The evolving characteristics of food, technology, pathogens and
consumers make it unlikely that the consumer marketplace will ever
be entirely free of dangerous organisms, according to a new report
by the Institute of Food Technologists.
Food safety regulators participating in a global food forum said
authorities should be completely open in assessing the risks during
food scares to avoid misunderstanding and public panic, reported
Reuters.
Food safety experts from some 120 countries gathered in Morocco
yesterday for an international conference that takes place in the
shadow of a new food scare in Europe.
The chairman of Anglo-Dutch food company Unilever has called on the
new European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to take the lead in the
matter of food safety and to simplify the licensing of novel foods,
in order to encourage innovation.
Member enlargement is the biggest political priority for the
European Commission and a desire to ensure that EU food safety
standards are safeguarded and that the health of present and future
citizens is protected remains a top priority.
Concerns about the growing incidence of food poisoning in the UK
have led to calls for much tighter controls of firms which handle
food, according to a report from the BBC.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health
Organisation (WHO) are to convene a Global Forum of Food Safety
Regulators in Marrakech, Morocco on 28-30 January 2002, the two
agencies announced on Thursday.
The incapacity of European leaders at the Laeken summit this
weekend to make a decision on the location of the new European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) means that the new food safety edifice
will, for the moment, be based in Brussels.
The Europeans new edifice to food safety and stronger principles
for EU food law moved closer to existence this week when, at a
second reading, the European Parliament (EP) established a clearer
position.
Food technology company aLF Ventures, LLC, a partnership between
Farmland National Beef Packing Company L.P. and ingredients
specialists DMV USA, this week opened N-terminus, a new
multi-million dollar food safety research and development...
China has succeeded in providing enough food for most of its
populaion of 1.3 billion, but food safety has emerged as a new
national concern, an article in Outlook Weekly said, China Daily
reports.
Speaking in a testimony before the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, C.
Manly Molpus, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers of
America(GMA) outlined a four-point plan that strengthened and
favoured the current US food safety regulatory...
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) this week announced
details of three Closure Orders served on Irish food companies and
reafirmed the aim of the FSAI to achieve 100 per cent compliance.
Spherix Incorporated, the technology innovation firm. reports on
discussions with FDA officials concerning tagatose, the company's
new low-calorie sweetener.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) announced last week
that all Irish food businesses who are served Closure Orders,
Prohibition Orders, and Improvement Orders will now be listed on
the FSAI's website.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is advising consumers to avoid
batches of certain specific helva products following tests that
have found them to be contaminated with the food bug salmonella.
The US Department of Agriculture is considering whether to adopt an
industry request that the department recognise prerequisite
programs so plants do...
People may be at risk of foodborne illnesses because US federal
agencies are concentrating on risk assessments for policymaking,
which delay regulations...
Salmonella prevalence is declining in the US thanks to the HACCP
system introduced in 1998, according to a Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS)...
