International Standards/Harmonization

RSS

A recent survey of Finnish municipal food inspectors has provided insight into the challenges inspectors face when trying to control food businesses that repeatedly violate food safety regulations, and suggested possible methods for motivating businesses to take corrective actions.

The European Commission amended its regulation on the microbiological criteria for foods to revise the requirements for food business operators regarding Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods.

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has opened submissions for companies to express interest in a sandbox program to help ensure the safety of cell-cultivated foods. 

Following a fatal Escherichia coli outbreak linked to organic carrots that has sickened people in multiple U.S. states, the Government of Canada is warning consumers not to eat recalled products distributed by California-based Grimmway Farms.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has increased the acceptable daily intake for saccharin (commonly known as Sweet’N Low) by 4 mg/kg of bodyweight per day, saying the latest scientific evidence does not support that the artificial sweetener is damaging to DNA.

The UK Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit has made an arrest as part of an ongoing investigation into a case of suspected food fraud.

Testing of raw milk from processing plants across Canada found all 391 samples to be negative for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1).

In an October 31 webinar, Jim Jones, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, provided insight into the work of the Human Foods Program and how budgetary constraints are affecting its work.

As a result of Operation OPSON 2024—an EU-wide coordinated effort targeting fraudulent and counterfeit foods—22,000 tons of food and 850,000 liters of beverages, totaling €91 million, were removed from the market.

The dairy sector contributes significantly to the resilience and economic viability of farmers and rural communities. Most of the milk produced across the world comes from either independent, family-owned farms or smallholder farms and cooperatives, rather than from large, corporate farming operations.