Posts from the "Latest News" category
AU: Frozen berries come with feathery find for Brisbane family
Courier Mail: A Brisbane mum says she will no longer buy frozen berries after she found a matted feather inside a packet of raspberries.
Kristen Smith said she was defrosting the Coles-branded fruit to put on her children’s muesli when she discovered the feather encrusted onto the side of a berry.
Read Article →CH: Food safety top concern in China
Shanghai Daily: An annual China Youth Daily survey in March found that food safety was the public’s top concern. In response to a list of “quality of life” issues including housing and the environment, 77.3 percent of respondents said food safety mattered most to them. The new law should rebuild confidence in the domestic food industry.
Those found to have added substances unfit for human consumption to food could be jailed for up to 15 days, and producers may face fines of up to 30 times the value of their products.
Read Article →NZ: Mice in Maccas ‘no risk to food safety’
The New Zealand Herald: Auckland Council has found there was no risk to food safety at a South Auckland McDonald’s despite the mice seen running in its outdoor playground.
Environmental Health Officers have inspected the Manurewa branch, on the corner of Great South and Weymouth Rds, following the earlier reports of a rodent infestation in the play area.
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NZ: Herb grower’s supermarket parsley tests positive for Listeria
The New Zealand Herald: A fresh herb grower has confirmed its Italian parsley, which was stocked by two New World supermarkets in the Auckland region, has tested positive for Listeria.
Tasman Bay Herbs voluntarily withdrew its full range of products from stockists on Monday, but has now narrowed the presence of the bacteria down to the Italian parsley, which was sold to New World Victoria Park and Warkworth, in the Auckland region.
Read Article →ID: Food safety a concern as Indonesia observes fasting month
Channel NewsAsia: Indonesia’s Food and Drug Agency has increased inspections across the archipelago in light of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, but the lack of strong law enforcement and public ignorance has made it difficult to ensure food products are safe for eating.
Some of the reasons include residents cooking more at home or donating food to charities, and supermarkets and street hawkers alike rush to cash in on this peak period in consumer spending. But it is also during this time of the year that food safety has been called into question.
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AU: Counterfeit food threatens Australia’s international reputation
ABC Radio National: Australian food producers and exporters are calling on the federal government to do more to protect the nation’s clean, green image against a rising tide of counterfeiting.
Unscrupulous foreign operators are taking advantage of Australia’s reputation for quality food by counterfeiting labels and packaging to sell their own inferior and potentially unsafe product in international markets.
Read Article →AU: Tackling food safety double standards
Farm Online: Levelling the playing field for imported and domestic food safety is essential, according to independent Senator Nick Xenophon.
Senator Xenophon last week backed the auditor-general’s findings that Australia’s imported food safety regime was seriously flawed and has called for root-and-branch reform of the system, foreshadowing legislative changes.
The auditor-general’s report on the administration of the Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS) found that it was applied inconsistently across the country and lacked performance benchmarks.
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CH: Food safety fears spark growing taste for imported fruit among China’s middle class
South China Morning Post: Longstanding fears over food safety standards on the mainland –
including frequent reports of residue left on domestic fruit after the excessive use of pesticides and swelling and ripening agents – have led to a craze among China’s growing middle class for imported prime fruits in recent years.
Avocados shipped in from Mexico were now the fastest increasing item, said Mabel Zhuang, China consultant of the global fresh produce trade organisation, Produce Marketing Association.
Read Article →US: Seeking alternatives for reducing bacteria in fresh produce
Farm and Dairy: A team of researchers at Wayne State University have been exploring natural, safe and alternative antimicrobials to reduce bacterial contamination. Plant essential oils such as those from thyme, oregano and clove are known to have a strong antimicrobial effect, but currently their use in food protection is limited due to their low solubility in water.
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UK: A large Great Britain-wide outbreak of STEC O157 phage type 8 linked to handling of raw leeks and potatoes
Epidemiology & Infection: Between December 2010 and July 2011, 252 cases of STEC [Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli] O157 PT8 stx1 + 2 infection were reported in England, Scotland and Wales. This was the largest outbreak of STEC reported in England and the second largest in the UK to date. Eighty cases were hospitalized, with two cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome and one death reported.
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