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Food safety - Articles and news items
Latest issue / 4 January 2012 / Tim Lawruk, Market Manager Food Safety, SDIX
SDIX is a biotechnology company, founded in 1990, whose portfolio includes food safety, supplying rapid pathogen test technologies. SDIX also designs, develops and commercially produces antibodies. In the life science market, SDIX’s technology and capabilities are being used to help discover disease mechanisms, facilitate development of new drugs, and provide antibodies and assays for the diagnosis of disease. “We’ve leveraged this core competency of antibody development into the design, development and validation of unique antibody-based test methods for food pathogens,” Lawruk explains. “It provides a platform to develop sensitive and specific anti – bodies that are proprietary to SDIX. Our rapid pathogen tests are a cost effective, simple to use lateral flow test strip design that allows us to provide the accuracy required by labs, similar to molecular-based and other more complex automated food pathogen detection platforms.” ]The major advantage to rapid pathogen test technologies is in the name – it’s fast. “The ability to determine the safety of a food product hours or even days faster provides a significant cost savings in terms of storage costs, shipping, product shelf life and overtime,” Lawruk says. “For example, a processor of food products that follows a test-and-hold policy would have to have storage capacity for two days production if they are using a 48 hour culture method compared to only one day’s capacity if using a rapid 24 hour method.” (more…)
Industry news, News / 14 November 2011 / IAFP
The 2012 IAFP European Symposium on Food Safety will be held in Warsaw, Poland, May 21–23, 2012. The conference is organized in collaboration with the International Life Sciences Institute Europe and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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Issue 5 2011, Supplements / 2 November 2011 / Rudolf Krska, Kurt Brunner, Terry Koerner, Laurence Blayo
Rapid methods for food analysis
Rudolf Krska & Kurt Brunner, Center for Analytical Chemistry, Department for Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Vienna University of Technology and Terry Koerner, Food Research Division, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Canada
Investing in people to face the (more…)
Issue 5 2011 / 1 November 2011 / Dr. Katherine Flynn, Lead Editor, People, Planet, Prosperity and the Food Chain
Huub Lelieveld and I first discussed People, Planet, Prosperity and the Food Chain when we found we were the only two vegetarians at a fixed plate dinner where the main course was chicken. Soon we were discussing the need for a 360 degree paradigm shift in the way not only individuals but also businesses and governments think and act around all aspects of food. We used to say ‘from the farm to the fork’, but that’s not wide enough because food starts before the farm, e.g., seed production, and finishes after the fork e.g., food waste, so this paradigm shift has a lot to cover. The food industry, as the leading manufacturing sector in Europe, is in a venerable position capable of changes that can influence people and policy for years to come.
According to recent articles in the popular press, the food industry is a villain responsible for foodrelated horrors, hurting individuals, the society and the planet by, for example, promoting childhood obesity with ads for sugary foods, putting small producers out of business by making cheap products in large centralised plants, poisoning the planet with genetically modified crops and even harming future generations by using chemicals which will accumulate in organisms and in the environment. (more…)
Issue 2 2011 / 13 May 2011 / Dr Paul Gibbs & Dr Evangelia Komitopoulou, Food Safety, Leatherhead Food Research
The control of microbial access and growth in foods from ‘farm to fork’ is important to ensure consumer health and well-being and minimise losses of foods through spoilage. Whilst it seems almost impossible to achieve a good and consistently hygienic production of raw materials, there are many different ways of controlling both access and growth of important microorganisms. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), i.e. hygienic handling of the raw materials, should start on the farm to minimise pathogenic species that are naturally present in farm environments and can then be transferred to raw materials for food production. The whole environment of a manufacturing plant needs to be subjected to the HACCP principles to control ‘persistent pathogens’ which can be transferred to food ‘in-process’ and avoid post-process contamination.
The basic characteristics of food preservation technologies addressing chemical, biological, thermal and non-thermal processes is presented below. (more…)
Issue 1 2011 / 3 March 2011 / Olivier Cerf, Professor Emertius, Alfort Veterinary School
The present approach to food safety relies upon implementation of good hygiene practices and the application of HACCP principles against hazards in food. In use for some time almost everywhere around the world, these principles are mandatory in many countries and familiar to the European food industry.
