Africa's No.1 Food Safety, Quality & Compliance Magazine
U.S – The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified 33 new species of mycotoxin-producing fungi that are part of the Fusarium genus, paving the way for research to fight a grave threat to the world’s food supply. Several Fusarium species are known to produce toxic secondary metabolites in plant tissues, among which Trichothecenes…
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IRELAND/AUSTRIA – Ireland state research agency Teagasc and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Austria are currently undertaking a project to identify the bacteria present in dairy processing environments to evaluate the impact on Listeria monocytogenes. Food-processing facilities are required to follow regulations to provide food safety assurance. However, the food-processing environment in general is not sterile, Teagasc said.…
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INDIA – A study led by a team of researchers from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology (EZRT), has demonstrated the potential of X-ray radiography for a rapid and non-destructive determination of key market-related traits from X-ray scans of peanuts while still inside the hull. Consequently, the evaluation…
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UK – University of Birmingham researchers have called on manufacturers to check their use of organophosphate esters (OPEs), which are considered a threat to human health, and start exploring alternatives. The researchers conducted a study, published in Science of the Total Environment, on common synthetic chemicals found in UK foods where nearly 400 food samples were tested for evidence of…
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GLOBAL— A study published by The National Confectioners Association (NCA) in collaboration with nonprofit foundation As You Sow, has highlighted soil as the major source of lead and cadmium contamination in cocoa and chocolate. The study notes that cocoa plants take up cadmium from soils via their roots and deposit it in the nibs (centre) of cocoa beans, either through…
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U.S – In cooperation with Iowa public health officials, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS), have developed a methodology that can be used to evaluate the value of state and federal foodborne illness outbreak investigations and subsequent recalls. According to the CDC, foodborne illnesses cause…
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ETHIOPIA – A research conducted by EatSafe on “Consumer and Vendor Perspectives and Practices Related to Food Safety in Ethiopia” has revealed that there appears to be an alignment in the food safety-related practices and perspectives of consumers and vendors. To support EatSafe in Ethiopia by providing insights on prior research on food safety-related perspectives and practices among consumers and…
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NEPAL – An integrative research team has kicked off a new initiative that makes use of market-based tactics that incorporate consumer and producer studies to enhance the safety of fresh fruit in Nepal. As a result of government expenditures in related fields and a policy emphasis on food security, Nepal has seen a relative increase in the productivity of several…
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GLOBAL – The global Food Pathogen Testing Market size is estimated to surpass U.S$ 9 billion by 2030, progressing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9% from 2022 to 2030. As per the report published by Global Market Insights Inc., a few of the leading industry drivers include the presence of key food safety regulations and strict monitoring by…
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U.S – Research published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology suggests that oil formulations with food-grade organic acids can kill dried Salmonella on stainless steel surfaces. Recent Salmonella outbreaks have been linked to peanut butter and chocolate. Although Salmonella cannot grow in either of these low-water foods, the cells survive, becoming more resistant to heat treatment, which has contributed to recent…
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