Fraudulent activity has been discovered in the UK which could be leading to the sale of unsafe food. The Food Standards Agency and police are warning food companies to be on the alert to a fraud, which involves identity theft, that may have affected a number of food businesses across the country. The fraudsters are alleged to have targeted small legitimate wholesale food businesses that supply meat, seafood and fruit and vegetables. The alleged offenders work by acquiring authentic letter heads of... ...Read more »
CHOICE tests on 25 everyday foods packaged in glass jars have found 13 were contaminated with controversial plastic softening chemicals at levels that exceed the safety limits set by the European Union (EU). The tests revealed a pesto sauce which contained plasticisers at levels more than twelve times that permitted in the EU, and one tandoori dip at 230 times over the standard. Australian food regulators do not set limits for these chemicals. One food manufacturer in Australia has now initiated... ...Read more »
A record fine of $132,000 has been handed to the owner of a chain of Sydney poultry meat shops for a string of food law offences, Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, said today.Hai Bao Chen, the proprietor of five shops trading as Obo Fresh Chicken, was convicted of 22 charges under the Food Act including unhygienic premises, substandard maintenance and poor pest control. In February this year, the company was also fined nearly $12,000 for illegally adding sulphur dioxide preservative... ...Read more »
The European Commission has created a high level group to address issues of competitiveness, innovation and safety in the food and beverage industries. The plan is to counter the current issues undermining the agro-food industry and generate a list of recommendations to improve competitiveness. The Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA) has welcomed the launch of the ‘High Level Group (HLG) on the Competitiveness of the Agro-Food Industry’ and believes it will... ...Read more »
The manager of the Cootamundra abattoir blamed for the recall of lamb products at Woolworths last week has left the company. Woolworths were forced to recall thousands of lamb products last Friday as a precautionary measure due to a strange odour emanating from the product upon opening. The blame was attributed to the GM Scott abbatoir in Cootamundra with some lamb product exposed to vapours from the resurfacing of the floor at the facility. The recall accounted for approximately four per cent of... ...Read more »
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a survey on Salmonella levels detected in slaughtered pigs across the EU in 2006-07 indicating that Salmonella was found in one in ten pigs for human consumption. Salmonella was estimated on average to be present in 10.3 per cent of pigs slaughtered for human consumption, according to the EU-wide report from an EFSA Task Force. Levels for Salmonella detected in pigs varied from 0% to 29% between Member States. Among all Salmonella detected,... ...Read more »
Pioneering new laws that empower local councils as food safety enforcers and allow the government to publish food law violations are to come into effect next month. Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the Food Amendment Act 2007 comes into effect on July 1, formally recognising the food regulation responsibilities of 152 NSW councils. “Within a year 100s of premises are expected to be named on the Food Authority Website,” he said. “This Name and Shame legislation is about... ...Read more »
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Contaminants Panel (CONTAM) has assessed the risks and benefits to consumers from nitrates in vegetables and concluded that the beneficial effects of eating vegetables and fruit outweigh potential risk to human health from exposure to nitrate through vegetables. “We assessed both the risk and benefits of exposure to nitrate from vegetables and concluded that the beneficial effects of vegetables prevail,” Josef Schlatter, chair of EFSA’s... ...Read more »
Food poisoning outbreaks and the range of preventative measures will be the focus of a major food crisis management conference in Sydney, Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said today.The ‘Issues and Crisis Management in the Food Industry’ conference to be held in Sydney this morning will include several international experts to discuss a wide range of worrying issues. “Case studies to be examined include the foot and mouth disease and bluetongue outbreaks that have recently... ...Read more »
Food safety hazards, identification and control are the focus of the Food Manufacturing Industry Guide to Safety 2008/09 produced by Pro-Visual Publishing in collaboration with Food Science Australia. The guide both aims to assist food manufacturing businesses eliminate food safety hazards from the production process while carrying advertising of relevant suppliers to the safety industry, whose revenue means the Guide can be provided free to food manufacturers. “Identification and management... ...Read more »