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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EFSA and its sister agencies providing scientific advice on environment, public health and food safety have published a joint statement to express their common commitment to support the One Health agenda in Europe.

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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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Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Taenia solium, and plant-based products were among topics discussed at the latest meeting of a European network focused on risk assessment.

The Scientific Network on Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA Network) includes 25 member states plus Switzerland and Norway as observers. It is coordinated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

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Historically, safety assessments of chemicals in food and feed (as well as for medicines, consumer products, industrial and other chemicals) have relied on evidence from animal experiments. This core practice in evaluating risks from chemicals has, by and large, ensured the safety of our food since the 1950s.

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Smoke flavourings do not have the same preservative function but when added to foods they give them a smoky taste.

EFSA has assessed the safety of eight[1] smoke flavourings on the EU market, the authorisation of which was due for renewal, according to the applicable legislation.

Wim Mennes, chair of EFSA’s working group on flavourings, guides us through the main findings of this work and the next steps.

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The National Measurement Laboratory at LGC are leading on an UK Food Standards Agency funded project investigating the utility and potential of POC technologies in the food sector and have devised this questionnaire to support the evidence building phase of the project. The questionnaire is targeted at individuals involved in the food supply and allied sectors, including primary production, supply, manufacturing and enforcement/regulations.

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Ministers from three government Departments today launched Irelands One Health Symposium.

Ireland’s One Health symposium - ‘One Health - From Policy to Practice’ marks the beginning of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, which runs from November 18th to 24th every year. This event will provide an Irish, European and global perspective on One Health through a combination of keynote speakers, case studies and panel discussions.

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According to a survey, almost two-thirds of firms are highly concerned about the impact of a poor food safety audit or enforcement on their business.

Research found that just under half of food companies claim that food safety and compliance with regulations are their top priorities.

While nearly three-quarters of food business owners and managers believe they are very knowledgeable about food safety, only 52 percent feel that their staff have this level of knowledge about the issue.

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has become the latest authority to warn about a problem related to Prime energy drinks.

The issue in the United Kingdom is imported Prime Hydration and Prime Energy drinks, which are not intended for the UK market.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a guide for use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) in food safety.

The guidance comes in three parts. The first explains the minimum capacity requirements in the foodborne disease surveillance and response system prior to considering implementation of WGS.

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Food agencies in the United Kingdom have raised resource concerns in a report on food standards.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) published a report reviewing food standards across the UK. It looked at whether they have improved, declined or stayed the same in 2022 and is the second such analysis since the UK left the European Union. 

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Use of food irradiation in Europe has continued to fall, according to recently released figures.

More than 5,000 tons of foodstuffs were irradiated in EU member states in 2020 and 2021 compared to 7,832 tons in 2018 and 2019.

Data was forwarded from member states to the European Commission for January 2020 to December 2021.

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In April 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the publication “Food safety aspects of cell-based food”. A factsheet was prepared for food safety competent authorities to grasp the contents of the publication. This document summarizes in nine points the main messages of the publication and includes some of the next steps that competent authorities may consider taking.

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