Africa's No.1 Food Safety, Quality & Compliance Magazine
AUSTRALIA – Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is applying to the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) for permission to commercially cultivate genetically modified (GM) banana plants that have been engineered to withstand Fusarium wilt tropical race 4, popularly known as Panama disease. The GM banana plants are not intended to replace the Cavendish banana crop now grown in Australia; rather,…
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AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND – The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has declared popular non-nutritive sweetener steviol glycosides safe subsequent to a risk assessment. According to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, steviol glycosides that are added to food must be listed in the ingredient list under the proper food additive class name, followed by the code number or name…
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AUSTRALIA – To include the new Standard 3.2.2A food safety management tools, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has updated Safe Food Australia, a manual on Australian food safety requirements for local government and food enterprises. Safe Food Australia is a guide to the four mandatory food safety standards: Standard 3.1.1 Interpretation and Application, Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and…
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AUSTRALIA – Food safety industry leader Steritech has submitted an application to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to amend food irradiation rules in Australia by raising the maximum permitted energy level of machines generating X-rays for irradiating food from 5 to 7.5 megaelectronvolts (MeV) provided that the X-ray target is made of tantalum or gold. The change involves the…
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AUSTRALIA – The Western Australia (WA) Department of Health has linked Qukes brand baby cucumbers supplied by Perfection Fresh, an Australian fresh produce company, to a Salmonella outbreak that has thus far affected 19 people. Although the grower has not been identified, cucumber production has ceased. From infants under a year old to seniors in their 60s, there are sick…
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AUSTRALIA – Australians have been warned against eating a certain brand of spinach after it caused severe sickness and hallucinations in several people. Health authorities in Australia’s New South Wales have reported that nine people who consumed the Riviera Farms baby spinach from Costco needed medical attention after manifesting symptoms of confusion, elevated heart rates, and blurred vision. The spinach…
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AUSTRALIA – The New South Wales (NSW) Government has released a new eight-year strategy to enhance biosecurity and food safety in NSW and to help protect the state’s $23 billion (approx. U.S$15 billion) primary industries. The NSW Biosecurity and Food Safety Strategy 2022-2030 focuses on four priority objectives including preparing and preventing, timely and proportionate responses, rapid and efficient containment,…
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AUSTRALIA – Coles, the leading supermarket chain in Australia, has used Internet of Things (IoT) technology to digitize its supply chain, leveraging a Loscam and Thinxtra solution to track and quantify shock for 4,500 smart food bins that transport poultry between farms and its distribution center. “Coles, as an iconic Australian brand, has been able to deploy Internet of Things…
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AUSTRALIA – ELISA Systems, a world leader in the development of allergen test kits, is setting itself apart from competitors in the market with its new Generation 3 Gluten test kit, ESGLT3-48 capable of detecting deamidated gluten, a capability not yet found in other testing kits. As the prevalence of celiac disease rises, so does the significance of enhanced gluten…
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AUSTRALIA – The Australian company Naturo has improved its Haelen milk process, which created a 60-day shelf life – to now have double the digestibility. Since the Haelen process destroys more bacteria than conventional pasteurization, it is easier for people who have dairy sensitivity to ingest. Naturo handles the whey proteins in milk differently since it doesn’t employ the high…
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