http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm Our editors thoughts on food safety issues of the moment en-us webmaster@foodsafetywatch.com http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=133 Here we are in the first month of 2012 and contaminated seed sprouts are already in the news. After sprouted fenugreek seeds caused one of the worst E. coli outbreaks ever recorded last year in German http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=132 Food safety audits are in the spotlight this week following a critical report from a US House of Representatives Committee into the Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe melons, which affected 146 pe http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=131 History seems certain to regard 2011 as a landmark year, but for many people who have had to live through it 2012 cannot come soon enough. A seemingly unending parade of natural disasters, political u http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=130 Despite a 30-year involvement with food safety I still like to cook, and indeed eat, from time to time. One of my favourite books on food bears the name of a moderately famous TV chef and contains som http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=129 If you are one of the small band of people who actually read this stuff you will know that one of my favourite hobby horses is the abuse of antibiotics in agriculture. I cannot understand why it is st http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=128 We all know that food production is very much a global industry today. Keeping up with customer demands for a wide choice of fresh products all year round means creating supply chains that stretch all http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=127 There has been a bit of a row this week over how the UK Health Protection and Food Standards Agencies handled an E. coli O157 outbreak that caused 250 cases of illness and one death during the first s http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=126 2011 has already been a year of disasters, the Japanese tsunami and impending global economic meltdown to name but two. Now food safety news seems to be following the same pattern. The E. coli O104:H4 http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=125 Listening to the BBC news this week, I was interested to learn that the UK government is publishing new guidance for food manufacturers on date labelling. The idea is to get rid of 'sell by' and 'disp http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=124 So-called artisan foods are rather fashionable at the moment. Often traditional or niche products, manufactured by small businesses from local ingredients, artisan foods have a wholesome image, unlike http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=123 Food analysis laboratories are extremely high-tech places these days. You are unlikely to see serried ranks of technicians holding test tubes over Bunsen burners in modern labs, which look more like m http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=122 Ask the average person about the bacteria that cause food poisoning and they will probably mention Salmonella, E. coli and maybe Listeria. The one they almost certainly won't be aware of is Campylobac http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=121 Over many years working in the food industry, I have been asked on a number of occasions for my views about the wisdom of products that rely for their safety on consumers following the instructions on http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=120 Seed and bean sprouts seem like such a good idea for a healthy food ingredient. Obviously fresh, packed with all kinds of nutritional goodies and tasty too, sprouts are the perfect addition to a nice http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=119 Most of this week's food safety news seems to concern sprouting seeds, the consumption of which is beginning to look like a sort of gastrointestinal Russian roulette. A Salmonella outbreak linked to u http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=118 The US Food and Drug Administration chose this week to launch its new "Pathway to Global Product Safety and Quality" strategy. This is a timely attempt by the FDA to address the challenges it faces in http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=117 Last week's piece about the difficulties faced by those charged with identifying the source of a major E. coli outbreak battering the north of Germany was almost immediately overtaken by events. No so http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=116 The large and fatal outbreak of E. coli O104:H4 in northern Germany continued to grab the headlines this week. Nearly 3,000 people have been made ill, many seriously, and 27 have died so far. Yet the http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=115 No problem deciding what to write about this week as one event dominates, not just the food safety headlines, but the mainstream news headlines. I refer of course to the foodborne (probably) E. coli O http://www.foodsafetywatch.com/public/department38.cfm?ID=114 This week has seen the publication of an interesting report compiled by researchers at the University of Florida. Called "Ranking the Risks: The 10 Pathogen-Food Combinations with the Greatest Burden