safefood Knowledge Network 's Posts (843)

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Researchers have raised questions about the threat Yersinia enterocolitica poses to public health.

The study, involving the Quadram Institute, University of East Anglia, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found diverse populations of Yersinia enterocolitica on foods.

The number of yersiniosis cases is low, but it is likely there is underreporting. Not everyone with gastroenteritis reports it; such patients aren’t routinely screened for Yersinia.

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The European Commission has changed the level of inspections on various imported products, including decreases related to ethylene oxide and increases in pesticide residues.

The revised legislation sets the rate of official controls and special conditions for food and feed of non-animal origin imported into Europe. Rules are modified every six months.

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Police in Spain and Italy have arrested 11 people and seized more than 5,000 litres of adulterated olive oil after breaking up an international gang that allegedly sought to profit by passing off cheap oils as their more expensive equivalents.

The investigation, carried out by the Guardia Civil in conjunction with Italy’s carabinieri and Europol, led to raids in both countries and the searching of olive-processing cooperatives in the Spanish provinces of Ciudad Real, Jaén and Córdoba.

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The FSAI has published its Audit of Official Controls in the Dairy Production Chain. The FSAI has overall responsibility for the enforcement of food law in Ireland. The FSAI carries out official control audits to examine the effectiveness and appropriateness of official controls as implemented by official agencies in relation to food law, service contracts and MANCP requirements.

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA), Food Standards Scotland, (FSS) and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are warning the public not to eat four Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese which has been recalled because they may be contaminated with a specific type of E.coli bacteria called Shiga toxin producing E. coli, also known as STEC or VTEC.

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has voiced frustration at what it called “repeated, similar and fundamental” breaches of food law.

92 enforcement orders were served on businesses for violating food safety legislation in 2023, up from the 77 reported in 2022.

FSAI expressed disappointment at the increase and urged businesses to train staff appropriately and to ensure that premises are suitable for safe food production and storage.

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Czech controls on olive oil have found two-thirds of samples were non-compliant.

The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (SZPI) focused on the quality of olive oils on the domestic market.

Overall, 67 percent of evaluated samples failed to meet the requirements of European legislation. The most severe findings were olive oils that did not correspond to the extra virgin label when assessed and were of lower quality. Two samples matched the category lampante oil, which is not meant for retail sale and is intended for further processing.

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Almost 1,000 people fell ill in a Campylobacter and Sapovirus outbreak in China in 2021, according to a recently released study.

The outbreak involved 996 patients and had two peaks over a 17 day period. Through case-control studies, scientists identified exposure to water from a secondary water supply system as a significant risk factor.

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Two studies have analyzed data from the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal to examine mycotoxins in nuts and hazards in seafood.

In the first study, scientists analyzed reports from RASFF on nuts and nut products contaminated with mycotoxins, from 2011 to 2021. 4,752 mycotoxin reports were published for food products worldwide, and 3,000 were in “nuts, nut products and seeds.” They included 1,545 for groundnuts, 795 for pistachios, 311 for hazelnuts, and 149 for almonds.

A total of 95 percent, or 2,669 reports, were from aflatoxins. More than half of these were reported for groundnuts, and 441 notices were for groundnuts from China. Border rejection was reported for 91 percent of the nuts and nut products exported to EU countries.

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has expressed concern that local authorities do not have the resources to deliver food controls.

Local authorities are responsible for enforcing compliance with food safety and standards legislation for food businesses. The FSA monitors and reports on their performance but does not decide how they are funded.

FSA said the latest data shows local authorities are “a long way off” from meeting the required frequencies of interventions at lower-risk establishments. This means some outlets in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have not been checked for many years.

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) along with Food Standards Scotland (Opens in a new window) (FSS) and the UK Health Security Agency (Opens in a new window) (UKHSA) is reminding consumers to take care when handling and cooking poultry products at home, including chilled and frozen chicken and turkey drumsticks, breasts, thighs and chicken pieces. This is because of a recent rise in cases of food poisoning caused by Salmonella Enteritidis linked to poultry products imported from Poland.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for experts to contribute to work on the economic impact of foodborne diseases.

WHO is in the process of updating global estimates on the public health burden of foodborne infections. This will look at patients, deaths, and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) loss from foodborne disease globally, regionally, and nationally.

The first WHO figures on foodborne diseases were published in 2015. In 2018, the World Bank estimated the economic impact of foodborne diseases globally and regionally. The analysis revealed that unsafe food costs low- and middle-income economies $110 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses annually.

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Standards on the control of STEC, for water reuse and the use of remote audits were adopted at the latest Codex Alimentarius Commission session.

Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for zilpaterol hydrochloride in different animal origin products have also been approved after a vote. Codex texts are voluntary and countries can choose not to put the MRLs into legislation.

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Most people think of foodborne illness outbreaks as spanning a few days or weeks. But, with current technology, disease detectives can find patients of a single outbreak spread across several years and multiple states.

That is the case with an ongoing outbreak of Listeria illnesses linked to fresh peaches that began in 2018. So far, 11 patients have been identified, most recently found in August this year. One of the patients died. Recent recalls of peaches, nectarines, and plums have been initiated while public health officials continue investigating the outbreak.

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has warned people not to buy or eat several types of counterfeit chocolate bars.

The alert comes after reports of fake branded chocolate being found on sale and follows an incident of people falling sick after eating chocolate sold at a market in Mansfield. Products were wrapped in gold packaging or sold in orange boxes marked Caligold.

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More details have been shared about a major E. coli outbreak linked to salad and other past incidents in the United Kingdom.

Presentations at the European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE) covered a large E. coli outbreak in the UK and other epidemics caused by Shigella and Salmonella.

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A record number of trade issues were raised at the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on safe food.

Delegates at the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures meeting in November addressed specific trade concerns relating to food safety and animal and plant health.

Countries raised 55 specific trade concerns, including seven for the first time in the committee. In July, 46 concerns were discussed, but only one was new.

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