Sygen International is to receive funding from the BIRD (Binational
Industrial Research and Development) foundation to carry out
research into disease resistance and mortality in poultry.
A UK survey has been carried out on the occurrence of patulin in
cider. Patulin, which is a kind of mycotoxin, is produced by moulds
that sometimes grow on apples.
The food safety agency of Australia and New Zealand has opened
channels for public comment on a number of possible changes to its
recently implemented Food Standards Code.
Finland's National Food Agency has just reported that last year 38
outbreaks involving a total of 1,120 people were accounted for on
its food poisoning register.
US firm Swift has implemented a new double pasteurisation system at
six of its American beef processing plants. The company believes
that this will significantly improve the group's food safety
protocols.
The US Food and Drug Administration has said that it is safe to
spray lactoferrin, a milk protein, on to beef carcasses to fight
disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli 0157:H7.
Pragmatism with a hint of cynicism permeates the British Nutrition
Foundation's analysis of the European Commission's proposal for a
regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods.
But as European and US politicians fail to see eye to eye on the
issue of genetically modified foods, one country in the southern
hemisphere is getting to grips with tighter GM legislation.
The American Food and Drug Administration has given Schott HiCotec
approval for its innovative PICVD process for barrier coating in
food and beverage packaging made of PET.
Packaging Automation, the heat-sealing equipment specialist, has
installed a second of its Vision 4000 machines at a
state-of-the-art salad factory in the UK.
Texas A&M University's Institute of Food Science & Engineering has said it has received a USDA grant to establish a centre for research into electron beam research.
The recently published results of the Finnish national residue
control programme for 2002 indicate thatfoodstuffs of animal origin
produced in Finland contain very low levels ofmedicinal agent
residues and other contaminants.
Syscan International is about to launch its newly developed
RFID-based integrated solution, Tempasure, for monitoring shipments
of temperature sensitive products.
The CVUA Sigmaringen Institute in Germany has installed a new API
4000 LC-MS/MS system from Applied Biosystems in an effort to speed
up and improve its food safety testing capabilities.
Sensor Wireless of Canada is to release its newest wireless real
time monitoring system, DTS, as an additional feature for its Smart
Bottle, Smart Can, and Universal PD sensor systems.
Despite emergency measures by the EU last month to block imports of
chilli powder contaminated with the red dye Sudan I, the UK food
safety agency has uncovered this potential carcionogen in food
products.
DuPont has re-launched its BAX detection system - a genetics-based
screening method that identifies bacteria and pathogens in food and
food processing equipment - as a means of preventing Enterobacter
sakazakii in powdered infant...
Packaging Automation has won a contract to supply heat sealing
machines to Africa, where they will be used to ensure fruit
exported back to Europe remains fresh.
BioGentec has completed a definitiveagreement to acquire InnoFood,
owner of proprietary rights to a food processing technology
developed by Modofood of Brescia, Italy.
SureBeam has been awarded a US patent on an in-line processing
system that is said to form food products, such as ground beef,
into optimal configurations for irradiation processing.
The European Union has confirmed that it is to fund 24 food quality
and safety research projects and 12 support actions with an initial
contribution of €166 million in the first year of the EU 6th
Research Framework Programme (FP6).
Radioactivity checks on farmed salmon from Scotland and Northern
Ireland exposed to Sellafield radiation show that there is no cause
for concern from eating these fish, according to the results of
work undertaken by both the Food...
DeltaTrak, a leader in the manufacture of portable test instruments
for a host of industries including food, has launched a family of
Pocket ThermoTrace Infrared Thermometers.
As Ireland prepares to take over the EU Presidency from Italy at
the start of 2004, Food safety promises to be a major issue with an
international conference organised by the Food Safety Authority of
Ireland scheduled for March.
The European Food Safety Authority has said that scientific
analysis indicates that semicarbazide may have been found in some
plastic sealing gaskets used in lids of glass jars and in some
packaged foods.
By all accounts, the new European proposals on nutrition and health
claims have provoked a mixed reaction across the board. Raymond
O'Rourke, a food lawyer at Mason Hayes & Curran, Solicitors in
Dublin shares his opinion...
The Agriculture Council yesterday decided on new official controls
to ensure the hygiene of food of animal origin destined for human
consumption within the European Union.
Lock Inspection Systems is to preview its Compact Vertical Fall
metal detector for the first time at the forthcoming PPMA, to be
held in the NEC, Birmingham, UK this September.
The US Food and Drug Administration has teamed up with the
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) to conduct an in-depth review
of preventive measures that food processors should be taking.
Levels of dioxins and dioxin-like environmental pollutants PCBs in
food have fallen by around 50 per cent in the UK over three years,
according to a recent study from food safety agency, the Food
Standards Agency (FSA).
A Eureka-funded project claims it has the answer to future tighter
regulations on the presence of chemicals in foodstuffs in the form
of a commercial analytical software called MUSAC.
The proposed EU Regulation on Health Claims will damage European
business and restrict consumer choice, according to a number of
leading food industry bodies.
Leading consumer groups in the United States, Canada and Italy have
condemned the weakening of international food irradiation rules,
which will allow any food to be irradiated at any dose, regardless
of how high.
The advisory forum of the new European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
was the guest of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in
Berlin this week.
A national campaign in Ireland will tackle food safety standards by
highlighting the value of HACCP absorption, announced the Food
Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) on Monday.
Oxysense, the world leader in non-invasive oxygen measurement
systemsfor the food and beverage industry, is to showcase a number
of new technologies at the forthcoming Pack Expo.
