Category Archives: Uncategorized

After the recent concerns with a certain batch of almond stuffed olives in Finland, UK and Ireland a voluntary recall of the products has been put in place in the USA. One person has already died from the toxin in this product, see the full article at the link below.

Food Quality News Article

An article in Food Quality News has reported on the DuPont DNA database system that holds 8,500 DNA fingerprints of bacteria that could help to increase the speed of identifying the organisms in food scares. The Riboprinter data base system processes bacterial samples and extracts data from the genes and then generates patterns or fingerprints that can identify the bacteria when compared against the data base.

Although not food related it is interesting!

In light of recent newspaper reports about the health risks related to the ever more popular fish pedicure treatment centers the HPA have produced a risk assessment guide which can be downloaded at the link below.

HPA Guide

I have put this link to the FSA booklet on Food Hygiene for Business, although it has been around for a while you may not have come across it before and it is a useful document for small businesses.

Food Hygiene

The FSA have acknowledged that there seems to be an increase in the prevalence of Listeriosis in the over 60’s and as yet there does not seem to be any particular explanation at the moment. However they have produced a couple of leaflets that you can download from the links below aimed at the over 60’s but the details could apply to anyone.

Leaflet 1

Leaflet 2

The European Food Safety Authority  (EFSA) has revised its consumer advice on the consumption of sprouts and sprouting seeds. The authority is no longer advising consumers not to grow sprouts for their own consumption and not to eat sprouts or sprouted seeds unless they have been cooked throughly. It now recommends that consumers look to their own member states advice on sprout/sprouting seed consumption. It also reminds consumers about hygiene when handling and consuming fresh vegetables, such as washing hands and foods properly and separarting raw and cooked foods.

They have also published a comprehensive report on the outbreak of E.col O104 earlier this year.

Article Link

Report Link

Thousands of cooked pigs ears produced in Spain and distributed in France have been recalled. The products are vacuum packed and sold in Leader Price stores in France, the advice is to destroy the packets and get a refund by receipt. The details of the relevant product data can be found at the link below. (barfblog/food safety)

Article Link

A Dutch company called Micreos looks like they will gain approval in Australasia for a bacteriophage that attacks Listeria and could be used as a processing aid.

The bacteriophage is designed for use as a spray or dip for targeted applications on food products not as a surface disinfectant or general bactericide. The P100 bacteriophage will not effect any other bacteria except Listeria and are harmless to plants, animals and humans.

Food Production Daily Link

The EU has lifted restrictions on the import of vegetables from Egypt imposed after the recent E.coli O104 outbreak in Germany and France. However the ban on fenugreek sprouts will remain until the 31st October. The lifting of  the restrictions comes after safety audits in Egypt by the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO). The inclusion in the restrictions of fresh produce has always been contentious and food trade in fresh produce between the UK and Egypt resulted in an estimated loss in revenue of £54 million.

Food production Daily Link