Food Safety News and Resources
October 2023
30 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources1 |
Recall: Children with acute lead poisoning from fruit puree baby food (USA) |
A (sort of) food fraud recall - dodgy sausage meat (USA) |
Sprouts linked to Salmonella outbreak (Finland) |
Heavy metals in chocolate (again!) (USA) |
Enoki mushrooms and Listeria (United Kingdom this time) |
Deadly botulism source confirmed (France) |
Massive multicountry, multi-decade Salmonella outbreak investigated (Glogal) |
E. coli in pasteurised milk outbreak: insights revealed (Japan) |
Free Webinar - Honey Authenticity |
⚠️ A (sort of) food fraud recall - dodgy sausage meat (USA)
A large quantity of raw pork chorizo olanchano (sausage meat) products (21,105 lb) is being recalled because they were labelled with information belonging to a fictitious or no-longer-trading company, and without the correct licences or safety inspections. The USDA establishment number on the labels is fake and the manufacturer or distributor’s address was falsified – USA 23/10/2023
https://news.yahoo.com/recall-homemade-pork-fake-usda-185508897.html and
⚠️Recall: Children with acute lead poisoning from fruit purees (USA)
Cinnamon fruit puree pouches – all batches – made by a US company are being recalled after four children were found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Parents of any child who has eaten the product have been told to consider also arranging for blood testing by the US FDA. Multiple lots of the product were found to have “extremely high” concentrations of lead.
🌿 Sprouts linked to Salmonella outbreak (Finland)
An investigation into a Salmonella enteritidis outbreak which sickened more than 60 people found most ate sprouts which had come from the same producer. The same strain of bacteria was found in a sprout product from the home of a victim.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/10/sprouts-suspected-in-finnish-salmonella-outbreak/#more-233335
😯 Aarp! More chocolate heavy metal results (USA)
A second report by consumer group Consumer Reports, which follows their chocolate heavy metal report from last year, has been published. They again tested 48 chocolate products and again found worrying levels of cadmium and lead in a significant proportion of them.
The group used California’s maximum allowable dose levels (MADL) for lead and cadmium, set at 0.5 micrograms per day and 4.1 micrograms per day, plus serving sizes, for safety comparisons. They noted levels more than twice as high as acceptable for multiple products.
As previously, products with the highest cocoa content, including cocoa powder and dark chocolate, generally contained more heavy metals than other chocolate products.
⚠️ Enoki mushrooms Listeria saga continues: UK agencies find high levels of L. mono in enoki mushrooms
In February we reported on a recall of Enoki mushrooms which had begun in December 2022, and had been expanded. The mushrooms were contaminated with two strains of Listeria monocytogenes and the strains were linked to multiple illnesses which required hospitalisation.
Last week we reported on another US recall of enoki mushrooms with a package size and shape that looks very similar to the brands affected in December and February.
This week, the UK Food Standards Agency has warned purchasers of enoki mushrooms to thoroughly cook them before consumption. Thirty percent of enoki mushroom samples they tested (n = 40) contained L. monocytogenes, “sometimes at high levels”. The samples came from China, South Korea, Thailand and “other Asian countries”.
💀 Botulism source confirmed (France)
Home-canned sardines have been confirmed as the source of last month’s deadly botulism outbreak in France. Fifteen people were affected and one person died. All had eaten at the sardines at the same restaurant in Bordeaux.
💀 Salmonella in chicken kebab meat causes international outbreak and death
More than 300 people from 15 countries in Europe and the USA have suffered from salmonellosis, with nine people hospitalised and one person dying, in an outbreak linked to eight poultry producers in Poland and Austria. Genetic analysis of the Salmonella species and strains associated with this outbreak, which include three types of Salmonella enteritidis, as well as S. Infantis, S. Kottbus, S. Virchow, and S. Rauform, showed links between the cases, with genetic links to illnesses from as far back as 2012 and continuing to 2023. Investigators believe the contamination is occurring at production sites or on broiler (chicken) farms, and expect new cases to occur because the source has not been identified.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/10/chicken-linked-to-large-multi-country-outbreak/
🦠 E. coli in pasteurised milk outbreak: insights revealed (Japan)
In 2021 more than 1800 people were sickened by pathogenic Escherichia coli in pasteurised milk. The milk was traced to a single facility and investigators suspected that contamination might have occurred after pasteurisation steps. The contaminated milk was produced over two to three days.
