pesticides Peer Review Unit has launched an open consultation on the active substance Glyphosate to gather comments on the Rapporteur Member State’s Assessment Report
A parallel consultation on CLH proposal is ongoing on the ECHA website (https://echa.europa.eu/harmonised-classification-and-labelling-consultation/-/substance-rev/66802/term). Comments related to the CLH report should be submitted directly to ECHA.
Interested parties are invited to submit their comments by the indicated deadline. At the beginning of each comment, the reference to the assessment report corresponding to the comment should be given by indicating the Volume number, the chapter number, the page(s), and a short description following this structure: e.g. “Vol. 3, B.8.1, page(s) 41, Route and rate of degradation”.
Examples: “Vol. 3, B.6.1.2 through B.6.1.4, page(s) 34, Absorption, excretion and distribution studies. Justification for the adequacy of the use of a single radiolabel in these studies may be necessary.” “Vol. 3, B.7.1.2, page(s) 22-23, Proposed MRLs. It is considered that MRLs should not be proposed for non-cereal food crops or poultry products (as intakes in poultry are not significant).”
Any comment on the Endocrine Disrupting properties can be submitted in subsection 2.13 “Other comments, proposal for classification”.
The Hub is a "one-stop-shop" for stakeholders who take action to fight food losses and food waste. This new digital platform aims to foster the exchange of knowledge and experience and to help disseminate the different initiatives carried out to tackle food losses and food waste, in order to inspire and drive further action on-the- ground, across the EU and beyond.
The website allows stakeholders to share good practices (Resources page), to find relevant information on national actions, such as policies and legislative developments (Member States pages), and to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the field (News page). Any stakeholder active in the area of food loss and waste prevention in Europe can become a member and share resources and news. Information on national actions against food loss and waste are regularly updated by Member State experts from the relevant public authorities.
An audit by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) of halal claims on meat has found most companies are compliant with the rules.
Animals such as cows, veal, lamb, sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, ducks, game birds, bison and venison are considered halal, but must be prepared according to Islamic laws for their meat to be suitable for consumption.
The FSA has published its responses to recommendations by the National Audit Office from a report into the effectiveness of current regulatory arrangement
Irish public health officials have reported four recent outbreaks of Salmonella.
The four different salmonellosis clusters affected 15 people, according to a report published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) in Ireland.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today published a new guidance note Good Manufacturing Practices for the Production of Ready-to-eat Unpasteurised Fermented Plant-based Products to assist producers to produce safe products. The guidance was developed in light of a survey carried out by the FSAI on unpasteurised plant-based fermented beverages (such as kombucha, kefir and ginger soda). The survey results identified a problem with the alcohol content of some beverages. Under EU labelling rules, the alcohol content of food products containing more than 1.2% alcohol by volume must be declared in order to inform consumer choice. Failure to comply with these declaration requirements means that such products can pose a risk to vulnerable consumers such as pregnant or breastfeeding women or people with underlying health conditions who unwittingly consume alcohol. People’s livelihoods may also be affected where even low levels of alcohol are not permitted, for example drivers with learner permits, operators of heavy machinery and airline pilots, among others.
Job vacancy / FG IV – Scientific Project Officer: Non-animal approaches for biological medicines
ABOUT EIT FOOD:
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food is a young and fast-growing organisation focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation in the food sector. EIT Food is a start-up but has the characteristics of a multinational and is operating in a European and international environment. It has 5 regional offices (Co-Location Centres or CLC) in Europe, each covering several EIT Food partners and partner countries. The members of the EIT Food community are world-class players in the international food domain.
