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News Headlines: 09 - 15 January 2010

EFSA assesses safety of smoke flavourings; Parliamentary committee critical of food industry nanotechnology research; WHO publishes latest Microbiological Risk Assessment volumes; Beef recalled over E. coli concerns; Fresh concerns over bisphenol A safety; Nestle USA to switch to heat treated flour for cookie dough

EFSA assesses safety of smoke flavourings

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has completed the first ever review of 11 smoke flavourings used in the European Union. The findings of the review will be used by the European Commission to compile a list of smoke flavourings authorised for food use.

The review was carried out by the expert Panel on Flavourings, which based its conclusions on the limited data available and on conservative intake estimates. The Panel found that only two of the 11 products had margins of safety large enough not to give rise to any health concerns. Eight others had smaller safety margins and did give rise to concern, while the panel could not rule out the possibility of genotoxicity concerns for one flavouring (AM 01) on the basis of the available data. One further product could not be assessed due to a lack of data.

A summary of the Panel findings and individual opinions can be found at the link below.

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/cef100108.htm

Parliamentary committee critical of food industry nanotechnology research

The UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has published a report, 'Nanotechnologies and Food', which is critical of the food industry for a lack of transparency and openness about research into and use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in food.

The report was compiled by an inquiry chaired by former Food Standards Agency head Lord Krebs and expresses concerns that this perceived lack of transparency may lead consumers to reject the technology. Other concerns are expressed over a lack of research into the health and safety of risks arising from nanomaterial use in food, especially in regard to the behaviour of these materials in the gut, and over illegal importation of foods containing nanomaterials.

The report also recommends that the Food Standards Agency should maintain a publicly available register of food and packaging containing nanomaterials, and that such materials should be clearly defined in food legislation.

The full report is available online at the link below.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldsctech.htm

WHO publishes latest Microbiological Risk Assessment volumes

The World Health Organisation has recently published the two latest volumes in its ongoing Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) series. Volume 17 covers Risk Characterisation of Microbiological Hazards in Foods, while volume 19 deals with Salmonella and Campyobacter in Chicken Meat.

The risk characterisation document provides guidelines for characterisation of the risks presented by microbiological hazards and is designed for risk assessors and managers, within regulatory agencies, scientific committees and industry. It supplies information on how to carry out the process and includes a number of useful tools and technique. The importance of reliable estimation of risk in overall risk assessment is emphasised.

The Salmonella and Campylobacter in chicken meat document is the result of a technical meeting held in Rome during may 2009 and details the discussions and findings of that meeting. The meeting was held to provide scientific advice to assist the Codex Alimentarius Commission to draw up guidelines for the control of the two pathogens in poultry.

Both MRA volumes can be found on the WHO web site via the links below.

http://www.who.int/entity/foodsafety/publications/micro/MRA17.pdf

http://www.who.int/entity/foodsafety/publications/micro/MRA19.pdf

Beef recalled over E. coli concerns

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced that Adams Farm Slaughterhouse, Athol, Massachusetts, is recalling approximately 2,574 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The recall was initiated after an investigation into a case of illness in Massachusetts established a link with beef from this supplier and confirmed the presence of the pathogen in a sample of ground beef. The recalled meat was packed for three separate privately owned farms and was not sold directly through retailers. Each pack is labelled with the establishment number EST. 5497 and a packing date of 11/11/2009.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_002_2010_Release/index.asp

Fresh concerns over bisphenol A safety

A newly published UK research study presents new evidence for a link between exposure to the industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and cardiovascular disease in adults. Elsewhere, an Australian consumer group has called for the food industry to phase out the use of BPA in food packaging.

The new research study was carried out by a team from the Peninsula Medical School and the University of Exeter, lead by professor David Melzer. The team analysed newly published data from a US government population study carried out in 2006 and found that higher BPA concentrations in the urine were associated with heart disease. The 25% of the population with the highest urinary BPA levels were found to be more than twice as likely to report having heart disease or diabetes. This finding supported previous analysis of data from 2003-2004, although the concentrations of BPA found were significantly lower in 2006. The findings are published in the online journal PLoS ONE (link below).

Meanwhile, Australian Consumer group CHOICE has published a report on plastics in food focusing on BPA and phthalate plasticisers and has called for both chemicals to be phased out because of health concerns, particularly in relation to infants. At the same time Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) published a fact sheet on BPA for consumers. This points out that the scientific evidence suggests that levels of BPA found in foods are safe, but also states that it would support the use of alternatives in baby bottles, providing that those alternatives are proven to be safe.

BPA is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate and plastic resins and may leach into foods stored in polycarbonate bottles and containers. It is also found in the inner coatings applied to some food cans.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0008673

http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests/Food-and-Health/Food-and-drink/Safety/Plastic-food-containers/page/Introduction.aspx

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/educationalmaterial/factsheets/factsheets2010/bisphenolabpaandfood4688.cfm

Nestle USA to switch to heat treated flour for cookie dough

According to press reports from the USA, Nestle USA has announced that it will be using heat-treated flour in the manufacture of its range of Toll House brand refrigerated cookie dough products after two samples tested positive for E. coli.

Nestle USA recalled batches of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough last June after it was linked to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infection, which affected at least 80 people across 31 states. The source of the contamination was never identified, but Nestle introduced an enhanced programme of microbiological testing for ingredients and the production environment before production resumed after the recall.

The decision to switch to heat-treated flour suggests that flour is at least suspected of being the source of the new contamination incident. Production of cookie dough at Nestles' Danville, Virginia factory will resume on 25 January after modifications to the plant have been completed.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60C5WS20100113

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