Tag: Food safety

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, Aw 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…

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Canada’s BSE negligible risk status to help beef farmers access more export markets

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CANADA – The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has confirmed Canada’s successful application for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) negligible risk status. BSE is a disease of the nervous system of cattle, which has a long incubation period between two and eight years, and occasionally longer. It is one of a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), or prion diseases, characterised by the accumulation in nervous tissue of an abnormal infectious protein called a prion. The “negligible” risk status is the lowest risk status established by the…

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Europe poultry exports plummet as region experiences one of the largest Avian Influenza epidemics ever

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EUROPE –  Poultry exports from Europe decreased significantly following the  February-May 2021 European High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) season described as “one of the largest and most devastating HPAI epidemics ever occurred in Europe.” According to statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture, the 2020-2021 HPAI epidemic counts 3,555 detected infections in 27 European countries including 22 EU member states, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. USDA notes that the epicenter of the HPAI epidemic appears to have been in Germany and Poland, with the former country detecting the…

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Developing countries urged to uphold food safety measures adopted during pandemic period

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AFRICA – The world cannot over emphasis on the importance of ensuring the adoption of food safety practices and technologies in the entire agriculture and food value chain. This year, the globe has turned its focus on ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’, as the theme of the World Food Safety Day 2021, stressing that production and consumption of safe food has immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet and the economy. However, according to a flagship dialogue hosted by EatSafe, developing countries have not yet made gainful…

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Upfield Kenya joins band of manufacturers driving food safety agenda by obtaining FSSC 22000 Certification

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KENYA – Upfield, the global leader in plant-based nutrition has marked the World Food Safety Day in style, as its Kenyan operations obtained the coveted Food Management System Standard certification, FSSC 22000. The maker of the blue band brand has received the certification indicating that it has implemented the most robust food safety management system while manufacturing and handling the food products. “Our Nairobi based Blue Band manufacturing plant meets the requirements of an internationally recognized best practice approach and has been able to implement a robust food defense and…

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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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Afreximbank boosts capacity of food safety compliance in Africa with establishment of first quality assurance centre in Nigeria

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NIGERIA – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade, has commenced the construction of an Africa Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) in Ogun State, Nigeria. Construction of the state-of-the-art facility commenced on 25th February 2021 and is expected to kick-start operations by the second quarter of 2022. The Ogun State AQAC is strategically located on a 5-hectare plot of land allocated by the Ogun State Government along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The project site is 65km from Lagos, Nigeria’s main port city…

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New global standard for online sale of alcohol introduced to support responsible drinking

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GLOBAL – A new global standard for the online sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages has been launched by major stakeholders in the industry as part of efforts towards promoting responsible drinking among consumers globally. The stakeholders involved in the project include 12 leading beer, wine, and spirits companies that form the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) and 14 prominent global and regional online retailers, and e-commerce and delivery platforms. IARD says that the international initiative is focused on supporting consumers’ increasing demands for greater convenience with enhanced standards…

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Study shows many consumers don’t know what ‘Best If Used By’ and ‘Use By’ dates mean

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US – A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior has revealed that consumers are confused by what “Use By” and “Best If Used By” labels mean on their food. Results of the study involving 2,607 U.S. adults revealed that only 64% could correctly explain what the “Best If Used By” label meant while only 44.8% of the respondents were able to describe what the “Use By” label meant. Of consumers who said they understood what the “Use By” label meant, nearly 55% could not correctly…

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European Food Safety Authority flags Titanum Dioxide as “non-safe” whitening food additive

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EUROPE – The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) has, in its latest safety assessment, flagged titanium dioxide (E171) as a “non-safe” whitening food additive. Titanium dioxide is commonly used as a pigment to bring a bright and smooth white appearance to pastries or confectionery or to opacify yogurt or ice cream. The compound is also used in candy, chewing gum, cake icing and white sauces. Its whitening power and the chemical inertness has made it an almost unchallenged whitening pigment in F&B for many years. EFSA finds E171 unsafe Questions…

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