The Food Safety Authority of Ireland on July 29 published research into the impact of the horse meat contamination issue on Irish consumer confidence and trust in the food they purchase. The survey reveals significant changes in consumers’ purchasing habits with over half (51%) of people who purchased frozen burgers in the past now buying less of these products (48% buy the same amount).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on July 27 issued a public notification of a recall being conducted by the Chilean Ministry of Health for chicken products. After official notification from the government of Chile of the positive result for dioxin, FSIS instructed importers to hold this product, although the agency noted that the risk of illness from consuming this product is negligible.
The 2013 conference for the International Association of Food Protection kicked off in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday night, with 2,700 attendees from around the world convening to share the latest advancements in food safety technology and philosophies. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. David Acheson, former Associate Commissioner for Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and current director of the Food and Import Safety Practice at Leavitt Partners.
Taking two steps forward in the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), on July 26 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new proposed rules for verifying foreign suppliers and accrediting third-party auditors.
Rival companies dropped their competitive guard momentarily to discuss food safety and changes in wash systems as Earthbound Farm opened its doors to them. Representatives of SmartWash Solutions, Taylor Farms, Ready Pac Foods, Field Fresh Foods, Club Chef and Yum! Brands attended a plant tour and meeting July 25 at the San Juan Bautista, CA-based organic grower-shipper.
This news is no red herring — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported on July 26 that Zip International Group LLC of Edison, NJ, is recalling 400-gram plastic packages of herring fillet in oil (marketed under the brand names Fosforel and Atlantika) due to Listeria contamination.
The European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) scientific experts have provisionally concluded that for all population groups, diet is the major source of exposure to bisphenol A (BPA). The agency added that consumers' exposure to BPA is lower than EFSA estimated previously.
As of July 22, 2013, CDC had been notified of more than 250 cases of Cyclospora infection in residents of multiple states, including Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia and Connecticut. Illinois and Kansas have also notified CDC of one case each that may have been acquired out of state but in the United States.
The 100K Genome Project, led by the University of California, Davis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and Agilent Technologies, announced on July 22 that it has added 20 newly completed genome sequences of foodborne disease-causing microorganisms to its public database.
FSIS is making available a list of test kits that have been validated for detection of relevant foodborne pathogens (i.e. Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria spp. including L. monocytogenes, and non-O157 STECs). The list is informational, not an endorsement or approval of any particular method.
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