Now, a new approach to food safety is being discussed in the context of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Hygiene. It is based on an entirely different principle: instead of being targeted at hazards in foodstuffs, it is focused on the risk, namely the likelihood and magnitude of impact on public health. Examples of risk articulation are: ‘the risk of disease D (or of mortality due to that disease) caused by the hazard H in country C is X.10-n cases per inhabitant per year’ or ‘Y.10-n per serving of food F’. (more…)
Issue 6 2010 / 15 December 2010 / Marc Cwikowski, Senior Manager Commercialisation – Global Quality and Product Integrity, The Coca-Cola Company
In December 2009, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) held a food safety conference in Shanghai. This was a landmark event for our Company and for the entire food and beverage industry. It involved capability building at all steps in our supply chain, including suppliers and sub-suppliers, and it embraced sharing knowledge and raising the food safety competence for those both within and external to the Coca-Cola System together. Capability sessions were led by Michigan State University (MSU). The training materials were openly made available on the internet in both English and Chinese. Conference learning and outputs were presented at the Global Food Safety Conference (The Consumer Goods Forum) in Washington DC (3 – 5 February 2010). (more…)
Issue 6 2010 / 15 December 2010 / Gerry Broski, Food Safety Director, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Renzo Boni, Laboratory Manager, Conserve Italia
There are currently over one thousand recognised pesticides utilised in the production of foodstuffs worldwide, with the requirement for pesticide usage growing as consumer demand for food at a low cost and out of season increases. With pesticides such as lindane and carbendazim linked with cancer, fertility problems and hormone disruption, strict regulations governing pesticide usage have been globally implemented with Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides being imposed. The general level of MRLs acceptable in food products has recently been reduced in the EU and Japan to below 0.01mg/kg (10 ppb). (more…)
Past issues / 30 July 2010 /
This issue features the latest industry news and forward looking articles including:
- Food safety and CIAA
Beate Kettlitz, Director Food Policy, R&D and Science, CIAA - News Bites
A regular round-up of industry news, developments and innovations
Issue 2 2010 / 12 May 2010 / Joe Stout, Consultant (formerly Director of Product Protection & Hygienic Design, Kraft Foods)
In the media recently, we have heard a barrage of information that is most certainly bad news. We hear about earthquakes, national debt, war, real estate foreclosures and unfortunately, it seems that there is always some news about food safety recalls associated with allergens or pathogens which have sickened or caused fatalities to consumers. These consumers happened to purchase ingredients or finished products and while not suspecting the onset of an illness, ate something which made them ill. This was not the expectation of many or any consumer. In fact, the number one expectation of consumers, customers, regulatory groups and the food industry is that RTE food available for purchase is safe to prepare and serve to families and friends.
Why so many issues with food recently? Some offer suggestions that diagnostic technology and communication of and reporting illnesses are now more sophisticated than ever and in fact, there is truth to this. The testing methods for allergens and pathogens are more sensitive, accurate and provide results faster than even a few years ago. The networks which collect epidemiological data from hospitals, doctors and health agencies can categorise it and pinpoint clusters of illnesses and identify the potential sources. We are realising that illnesses which may have been previously identified as isolated incidents, are being connected and can lead investigators to find the source, which could be a single source from a field, farm, processing plant or even a retail store. In the past, this may not have brought sufficient information to result in a recall, but with today’s science, data and efficient communication we have the opportunity to take questionable products from the shelves. This leads to negative news in the media, but ultimately this helps reduce failures in the food chain as contamination points or sources can be indentified and eliminated. (more…)
Issue 1 2010, Past issues / 22 February 2010 / Olga Szulecka, Sea Fisheries Institute, Gdynia
At present, food safety is one of the main priorities among European Union policies. The very significant element of food safety is traceability, i.e. “the ability to trace and follow a food, feed, food-producing animal or substance intended to be, or expected to be incorporated into a food or feed, through all stages of production, processing and distribution1.”
Article 18 of the main EU legal act in the field of food and feed safety – Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council – requires that “the traceability of food, feed, food-producing animals, and any other substance intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food or feed shall be established at all stages of production, processing and distribution1.”
