Monthly Archives: April 2012

FSA – Olympic Food Safety Campaign Launch

FSA

The Food Standards Agency has launched the Play it Safe campaign, to raise awareness of food safety during the London 2012 Games. The Agency is working with food businesses and food safety enforcement officers to ensure all food sold, cooked and eaten during the Games is safe.

The first strand of the campaign focuses on the Food Safety Squad, the 10 environmental health officers acting as ambassadors for food safety. They represent the hundreds of environmental health officers around the country who are carrying out vital work to keep visitors to the Games safe and healthy.

The campaign highlights the Agency measures being undertaken to minimise the risk of food safety incidents occurring during London 2012. These include a food safety coaching programme for small businesses in Olympic areas that are in need of improvement; funding and training initiatives for local authorities in Olympic areas; and providing extra equipment for sampling and checks on cleaning.

Climate Change – Influences Pathogen Outbreaks?

Food Safety News 

To me this seems to be a reasonably logical assumption and this report attempts to back that up.

The transmission of foodborne pathogens may be impacted by the effects of climate change, according to a report released March 28 by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Studying hundreds of peer-reviewed publications on six different food- and waterborne pathogens, the report’s authors observed 1,653 “key facts” that link the viability of those pathogens to a range of climatic variables such as air temperature, water temperature and precipitation. The pathogens under study included Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Norovirus, Cryptosporidium and non-cholera Vibrio.

Link to Report : Free Report

China – Food Poisoning Incidents Hit Rural Schools

China Daily

Seven students at a primary school in Southwest China remain in the hospital after they had eaten a free meal provided by the government and got sick, according to a local official.

The rest of the 79 students, who all attend the Babuzhen Central Primary School, in Bijie city’s Zhijin county, Guizhou province, have been discharged, according to Chen Guangshi, director of the county’s publicity department.

Eighty-six students at the school began to vomit and suffer abdominal pains after they had eaten the free breakfast on March 29.

 

Japan – Raw Beef Liver – E.coli O157

The Japan Times

A health ministry panel on Friday proposed banning all raw beef liver served at restaurants, after it was discovered that it contains the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will swiftly refer the matter to the Food Safety Commission under the Cabinet Office. Once the commission compiles a report, the new ban could be incorporated in the Food Sanitation Law and come into effect as early as June.

Violations regarding raw liver, considered a delicacy, would be punishable by up to two years in prison or a maximum fine of ¥2 million.

Cananda – Cured Sausage Recall – Listeria monocytogenes

CIFA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the La Vecchia Fattoria brand Cacciatore Dry Cured Sausages described below because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The affected product, La Vecchia Fattoria brand Cacciatore Dry Cured Sausages, is sold in packages of 2 units each (approximately 300g), bearing UPC 8 81248 33336 1 and a Best Before date of 12 23 JL.

This product has been distributed in Quebec.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.