Europe's food watchdog calls on the €600 billion food and drink
industry to find out more about the presence of a potentially
harmful carcinogen - furan - in foods after scientists in the US
identify low levels in cooked foods.
Once again European consumer organisations warn this week that food
makers should tidy up their food labels to help confused consumers
understand the nutritional value of a food products.
On the eve of his departure as head of consumer protection in
Brussels, EU Commissioner David Byrne claims that public confidence
in Europe's food chain 'is returning', thanks to a raft of food
safety rules now in place.
Despite tough new rules on GM food labels, food makers will stick
to non-GM alternatives as new evidence from the UK shows British
consumers will continue to refuse to buy foods containing biotech
ingredients.
The UK Food Standards Agency is advising people not to eat a
limited number of jars and packets of pickles, sauces and preserved
vegetables imported from Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and India,
following a survey that showed that these...
A coalition of some of Europe's most vocal campaign groups has
called on the European Commission to rethink a proposal on the
labelling of genetically modified organisms, urging the law makers
to allow Europe's massively...
Earmarked as the next major competitor to soybean as a high protein
source, lupin flour, a food ingredient used in pasta and bread
products, has attracted attention from food safety officials in
Australia following reports of severe...
Scientists at Europe's food watchdog have upped their assessment of
the risk of finding mad cow disease in the United States, Canada
and Norway following an extensive study of data collected between
1980-2003.
Natural alternatives to commonly used food preservatives in
processed foods are growing in demand as consumers shy away from
synthetic food additives in favour of a natural equivalent. An
anti-microbial agent sourced from grapes will...
The UK's food watchdog is keeping a close eye on emerging research
for the chemical acrylamide, a potential carcinogen discovered in
crisps and French fries two years ago and which ignited a raft of
new research to assess the...
Europe's food safety body has concluded that jelly mini-cups made
with a range of food additives derived from seaweed and certain
gums, from xanthan gum to calcium alginate, could constitute a
choking risk, reports Lindsey Partos.
While universally welcomed by food manufacturers, retailers and
consumer allergy groups alike, one aspect of the new European
directive on food allergen labelling has proved unpopular and is
now slated for amendment- the labelling...
A popular food oil used extensively in food formulations is the
latest product-type to be pulled from the UK supermarket shelves as
the country's food watchdog identifies the illegal carcinogen Sudan
IV in a batch of palm oil...
Ahead of a meeting of UN-backed Codex in Bonn, Germany this coming
November various US government bodies will host a public meeting
providing the food industry with an opportunity to voice its
opinion on a range of issues from gluten-free...
Helping European food scientists keep abreast of developments in
food research the European Commission has created easy access to a
range of ongoing food quality and safety projects in the EU-25.
The complex issue of carbohydrate labelling fired up by the
low-carb trend will move up a gear next month when the FDA is
expected to release proposed rules on how information about
carbohydrates should appear on the nutrition facts...
Pinpointing the role risk analysis can play in controlling deadly
food pathogens in the food chain two UN-backed organisations have
prepared a microbiological risk assessment on the hardy organism
Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat...
Extending food scientists' understanding of potential carcinogens
in food products and allowing food makers to quantify dietary
exposure to these compounds, a group of researchers in Spain have
compiled an extensive database...
Consumer trust in ingredient labels moved up a gear in the US
yesterday as President George W. Bush signed off new rules on food
allergens that will mean tighter labelling requirements for all
food makers operating in the US market,...
Warnings over food products entering the EU zone containing the
potentially carcinogenic food colour Sudan 1 continue with the UK's
watchdog recalling fresh batches of bean products.
Food companies involved at every step of the food chain are obliged
to maintain a clean, safe environment to beat food pathogens, but
food scientists from the US report that strains of the deadly
pathogen Listeria monocytogenes can...
Law makers, consumer groups and industry continue to clash over the
use of GM ingredients in the European food chain, but a major
UK-based food science body asserts this week that genetic
modification has the potential to offer strong...
Food makers need to write clearer food labels so that consumers can
easily understand the ingredients used in the food formulation,
finds a new report released in the UK this week.
Food makers working on the European stage today are matching
consumer concerns over genetically modified organisms, largely
selecting non-GMO ingredients for their food formulations,
highlights a new survey.
With food scares, health concerns and sustainability issues playing
heavily on consumers' minds - and influencing their shopping habits
- the humble food label has never played a more important role. But
how can consumers be...
