Contamination

Lack of inspectors threatens Canadian meat safety, warns union

26-May-2009 - There are too few federal inspectors to guarantee the safety of meat in Canada, warns the agriculture union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

New sanitiser to boost food hygiene standards

22-May-2009 - A new water-based surface and utensil sanitiser promises to provide UK food and drink processors with a highly effective, safe, low cost and environmentally-friendly means of maintaining secure hygiene standards, claims its manufacturer Radical.

Vaccination could stop salmonella food poisoning

20-May-2009 - The world’s first vaccination against the food poisoning bug salmonella could result from new research at the Institute of Food Research (IFR), Norwich, UK.

World's food safety labs ready to detect melamine

14-May-2009 - Most laboratories worldwide are capable of detecting melamine in food, according to a new study by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).

Sweet solution to honey fraud

13-May-2009 - French researchers have developed a test to distinguish 100 per cent natural honeys from fake products adulterated with other substances, reports the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Chicken: Biggest source of Scottish campylobacter food poisoning

13-May-2009 - Retail chicken has been identified as the as the single largest source of food poisoning in Scotland, according to a report published by Food Standards Agency Scotland.

China opens new food test lab

12-May-2009 - The first food-testing laboratory in China recognised to reach international standards for pesticide screenings, melamine and heavy metal testing and microbiological analyses, was opened last month by Eurofins in Suzhou.

Mild bird flu identified in US breeding hens

07-May-2009 - A Tennessee flock of 15,000 breeder hens has been culled after tests revealed a mild strain of avian influenza. The birds, which were being raised under contract for Tyson Foods, showed no signs of illness and there was no threat to human health, said the company.

Upgrades for “the world’s most sensitive metal detector”

06-May-2009 - Improvements to the PowerPhasePRO software platform for metal detection in food applications have led to “the world’s most sensitive metal detector,” claims manufacturer Mettler-Toledo Safeline.

Swine flu may have peaked but stay vigilant: WHO

04-May-2009 - The outbreak of swine flu may have peaked but countries should not lower their guard against the virus which has claimed more than 100 lives and affected nearly 1000 people in 20 countries, warns the World Health Organisation.

California declares swine flu emergency

29-Apr-2009 - California became the first US state to declare emergency status as the number of its laboratory-confirmed swine flu cases reached 10 with 64 cases now identified across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Swine flu impacts global economy

28-Apr-2009 - The swine flu virus first identified in Mexico cannot be contained, warns Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), as the economic impact of the outbreak continues to spread.

Swine flu sparks global health emergency

27-Apr-2009 - The World Health Organisation has declared “a public health emergency of international concern,” following the outbreak of a new strain of swine flu which has killed at least 103 people in Mexico.

Swifter fusarium test for grain

10-Apr-2009 - A new weapon in the war against fusarium species in grain received approval recently from the US national grain inspection system.

Illegal yellow prompts spate of spice recalls

10-Apr-2009 - The presence of banned colouring methyl yellow in food spices in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Germany has led to a slate of recalls; although not affecting finished foods for now, the issue is reminiscent of the Sudan Red recalls of 2005.

New super swift salmonella detection kit

07-Apr-2009 - A new, rapid detection kit to identify Salmonella species in foods has received approval from the international accreditation body, the Association of Analytical Communities.

New findings challenge studies linking mercury to HFCS - CRA

23-Mar-2009 - Results from third-party testing conducted on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from all the production facilities in the US and Canada show that no quantifiable levels of mercury were detected in any of the samples analyzed, claims the CRA.

Less energy usage is claimed for novel pasteurisation process

20-Mar-2009 - A new way of sterilizing packaged foods that offers rapid results and less energy consumption has been the focus of a recent project undertaken by the German research group, the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging.

Edible film may kill bacteria in refrigerated foods

18-Mar-2009 - Lactoperoxidase (LPS) incorporated edible film has good potential for bacterial inhibition use in refrigerated foods as well as meat, poultry and seafood, claims a new study in the journal, Food Microbiology and Safety.

Vaccine targeted at E.coli gets first US licence

13-Mar-2009 - New technology aimed at reducing the risk of E. coli 0157 in ground beef has won a conditional licence from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Bacteria under threat with new packaging device – study

05-Mar-2009 - Researchers claim to have discovered a method to eliminate bacteria in packaged foods such as spinach and tomatoes, a process that could reduce the number of food-borne outbreaks linked to the produce.

Commission to review packaging on EFSA advice

05-Mar-2009 - Restrictions on packaging may apply following a European Commission meeting tomorrow, which is in response to advice issued by EFSA on the hazards associated with the use of 4-methylbenzophenone (4MBP) in packaging ink.

Smart label can indicate product freshness, says developers

11-Feb-2009 - A ‘smart’ barcode for food packaging can inform consumers and retailers whether refrigerated food products such as chicken, milk and beef are no longer fresh, says the development team.

More foodborne illnesses on horizon, says risk expert

09-Feb-2009 - Is the US food safety system really 'in the soup'? Dr Sandford Miller, with a long standing career focused on risk analysis and food, talks to FoodProductionDaily.com about the recent peanut paste recall, the potential for future foodborne illnesses and the evident weaknesses in federal regulation.

Weekly comment

Nut so good - tainted US food system needs revamping

02-Feb-2009 - E. coli in ground beef, melamine in infant formula, and salmonella in peanut butter - what is next? Isn’t it about time the slices of the US food safety pie were taken back from the multiple federal agencies involved and surveillance placed under one roof?

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On Your Radar > Contamination

Contamination

Microbes inhabiting contact and environmental sites in food processing are mostly harmful as microbial communities that form in critical places contaminate the surfaces and consequently the products made in that particular process.

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