An inspection found risk factors including pasteurized milk cross-contaminated with raw milk, insufficient cleaning of carton packing equipment, failures in temperature control of pasteurised milk and structural defects in tanks for pasteurized milk. Wow.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/10/e-coli-in-milk-behind-large-outbreak-in-japan/
🎓 Free Webinar - Bee or not to bee? Is your honey authentic, 23rd November
Hosted by Bruker, this free webinar will explain the importance of protecting the beekeepers and the bees, as many of the food products we eat depend on pollination by the bees. Further, the application of H-NMR and the Honey Profiling 3.1 Method will also be discussed.
Register here: Bee or not to be? Is your honey authentic? | Bruker
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
Horizon scanning for arabica cofree, turkey meat, citrus, fertiliser;
Cats cats cats - OMG food fraud on a large scale;
Fake certifications for wheat, rye and cotton;
Problematic ice cream;
Lemon fraud and wine fraud.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.
23 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Recall: Frozen burritos for L. monocytogenes (USA) |
Recall: Enoki mushrooms for L. monocytogenes (USA) |
Chemical residues in food - survey results (Canada) |
Food Toxin Risks Ranked (Europe) |
Innovation in Allergen Management Information |
Free Webinar - From FT-IR to FT-NIR: New Technology Drives a New Future for Dairy |
Free Webinar - Enhancing food safety analysis with diagnostic Ion screening |
This is The Rotten Apple, an independent publication dedicated to food safety. Subscribe now to get ad-free, focused food safety news straight to your inbox every Monday
⚠️ Recall: Frozen Ready to eat burritos (USA)
Listeria monocytogenes contamination caused a recall of 10,642 pounds of frozen ready-to-eat burritos in the USA. The pathogen was found by the food company.
⚠️ Enoki mushrooms and Listeria recall (again) – USA
Enoki mushrooms have been recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination again. This time the recall is in the US.
🧪Chemical residues in foods - survey results (Canada)
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)tested seven commodity groups: meat, fresh fruit & vegetables, dairy, eggs, honey, maple products and processed fruits & vegetables for residues of veterinary drugs, pesticides, metals and “contaminants” in 2020 and 2021 and has published a report on the results. The overall compliance rate was 97% for all samples tested (n = 12,55).
☣️ Food Toxin Risks Ranked (Europe)
A group of experts has published a document about the risks to adult European consumers posed by chemical substances in foods.
The risks were ranked according to their seriousness, after taking into account exposure levels – that is, how much of each chemical is consumed in an ordinary European diet. For example, the researchers noted that natural toxins such as aflatoxins are present in maize and nuts and pose chronic health risks but they “are consumed to a much lesser extent in Europe”. Natural toxins are ranked fourth in the list of five toxins of concern:
A) persistent environmental pollutants (dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid perfluorooctanoic acid and the brominated flame retardant pentabromodidiphenyl ether);
B) Process contaminants (acrylamide, furans and, for alcohol consumers, ethyl carbamate);
C) heavy metals (cadmium arsenic and lead) and nickel;
D) natural toxins (aflatoxins and pyrrolizidine alkaloids);
E) petroleum hydrocarbons (mineral oil hydrocarbons).
Reference: Eskola, Mari & Krska, Rudolf & Elliott, Christopher. (2023). Krska R, Eskola M, Elliott C, 2023. The illusion of toxin-free food and the role of mycotoxins. Ernährung, Nutrition volume 47, 05. 2023..
Source: https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/article/194512/toxin-free-food-health-risks-for-our-food/
🥜 Innovation in Allergen Management Information
A restaurant chain has created a dedicated allergy menu which indicates each of 14 key food allergens in each dish (United States).
https://pages.pagesuite.com/a/8/a8f0b582-d1c5-4ca0-9817-ef2e0dc34bb1/page.jpg
🎓 Free Webinar - From FT-IR to FT-NIR: New technology drives a new future for dairy, 25th October
Hosted by New Food, this free webinar will discuss Bruker’s portfolio, the difference in technology from FT-IT vs. FT-NIR, and how it works. The applications from raw milk to finished products and how to minimise process variation and maximize profits.
