Items Tagged with 'sustainability'

This episode of Food Safety Five discusses new academic publications exploring the limitations of a “zero-risk” approach to food safety and evaluating the limited benefits and trade-offs associated with intensified microbiological sampling.

In the fight against food insecurity, seafood is an essential source of protein. Growing the responsibly produced seafood supply depends on every part of the value chain. Industry must ensure that operational models meet evolving market expectations, and then properly leverage them to drive profitability and success.

Large-scale recycled manure use—a circular agriculture approach used to combat soil acidification that reduces crop yield—can lead to the accumulation of cadmium in soil, which is then taken up by rice crops, affecting food safety.

The free virtual event will take place on March 31 and will feature four European research and innovation initiatives to discuss how food security can be safeguarded by addressing fraud, crises, cyber threats, and chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) hazards across the food supply chain.

Expected to take effect by the end of 2027 after stakeholder consultations, the regulation, modeled after the EU’s Single-Use Plastics directive, would prohibit items like plastic cutlery, plates, and straws. Future phases would enforce further requirements for other articles.

Controls based on overly sensitive detection methods and focused on single outcomes may introduce unintended environmental and economic consequences. The researchers advocate for the holistic evaluation of food safety and sustainability risks within a “One Health” framework.

Unlike plastic, the mycelium- and cellulose-based material is biodegradable and free of chemicals of concern. It is likely safe for humans and the environment in the long term, as demonstrated by humanity’s history of consuming fungi.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to food science and packaging expert Dr. Claire Sand about the regulatory, sustainability, and technical considerations for food companies regarding chemicals of concern in packaging, and what the future of food packaging might look like.

A new review by FAO researchers identifies how food loss and waste (FLW) can disseminate antibiotic resistance (AMR), as well as practices that can either mitigate or exacerbate AMR dissemination from FLW.

Environmental inhibitors are compounds used in agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from animals or minimize nitrogen losses in soil. A new FAO report highlights the need for a harmonized approach to risk assessment of these compounds and suggests a potential framework.