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Issue 4 2008 / 3 December 2008 / Professor Patrick Wall, Associate Professor of Public Health, University College Dublin
In the 1990s, a chronology of food scares, culminating in BSE, damaged consumer confidence in the safety of food, in the commitment of industry to produce safe food and in the ability of the regulatory agencies to police the food chain. These scares precipitated a review by many EU Member States of how they coordinated their food safety control programmes. Most member states now have Food Safety Agencies with consumer protection as their primary objective, rather than promoting industry and trade.
The threats to public health through the food chain caused the EU Commission to reform EU food legislation and in 2002, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament set down the general principles and requirements of food law and established both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the EU Food and Veterinary Office.
EFSA is funded from the Community budget but operates independently of the Community Institutions and was set up to be the keystone of EU risk assessment regarding food and feed safety, nutrition, animal health and welfare, plant protection and plant health in an attempt to provide a scientific basis for policies and risk management decisions. At times in the past, policies were formulated and items moved up the political agenda in proportion to the media coverage of the issue rather than in proportion to the risk to the public’s health. The EU Food and Veterinary office is part of DG Sanco and it is responsible for ensuring that Community legislation on food safety, animal health, plant health and animal welfare is properly implemented and enforced, both within member states and in those third countries from where the EU imports products. (more…)
Issue 1 2008, Past issues / 28 February 2008 / Konrad Grob, Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland
In 2004, the systematic non-compliance of lids for glass jars packed with oily foods was detected and compelled authorities to factually lift existing rules. This shows that not all industry performs satisfactory self control. It was a regulatory disaster and might, 4 years later, end in another regulatory disaster, if the major lid producers continue to refuse producing compliant lids.
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Issue 4 2007 / 16 November 2007 / Sarah Krol, NSF International
Of primary concern to today’s food manufacturers is the threat of food contamination resulting in regulatory enforcement, product recalls and consumer litigation. Food retailers and their branded suppliers fear instances of food contamination resulting in public notices, widespread food recalls, or even worse, consumer illness. Even before causation is demonstrated in a court of law, production down time, regulatory scrutiny and litigation fees can cost a manufacturer millions in lost revenue. In today’s world, instant media exposure and negative publicity can destroy a once trusted product brand overnight. Several recent, highly publicised cases of foodborne illness outbreaks in the US and Europe have heightened the awareness of consumers and regulators alike.
Earlier this year, the UK-based Food Standards Agency (FSA) taskforce published a guidance document to help manufacturers improve the safety of their food products and effectively deal with contamination incidents. While not legally binding, the guidance document includes recommendations for controls and procedures for monitoring supplier competence, quarantine requirements and foreign body control. (more…)
Issue 3 2007 / 4 September 2007 / Roland Ernest Poms, ICC – International Association for Cereal Science and Technology, Vienna, Austria – Coordinator of MoniQA
MoniQA is an EU funded Network of Excellence (NoE), which works towards harmonisation of analytical methods for monitoring food quality and safety in the food supply chain. The MoniQA NoE (Contract N0. FOOD-CT-2006-36337) is coordinated by the Vienna-based ICC (International Association for Cereal Science and Technology) and is set to receive €12.3million by the European Commission for its activities between 2007 and 2012 within the Sixth Framework Programme Topic T5.4.5.1: Quality and safety control strategies for food (NOE).
The MoniQA (“Monitoring and Quality Assurance in the Food Supply Chain”; full title: “Towards harmonisation of analytical methods for monitoring food quality and safety in the food supply chain”) NoE seeks to establish durable integration of leading research institutions, industrial partners and SMEs working in complementary fields of food analysis to assure food quality and safety. MoniQA aims at overcoming European and worldwide fragmentation in food diagnostic research by integrating key organisations in an NoE. Benefits through dissemination and joint research will also be available to associated partners. The consortium seeks to establish mechanisms for coordinating and where possible, fully merging research activities, personnel and infrastructure. The industry and SME sector will benefit through application of harmonised protocols and mutually/globally accepted analytical methods fulfilling defined requirements. Finally the consumers and international trade will benefit through high quality and safe food, which has been tested by reliable and accepted methods. (more…)
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