Raw meat injected with water and additives to retain moisture is
being sold alongside ordinary fresh meat by leading UK
supermarkets, a disclosure that represents yet another blow to the
reputation of food production writes Anthony...
The European Commission is putting pressure on the Italian
government to amend legislation that effectively prohibits the
marketing of energy drinks in Italy.
Food scientists continue in their quest to investigate the presence
of the potential carcinogen acrylamide in everyday food products
with Swiss researchers calling for further research into the
processing conditions of gingerbread,...
Scientists have developed new tests to detect nut allergens in
processed foods that could help food makers adhere to the tough new
European rules on food allergens to be enforced later this year.
Syngenta, the last biotech company to retain a significant
genetically modified (GM) presence in the UK, has announced that it
is closing its laboratories due to the poor business outlook for
the technology, reports CORDIS.
In a bid to flag up food quality to wary European consumers knocked
by food safety crises, Brussels will pour millions of euros into a
new labelling project for food products.
The unofficial ban on GM foodstuffs has ended but sceptical
European ministers yesterday failed to give the green light on a
biotech sweetcorn from Monsanto, reports Lindsey Partos.
Food makers likely to continue to reject GMO ingredients...
In 2003 Denmark banned trans fatty acids from food products over
fears that these hydrogenated fats could contribute to heart
disease. The rest of the EU as yet has no equivalent plans to
follow suit, but in the US the labelling of...
Food makers in Europe today work under strict guidelines on the
labelling and traceability of genetically modified foodstuffs.
Their rules reflect the deep suspicions in consumer minds today
over the safety of biotech food. But in...
Food safety concerns rise in the UK as the Food Standards Agency
launches an investigation into the apparent failure by the meat
hygiene arm of the food watchdog to test some casualty cattle aged
between 24 and 30 months for BSE before...
In a bid to gauge the popularity and concerns of new European rules
on food allergens the UK's food watchdog has launched a public
consultation on the regulations that will mean food labels will
have to list certain potentially...
The European Commission used an international food conference last
week to announce its readiness to award €192 million to new
food-related research projects and networks.
A new Europe-wide project will devote a £12 million budget to
investigating the added-value that organic farming could bring to
food products. The qualitative approach will give a boost to an
industry starting to slow down in pace.
As food makers in the developed world face ongoing collisions with
consumer groups over their choice of certain food ingredients and
additives - notably salt and potentially GM ingredients - a new
study from the US finds that undernutrition...
A study from the University of Southampton reveals that candles and
ion wind delivery systems containing certain essential oils can
reduce a range of commonly found bacteria in foodstuffs - a system
that could provide a cheap and...
Europe rejects the entry of a GM food crop supplied by biotech
giant Monsanto into the food chain with officials from the 25
member states failing to reach a qualified majority at the vote
yesterday.
In a matter of months food manufacturers operating in Europe face
tough new rules on food allergens that put an end to the 20 year
old '25 per cent' rule, aiming to provide the consumer,
increasingly stricken by food allergies,...
New laws on genetically modified foodstuffs ushered into Europe
earlier this year may be tough, but Australia and New Zealand's
joint food watchdog claims that their own rules are among the
toughest, following an extensive review...
A slice of nut and nut products on sale in the UK today, including
peanut butter and marzipan, were found to contain harmful toxins,
said the UK's food watchdog this week, following an annual survey.
Retailers rush to amend the...
Food manufacturers must continue to be on the alert for a red devil
as the list of products containing the potentially carcinogenic,
and illegal, red dye Sudan I is far from tailing off. Now the UK
Food Standards Agency is alerting...
In response to the Codex Alimentarius committee on deep frozen
foods that has come up with a revised code of practice for the
processing and handling of quick frozen foods the European
community this week issued a raft of comments.
A novel technique for analysing food samples to detect the presence
of Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli pathogens has been developed.
Whereas most conventional rapid techniques only analyse a fraction
of the standard 25 g sample,...
German chemicals company BASF is to participate in a new project
designed to trace Norwegian farmed salmon throughout the entire
production chain as part of a qualitative move to boost sales
through improving consumer confidence.
FoodChain ID has developed a new white paper, “Current Food Supply Chain Threats - Is Your Company's Brand Reputation at Risk?” examining recent regulatory...