Register here:
🎓 Free Webinar - Enhancing food safety analysis with diagnostic Ion screening, 14th November
New Food will be hosting a free webinar that will focus on prioritising nontargeted elements for food safety analysis, including an examination of data from a study that scrutinises dietary supplements from North American Gas Stations.
Register here:
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
Fraudulent food ‘recycling’ - an emerging trend;
Fruit juice concentrates;
Counterfeit cornflakes maker also made counterfeit condoms (!!);
Protected origin foods, including Cornish pasties and Grana Padano cheese;
Sunflower oil, fish, cumin, chicken meat.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.
16 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Weird recall (Australia) |
OMG food safety fails cause infant botulism (USA) |
Dodgy hygiene certifications (Finland) |
Fake food handling certificates (Kenya) |
Food additives banned in California (USA) |
Food Saftey Management Systems - new research (Global) |
SARS-CoV-2 (Covid) Persistence in Meat Processing Plants – New Research |
Partially hydrogenated fats ban finalised (USA) |
Big data analysis for food safety - new research |
Changes to GMO rules proposed (Europe) |
Guidance: Microbiological hazard controls for fruits and veg (FAO) |
Free Webinar – Compressed Air in GFSI standards, 20th October |
Free Webinar – Protect Your Company from Unexpected Supply Chain Risk |
🤔 Weird recall (Australia)
It's a 🤔 head-scratcher! I saw a weird micro hazard recall last week and have some big questions:
Protein Water and Energy Water recalled due to contamination with Aureobasidium melanogenum*. The products were for sale in Chemist Warehouse, an Australian discount pharmacy chain and are being recalled by Brand Solutions Australia a "Nationals Sales and Marketing Organisation" for the pharmaceutical industry.
Q1: What awful food safety failure has to occur to get black fungus in an energy drink?
Q2: Why is a "Nationals Sales and Marketing Organisation" selling food?
Q3: Does Chemist Warehouse have a food safety procurement policy?
*Aureobasidium melanogenum is a black yeast-like fungus, formerly considered to be part of the species A. pullulans. It causes respiratory diseases in people exposed to it from contaminated air conditioners or humidifiers.
😱 OMG Ready to Eat Baby Food Linked to Infant Botulism (USA)
The manufacturer of a ready to eat (RTE) baby food was inspected by the US FDA after carers reported infant botulism in a baby who consumed the food.
Clostridium botulinum was found in unopened plastic jars of products from the infant’s home.
During their inspection, the FDA found serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventative Controls for Human Food regulation.
Oh dear.
Here are some of the violations they found:
The hazard analysis did not include bacterial growth or toxin formation of/by Clostridium botulinum due to the reduced oxygen packaging (ROP) during refrigerated storage of the product.
These hazards are “known or reasonably foreseeable hazards”, say the FDA in their letter to the company’s CEO, and would have been identified by “a knowledgeable person manufacturing food in your circumstances”.
The facility’s cold storage area was at 8 degrees C (46 F) at the time of the FDA’s inspection. (That’s too warm!)
The facility’s cooler’s thermometer was not calibrated and was reading 7 degrees (F) lower than actual temperatures.
The products were not receiving a lethal treatment or other control measure (such as a formulation lethal to pathogens) to eliminate or sufficiently minimise pathogens.
Preventive control procedures were not implemented.
Internal temperatures of cooked foods were not monitored.
Inspectors observed water dripping from a condenser unit into standing water inside a cooler, where uncovered jars of ready to eat baby food were stored.
Nutrition information was not included on labels.
Ingredients lists were not present or not presented in descending order of predominance by weight.
The FDA inspected the facility in February 2023 and sent the warning letter on 7 September 2023. That’s 7 months later! Luckily, in their letter they note that the manufacturer voluntarily stopped production in March 2023 and does not appear to be planning to re-commence. Phew.
