Food safety

EFSA has given the green light for thaumatin in a wide range of applications including food flavourings, salt substitutes, sauces and snacks.

EFSA gives green light to new applications for thaumatin

By Lynda Searby

Following a favourable scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), formulators will soon be able to use the natural protein sweetener and flavour modifier thaumatin in a broader range of applications.

Chinese market open for UK organic dairy imports

Chinese market open for UK organic dairy imports

By Lynda Searby

A British organic dairy cooperative has broken into the one of the world’s most lucrative markets after being awarded the UK’s first licence through the Soil Association to export organic products to China.

WHO report hits already-falling bacon and sausage sales

By Lynda Searby

Three consecutive weeks of double digit falls in UK sales of bacon and sausages provide tangible evidence that the processed meat cancer scare has had an impact on consumer shopping choices, says market research firm IRI.

About 27% of the 7.3 billion global population eat insects, according to the FAO. Photo credit: iStock.com / peterkai

Two-year count down for insect novel food approval

By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Producers of food-grade insects will submit a novel food application as soon as the new regulation passes into force, the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF) has pledged.

Industry welcomes EU novel foods revision

Industry welcomes EU novel foods revision

By Niamh Michail

The revised European Union novel foods regulation will stimulate innovation and give consumers more sustainable, affordable food choices, says industry trade group, FoodDrinkEurope.

Glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer, says EFSA

Glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer, says EFSA

By Niamh Michail

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that glyphosate, a herbicide used on food crops, is unlikely to cause cancer and recommends raising safety levels.

A man was admitted to hospital because of thirst, sweating and nausea after drinking four cans of the energy drink Burn

The curious case of energy drinks & hypokalemia

By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The medical case study of a man rushed to intensive care with severe potassium deficiency has brought the issue of energy drinks and hypokalemia back into the spotlight.

There are no systematically collected data on animal and human consumption of insects for us to look at, says EFSA

EFSA delivers long-awaited safety assessment despite data craters

EFSA on insects: Pathogens harmful to humans most likely from farming

By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said insect pathogens potentially harmful to humans are most likely to come from rearing and processing not intrinsically associated with the insect itself – but huge gaps in data remain. 

UK agency launches €13.5 m reformulation competition

By Niamh Michail

The UK government is calling on businesses, scientists and agricultural producers to submit their proposals for salt, sugar, fat and fibre reformulation with the chance to win up to €13.5 m in funding.

Dennis said the Food safety conference was 'critical' to help debate the 'fundamental issue'

Food safety a ‘fundamental issue of concern’

By Laurence Gibbons

Food safety remains a “fundamental issue of concern” for the food industry, government and consumers and attending events such as the Food Manufacture Group’s Food safety conference will arm delegates with vital information to avoid problems.

The EU has set maximum levels for inorganic arsenic in food - but some scientists are saying they are too high and do not protect consumers enough.

Scientist slams EU arsenic limits as a safety fail

By Niamh Michail

The EU has lost the opportunity to provide safer food to its people by setting maximum arsenic levels in food too high, says one researcher - but a legal expert welcomes the levels for providing guidance and legal certainty.

MEPs vote for 'comprehensive' cloning ban

By Niamh Michail

MEPs voted yesterday to ban imports of food from cloned animals and their descendants - but the European Commission has called the amendments 'disproportionate' and even 'legally impossible'.

French supermarkets commit to voluntary food waste package

French supermarkets commit to voluntary food waste package

By Niamh Michail

France’s major retailers, including Carrefour, Aldi and Lidl, have signed a voluntary contract to replace the food waste law – but a British industry group has called it a distraction from the real issue, saying similar measures are not needed in the...

Last year 100 million tonnes of food was wasted according to European consumer rights group BEUC.

France's food waste law scrapped on a technicality

By Niamh Michail

A law that would have forced French supermarkets to donate unsold food to charity has been scrapped on a legal technicality – but supermarkets are being urged to adopt it voluntarily and some have already pledged to do so.

Manufacturers need to think about fructose bad press and reformulate fast, says analyst

Will fructose follow trans fats’ fate?

By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Mounting scientific evidence and a shift in public opinion could mean fructose is set to follow the same black-listed fate as trans fats, argues an analyst.

Chef Michael McGreal

Lights, camera, action! Edible insects in focus at IFT 2015

By Elaine Watson

No self-respecting food conference would be complete these days without a session on edible insects. But are they a gimmick or a serious source of alternative protein? FoodNavigator-USA editor Elaine Watson headed to the 2015 IFT show in Chicago to find...

Should companies use social media to deal with a food scandal?

Should companies use social media to deal with a food scandal?

By Niamh Michail

Social media can be a company’s best friend for communicating to consumers - but the tables can quickly turn when consumers talk back. So should food companies get hashtag-happy when dealing with sensitive issues such as food scandals?

Rubis the lamb - bred to carry a jellyfish protein for the purposes of INRA's medical research programme - was sold by the abattoir and then most likely eaten in the Paris region last October.

GM 'jellyfish lamb' enters French food chain

By Niamh Michail

A genetically modified sheep carrying a jellyfish protein entered the French food system last year following what appears to have been a deliberate abattoir mix-up by a disgruntled employee, it was revealed last week.

Animal welfare and ethical concerns include the low efficacy of cloning, with high rates of difficult births, neonatal deaths and foetal abnormalities.

MEPs back ban on meat and milk from cloned animals

By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The European Environment and Agriculture committees backed a draft law to ban meat and milk from cloned animals and their descendants on Wednesday, citing animal welfare and ethical concerns.

The proposal would make it easier to introduce new foods into Europe that have a safe history of consumption elsewhere

Council approves final compromise text on novel foods

By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

A European Council committee has rejected a proposal that would have allowed the European Parliament the right to veto novel foods approvals – saying this would contradict the law’s purpose to simplify authorisation.

There are more undernourished people in the Asia-Pacific region than anywhere else in the world, with more than 490m people still suffering from chronic hunger

World hunger continues to fall

By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The number of hungry people in the world has fallen again this year to 795 million – 10m fewer than last year and 216m fewer than in 1990-92 – according to FAO figures.

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