safety
Facing facts on factory hygiene
Hygiene issues have always been important in the food industry – but in recent years their role in underpinning safe food production has been highlighted by their inclusion as a major part of HACCP prerequisites.
Food safety, Ingredients, Packaging, Regulatory, Sustainability
FSA publishes 2013 priorities
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published its Forward Evidence Plan for 2013. The plan outlines priority science and evidence activities for the coming year, including potential areas for research funding and workshops that will help develop the FSA’s evidence base. The proposed activities cover a wide range of areas within the agency’s remit, including […]
EFSA bid to make things clear
EFSA has announced the launch of an initiative designed to ‘enhance transparency in risk assessment’. The programme, to be developed in cooperation with EFSA’s partners and stakeholders, will consider how best and to what extent technical data used in risk assessments can be made available to the broader scientific community and interested parties. The project […]
Aspartame ‘poses no toxicity concern’ says EFSA draft scientific opinion
EFSA’s draft scientific opinion following re-evalution of artificial sweetener aspartame reveals that ‘it poses no toxicity concern for consumers at current levels’. To carry out the full risk assessment, EFSA undertook an in-depth review of peer-reviewed scientific and other literature on aspartame and its breakdown products, including new human studies. Regulatory bodies around the world […]
Chain reaction
Dr Chris Knight, head of agriculture at Campden BRI, explains the importance of safeguarding the links in the food chain
‘Technology will help correct the imbalance between hunger and obesity’
Professor Tony Hines, head of food security and crisis management at Leatherhead Food Research, on Guy Fawkes, fireworks and feeding the world
Accolade for Sainsbury’s safety chief
Sainsbury’s head of product quality, safety and supplier performance has been presented with the Most Significant Contribution to Food Safety award by the Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (SOFHT). The award, won by Alec Kyriakidesis, is given to an individual who the SOFHT board believes has made ‘an outstanding contribution to championing food safety […]
Bee work reviewed by EFSA
Bees and bee health were the subject of a recent EFSA review of risk assessment and scientific outputs. As a result, an inventory has now been compiled by the safety authority’s experts to identify areas for further collaboration, as well as future data and research needs. The inventory was compiled by EFSA’s task force on […]
Univar unveils Blanquefort refurb
Global chemical distributor Univar has announced today that its Blanquefort site in France is about to become fully operational again following an extensive £1.6 million (€2m) refurbishment. The 18,000m2 site is used to store, package and distribute products, with a focus on minerals, solvents and speciality chemicals. Following a fire in November 2009 that damaged […]
Defra recognition for ‘game-changing’ chilled food research programme
A three-year research programme to sustainably extend the shelf life of chilled foods has attracted the highest possible score, following evaluation by the government’s Advanced Food Manufacturing LINK Programme Management Committee. The £750,000 (€932,000) Sustainable Shelf Life Extension (SUSSLE) project was partly funded by the Chilled Food Association (CFA) and brought together academics and industry […]
Top of the crops
The protection of plants from pests and diseases is vital. So too is the future sustainability of pesticides. Dr Richard Stanley, principal agronomist at Campden BRI, explains
Food safety, Ingredients, Packaging, Regulatory, Sustainability
GRAS status for Indena’s olive fruit extract
Indena has announced that its olive fruit extract Opextan has obtained GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status for use as a food ingredient in a number of food categories, including bakery products, beverages and beverage bases, chewing gums, coffee and tea, frozen dairy desserts and mixes, milk products, processed fruits and fruit juices, and processed […]
September 2012
Articles in this issue include a look behind the scenes at a top European supplier of processed fruit, the street food trend and a step by step guide to food hygiene.