⚠️ Watch out for dodgy food safety ‘passports’ (Finland)
Food safety certificates (‘hygiene passports’) for food workers are being investigated for fraud in Finland. The ‘passports’ are required for workers who handle unpackaged perishable foods. A person is alleged to have created and sold fake hygiene passports to people who had not received food safety training or passed the requisite tests. Investigating authorities have listed the serial numbers on suspected fake documents on a website and are asking food businesses to report suspicious documents to the Finnish Food Authority.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/10/police-in-finland-investigate-fake-food-worker-documents/
⚠️Fake food handling certificates (Kenya)
Fake food handling certificates were allegedly distributed to certain hotels in Nairobi, possibly by corrupt elements within the government department responsible for such certificates – Kenya 28/09/2023
🚫 California bans 4 commonly used food additives (USA)
The banning of four food additives, which has been in progress for some time, has now been signed into law in California. The law commences on 1 January 2027 and will apply to all processed foods sold in the state and produced in the state.
The four additives are:
· brominated vegetable oil,
· potassium bromate,
· propylparaben and
· Red Dye No. 3.
Titanium dioxide was originally included in the ban list but was removed during negotiations with regulators.
The ban will affect up to 12,000 products and is expected to prompt reformulations for foods sold nationally, not just within California. The government of New York has started work on a similar ban.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/10/california-becomes-first-state-to-ban-four-harmful-chemicals-in-food/ and https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB418
✒️ The constraints, advantages and effectiveness of food safety management systems standards- new research (Global)
New research has examined the advantages of implementing food safety management systems in small and medium-sized businesses, and the constraints faced by such businesses, across different global regions. The effectiveness of food safety management system standards was also evaluated.
https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/17/3218
🦠 SARS-CoV-2 (Covid) Persists in Meat Processing Plants – New Research
This new research from Ireland, examined how long viral particles of COVID-19 can persist on various surfaces in a meat processing plant, including worker’s clothing, meat, fish, packaging materials and work surfaces.
Results showed that “it was possible to recover SARS-CoV-2 from beef, pork, and salmon for at least 22 days at 20C and for at least 12 days at +4C”. Stainless steel surfaces and work clothing fabric allowed the virus to persist for up to 10 hours. The results may also be used to inform controls for other airborne infections similar to SARS-CoV-2.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jfs.13086
🚫Partially hydrogenated fats ban finalised (USA)
The US FDA has published a ‘final rule’ which comes into force on 22 Dec 2023, and that reaffirms the FDA’s 2015 declaration that partially hydrogenated fats (PHOs) are not safe for use in food. The final rule:
“removes PHOs as an optional ingredient in the standards of identity for peanut butter and canned tuna; revises FDA's regulations affirming food substances as GRAS pertaining to menhaden oil and rapeseed oil to no longer include partially hydrogenated forms of these oils, and deletes the regulation affirming hydrogenated fish oil as GRAS as an indirect food substance.”
📊 Big Data Analysis for Food Safety
A new paper titled Review of visual analytics methods for food safety risks discusses how large food safety data sets from sources such as sensors, satellite imagery and social media can be analysed for risk assessment and risk prediction.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-023-00226-x
⚖️ Changes to GMO rules in the EU have been proposed
Gene-edited food organisms may be legally acceptable in Europe in the future, if a new proposal “Proposal for a Regulation of The European Parliament and of the Council on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed, and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/625” is accepted. Gene-edited foods which have been manipulated using only genes that are naturally available in their species’ gene pool, are considered distinct from food genetically modified organisms (GMO) in many jurisdictions worldwide and the new proposal for Europe would follow this idea as well, by continuing to ‘ban’ GMOs with genes from foreign species but ‘allow’ gene-edited organisms if foreign genes are not introduced.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-023-01505-x
📖 Guidance: Microbiological hazard controls for fruits and veg (FAO)
Update from 2nd October. New guidance from the FAO has been published: Prevention and control of microbiological hazards in fresh fruits and vegetables Part 4: Specific commodities. It is very specific and detailed, a great resource. Thank you to Janette Hughes for finding and sharing this new guidance document.
https://www.fao.org/3/cc7460en/cc7460en.pdf
🎓Free Webinar – Compressed Air in GFSI standards, 20th October
This free webinar, hosted by IFSQN includes a discussion on food safety standards requirements for compressed air, including how to test compressed air and gas.
