Category: WORLD NEWS

FDA issues investigation findings on 2020 Salmonella outbreak linked to red onions

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WORLD- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alongside state and federal partners, have investigated the outbreak to identify potential contributing factors that may have led to red onion contamination with Salmonella Newport. Between June and October 2020, federal and state agencies investigated the Salmonella Newport food-borne illness outbreak associated with consumption of red onions from the Southern San Joaquin Valley and Imperial Valley in California. The outbreak, which caused 1,127 reported domestic illnesses and 515 reported Canadian cases, is the largest Salmonella outbreak in over a decade. This outbreak…

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FSSAI makes it compulsory for agri-food industry operators to specify FSSAI license number on receipts, invoice

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INDIA- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a latest order to food business operators, requiring them to specify FSSAI license or registration number on cash receipts or purchase invoice with effect from October 1 this year. The FSSAI mentioned that the move will succor consumers who can lodge online complaints against a particular business using the FSSAI number as most complaints remain unresolved due to lack of specificity. “Licensing and registration authorities are directed to widely publicize the policy and shall ensure its implementation mandatorily…

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FDA calls for innovation of economical Tech-enabled traceability tools

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WORLD- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a challenge to spur the development of affordable, tech-enabled traceability tools to help protect people and animals from contaminated foods. This will also enable the rapid identification of their sources and help remove the contaminated products from the marketplace as quickly as possible.   The new era of smarter food safety low or no cost Tech-enabled traceability, advances a goal set forth in the New Era of smarter food safety blueprint, released in July 2020. This was set up to encourage the…

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Thawed Yellowfin tuna suspected for foodborne illness in Italy

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ITALY- Tuna is being investigated for a possible cause of illness in at least 12 people in Italy. The foodborne outbreak is suspected to have been caused by thawed yellowfin tuna steaks with added water from Italy and raw material from Spain. The Tuscany local health unit (ASL) has received reports on about 9 people experiencing symptoms like fainting, loss of consciousness, vomiting and nausea. The affected individuals who were admitted to different hospitals before later being discharged all reported having consumed tuna in diverse forms at two distinct restaurants…

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Corbion upgrades listeria control model to bolster food safety efforts

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NETHERLANDS – Corbion, a leading food ingredients supplier, has upgraded its Listeria control model to increase the accuracy of food safety measures and enhance speed-to-market for new product developments. Improvements to the newly relaunched CLCM have made the job of identifying the most effective and cost-efficient Listeria control method very simple, says the Dutch company. It uses pH, water activity (Aw), salt content and other parameters to determine the optimum antimicrobial to achieve the desired level of Listeria control. Developers of the enhanced Corbion Listeria Control Model (CLCM) leveraged the…

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EFSA assesses sources, mitigation measures against antimicrobial resistance, begins to consider findings on glyphosate analysis

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EUROPE-The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has evaluated the role of food-producing environments in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the European Union (EU) plant-based food production, terrestrial animals (poultry, cattle and pigs) and aquaculture. Among the various sources and transmission routes identified, fertilizers of fecal origin, irrigation and surface water for plant-based food and water for aquaculture are the most significant sources of AMR.  In terrestrial animal production, potential sources are feed, humans, water, air or dust, soil, wildlife, rodents, arthropods, and equipment. The soil is…

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FAO, WHO call for action to address Food safety in context of sustainable food systems

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WORLD- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) came together to commemorate the world food safety day and advocated for need of sustainable food systems and actions, aimed to address food safety issues in the human-animal -environment interface to assure “safe food now for a healthy tomorrow”. Every year in Europe and Central Asia, more than 23 million people fall sick from food borne illness, with the poor and young mostly impacted. Such illness is responsible for 5,000 preventable deaths annually, according to WHO statistics published in…

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Professor Susan Jebb appointed as chairperson of UK food safety regulatory body FSA

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UK-The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has appointed Professor Susan Jebb, the Oxford BRC’s Theme Lead for Obesity, Diet and Lifestyle in 2007 as their new chairperson. FSA is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The appointment was rubber-stamped on 11 June following a hearing at the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee and is valid as from 1 July 2021. She takes over as the permanent…

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New stringent food safety standards system on import goods in UAE to be launched over next two months

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UAE – The corona pandemic has focalized the world’s attention on food supplies specifically in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which imports about 90 per cent of all its food. In the previous year the pandemic coerced the UAE to assess its food supply chain after the country experienced some initial disruption. The Minister of State for Food Security, Mariam Al Mheiri, has revealed that the authorities responded swiftly to guarantee people’s access to vital products. The government’s policy in supporting Agri-tech companies to increase local food supply also helped.…

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WHO launches new handbook to help countries enhance effectiveness of their food safety systems

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SWITZERLAND – As the world celebrates the World Food Safety Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a new handbook to help countries address food safety challenges in their respective jurisdictions. According to a statement from the WHO, the new handbook will provide a guideline on how countries can measure their foodborne disease burden. Additionally, the handbooks provide countries with information on how they can identify food safety system needs and data gaps so they can strengthen national infrastructure and better protect people’s health. “Food should sustain and support human…

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