🎓Free Webinar – Protect Your Company from Unexpected Supply Chain Risk
This webinar, hosted by Food Chain ID examines current examples of supply chain risk and how to set up processes to mitigate them.
https://gie-net.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OYkA4WOLSuaKBBVtkkva_A#/registration
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
Counterfeit pesticides;
Scallops - emerging risks;
A new food fraud hotline;
Contaminated tuna.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.
9 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Intentional malicious adulteration incident (UK) |
Undeclared allergen recalls (Europe) |
Unsafe snails seized (Portugal) |
Staphylococcus enterotoxin in cheese (Switzerland, Germany) |
New Guidance on Equipment Management from FSSC (Global) |
New Guidance on Food Loss and Waste from FSSC (Global) |
Free Webinar - Conquering Cockroaches in Food Handling Facilities |
Free Webinar - Implementing an SQF Code Edition 9 compliant Food Safety Management System |
Free Webinar - Beat the Recall: Effective Allergen Control in Food Manufacturing |
😬 Food defence (intentional adulteration) incident (United Kingdom)
A man who was caught maliciously contaminating food destined for a popular restaurant chain has been sentenced to almost three years in jail. For a description of his crimes and how he was caught, see this week’s issue of The Rotten Apple.
🥜 Undeclared allergens in Europe
Undeclared allergens are the most common reason for food safety recalls in many countries. Here are a few from the past few weeks in Europe, shown as an example of the types of hazards and which foods and beverages can be affected.
A company in Europe discovered undeclared peanut allergens in canned wasabi peas from China
A coconut non-alcoholic beverage from China was discovered to contain undeclared dairy allergens (casein, lactoglobulin and lactose) during an Italian border inspection.
🐌 Half a tonne of unsafe snails seized (Portugal)
Food safety authorities seized more than 500 kg of snails from two snail processing sites during an inspection where it was discovered that the sites may not have been properly eliminating parasites, as well as operating without the necessary licences and approvals.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/10/meat-supplements-and-wine-seized-in-portugal/
🧀 Staphylococcus enterotoxin in cheese (Switzerland, Germany)
An investigation which followed consumer illnesses discovered Staphylococcus enterotoxin in raw milk cheese.
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/633654
📖 New Guidance on Equipment Management from FSSC (Global)
The standards owner FSSC has released new guidance on Equipment Management.
📖 New Guidance on Food Loss and Waste from FSSC (Global)
The standards owner FSSC has released new guidance on reducing Food Loss and Waste.
📖 New Draft Guidance for FSMA from US FDA (USA)
The US FDA has released new draft guidance for the food industry. Two chapters in the draft guidance booklet Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food have been updated: Chapter 2 Food Allergen Program and Chapter 16 Acidified Foods.
https://www.fda.gov/media/100002/download
🎓 Free Webinar - Conquering Cockroaches in Food Handling Facilities, 11th October
Quality Assurance & Food Safety will be hosting a free webinar which will address cockroach issues in food processing facilities.
Register here:
https://gie-net.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K93nhqRoRGWCtAkU-aGdgw#/registration
🎓Free Webinar - Implementing an SQF Code Edition 9 compliant Food Safety Management System, 13th October
Hosted by IFSQN, the webinar will provide guidance on how to develop a food safety management system compliant with the SQF Food Safety Code, SQF Addendum for Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule 2023 and CODEX GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD HYGIENE CXC 1-1969 HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEM AND GUIDELINES FOR ITS APPLICATION 2022 Revision.
Register here:
https://event.webinarjam.com/register/369/nzv9luw2
🎓 Free Webinar - Beat the Recall: Effective Allergen Control in Food Manufacturing, 19th October
The first of the two-part webinar series on allergen control hosted by FoodSafety Magazine will discuss the following topics:
· The problems posed by allergen recalls and mispackaging/mislabeling
· How to implement a program to control allergens in food processing facilities and prevent allergen cross-contact
· How to ensure cleaning verification and validation for allergens and employ allergen detection methods
Register here:
https://bnp.omeclk.com/portal/wts/ug%5EcmQ%5Ecnt6LeczkyqyMo06cqvET2CdHlHOYOwWnC6a
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
Microchipping trees - olive growers get desperate;
Emerging risks from cargo thefts;
Emerging risks from animal welfare labelling rules;
Cocoa supply chain problems, olive oils in Greece;
New overviews of honey fraud, cheese fraud;
Incidents for paprika, shrimp, supplements, milk, bulk olive oil.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.
2 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Still no answers in 800+ mass food poisoning outbreak (Finland) |
Microbiological risk assessment guidance (FAO) |
Cultivated chicken has been recognised as kosher by a major certifier (Global) |
Food Safety in the Context of Food Industry 4.0, Guidance from SSAFE (Global) |
New Allergen Guidance (Australia) |
Free Webinar - Leveraging Proactive, Preventive, and Predictive Maintenance to Maximize Productivity |
Free Webinar - Advanced Solutions for Allergen Detection: New High Accuracy Rapid Tests and PCR Technique |
Free Webinar - Plant-Based Food Revolution: Leveraging ICP-MS for quality assurance and nutritional insights |
🤮 Still no answers in 800+ mass food poisoning outbreak (Finland)
More than 800 people were sickened in a foodborne illness outbreak in August, with victims being mostly children. The victims were from 18 schools and the outbreak has been linked to school meals.
Tortillas are suspected of being the source of the illnesses because people who ate tortillas were three times more likely to be sick than those who didn’t. However, no pathogens, toxins or microbial spoilage have been found. Symptoms are not typical of common food-borne illnesses, because they started less than one hour after eating and persisted on average for less than 12 hours. One batch of tortillas exhibited unexpected pH variations within the batch during testing. We first reported this outbreak in the August issue of Food Safety News.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/09/officials-puzzled-by-outbreak-in-finland-that-sickened-800/
📖 Microbiological risk assessment guidance (FAO)
The FAO has published a press release saying they published a guidance document for microbiological risk assessments for food. However, the document linked in the press release appears to be 2 years old. (??) The guidance document provides a structured framework for assessing microbiological hazards in food and is suitable for both experienced and inexperienced risk assessors.
https://www.whofoodsafety.org/news/21858
🐔 Cultivated chicken has been recognised as kosher by a major certifier (Global)
The world’s largest kosher certification body has agreed that cultivated meat can be considered meat and can also be kosher.
📖 Food Safety in the Context of Food Industry 4.0, Guidance from SSAFE (Global)
Food Industry 4.0 is “characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres”.
SSAFE is a global non-profit membership organization that works to strengthen food safety and improve human, plant and animal health and wellbeing. The guidance was created to help the food industry understand what Industry 4.0 is and what it means in the context of food safety. It describes good practices and includes case studies.
https://www.ssafe-food.org/standars/industry-4-0-and-food-safety-guide
🥜 New Allergen Guidance (Australia)
This new guidance document provides an overview of allergen management and labelling for Australian food businesses; best practices for managing allergens; best practices for labelling and best practices for other communications about allergens.
https://allergenbureau.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/FIGAML_2023_Final_V2.pdf
🎓 Free Webinar - Leveraging Proactive, Preventive, and Predictive Maintenance to Maximize Productivity, 3rd October
SQFI SmartBrief will host a free webinar that will explore the following topics:
How to leverage the right maintenance strategies to keep work on time and your operations running smoothly
Common mistakes to avoid when transitioning from reactive to preventive maintenance
How software can help streamline your maintenance operations without adding any administrative headaches
Register here:
🎓 Free Webinar - Advanced Solutions for Allergen Detection: New High Accuracy Rapid Tests and PCR Technique, 11th October
This free webinar hosted by New Food will cover the following key topics:
· State-of-the-art allergen management
· Identifying emerging allergens
· New generation of rapid tests, confronting challenges associated with concentration levels
· PCR techniques: covering gaps in allergen detection
Register here:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1144885607669722203
🎓 Free Webinar - Plant-Based Food Revolution: Leveraging ICP-MS for quality assurance and nutritional insights, 18th October
Hosted by New Food, this free webinar will explore the crucial aspects of plant-based foods and the challenges associated with their analysis of nutritional content for safety.
Register here:
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
Non-DNA Tests for Detecting Fraud in Vegetarian Foods;
Emerging risks for pea protein, lentils and foods traded through certain regional hubs;
Wheat flour fraud;
Albacore tuna fraud;
Starbucks accused of fraud in fruit drinks.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.
Recent Issues of Food Safety News
Food Safety News, September 2023
