News Headlines: 23 - 29 January 2010

http://www.foodsafetywatch.com

GM maize toxicity findings challenged; Agency launches new food hygiene campaign; EU strengthens border controls for non-animal foods; Canadian food safety system comes in for criticism; FSAI launches food allergen alert service; USDA food safety Undersecretary nominated; Salmonella outbreak prompts nationwide salami recall; Yeast may be biological control agent for aflatoxins; Chicken confirmed as major Campylobacter source

GM maize toxicity findings challenged

The findings of a French research study apparently showing that rats fed on three GM corn varieties suffered liver and kidney damaged have been challenged by the biotech industry and by independent toxicologists according to a report in UK popular science journal New Scientist.

The study was carried out for the anti-GM campaign group CriiGen by two French universities and focused on an analysis of data released by biotech company Monsanto following a legal challenge by CriiGen and others. The data referred to rodent feeding trials where rats were fed three GM maize varieties (MON 810, MON 863 and NK 603) over a 14-week period. After analysing the Monsanto data, the researchers, led by Gilles-Eric Séralini of Caen University, concluded that "signs of toxicity" were present, suggesting that liver and kidney function were impaired.

According to the New Scientist report, Monsanto has responded to the findings, saying that they do not demonstrate any risk to consumers. In addition, the French High Council of Biotechnology has commented that the CriiGen study provides no new evidence of toxicity from any of the three maize varieties. New Scientist also contacted independent toxicologists to comment on the study. They suggested that it put too much emphasis on minor variations that would normally be regarded as "random background noise."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527444.000-engineered-maize-toxicity-claims-roundly-rebuffed.html

Agency launches new food hygiene campaign

The UK Food Standards Agency has launched a national campaign to improve awareness of the tools available to UK food businesses to help them comply with the requirements of food hygiene legislation.

The campaign will run until March and will target businesses supplying food directly to consumers, especially restaurants and other catering outlets. It will promote tools like the 'Safer Food, Better Business' pack available in England and Wales and the CookSafe pack intended for Scottish businesses. These tools provide practical food safety management help and will assist businesses to improve their hygiene ratings in advance of the planned 'scores on the doors' scheme to be launched later in 2010.

More information about the Agency's food safety management tools can be found at the web link below.

http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/regulation/hygleg/hyglegresources/

EU strengthens border controls for non-animal foods

The European Commission has announced that all EU member states are stepping up border controls on a number of food and feed products of non-animal origin, including nuts, fruit and vegetables, which are imported from countries outside the EU.

The stiffer controls are aimed at detecting contaminants that could affect human and animal health, notably mycotoxins and pesticides. Documents accompanying shipments of imported feed and produce will be checked systematically at EU border crossings and new physical checks will also be performed. The Commission will monitor the implementation of the new controls across the EU.

http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/controls/foodfeed/legisl_en.htm

Canadian food safety system comes in for criticism

A recently published article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) concludes that the food safety system currently operating in Canada does not compare well with systems in other countries such as the USA, Australia and the EU.

The author of the article, Dr Richard A. Holley from the University of Manitoba, says that the Canadian food safety system is fragmented under the control of different agencies, is reactive and lacks investment. He also points out that Canada does not have a national surveillance system for foodborne disease. This means that there is a lack of accurate data for designing effective interventions.

The full article can be found on the CMAJ web site but is only available in full to subscribers.

http://www.cmaj.ca/

FSAI launches food allergen alert service

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has launched a free email and SMS text alert service to provide food allergy sufferers directly with information on the presence of allergens in inappropriately labelled food products.

Anyone interested in using the new service can subscribe to receive alerts at the FSAI web site. When the Authority is notified that a specific product might present a risk to consumer health because of missing or incorrect labelling it will immediately issue an alert to subscribers enforcement officers and food businesses.

The FSAI is also looking to obtain more information on the incidence and type of food allergies in Ireland and has placed an online survey on its web site. It is currently estimated that about 5% of Irish children and 3% of adults suffer from food allergies.

http://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/press_releases/26012010.html

USDA food safety Undersecretary nominated

News reports from the USA state that President Obama has nominated Dr Elisabeth Hagen for the position of Undersecretary for Food Safety at the US Department of Agriculture.

Hagen is a qualified physician, an expert in infectious diseases and is currently USDA Chief Medical Officer. She has also worked in the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. News reports state that she is also a robust advocate for more effective food safety policy and enforcement.

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2010/01/0022.xml

Salmonella outbreak prompts nationwide salami recall

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the USDA and the FDA are currently investigating a large multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo infection, which has affected at least 189 people in 40 states since last July.

The outbreak was first linked by epidemiological evidence to a sliced salami variety pack produced by Daniele International Inc. of Rhode Island. Microbiological investigation of the outbreak has now confirmed the link and has isolated the outbreak strain of Salmonella Montevideo from a retail sample of salami produced by Daniele and also from a salami variety pack taken from the home of a patient in Iowa suffering from the infection. However, CDC states that the investigation is ongoing and it is possible that other food products are involved in the outbreak.

Daniele is assisting with the outbreak investigation and has initiated a voluntary recall of approximately 1,240,000 pounds of ready-to-eat Italian sausage products, including salamis. The recall covers at least 18 different products and includes all salamis containing black pepper, which Daniele believes to be a possible source of the contamination. All the recalled products were distributed to retailers nationwide and were also exported.

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/montevideo/index.html

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_006_2010_Release/index.asp

Yeast may be biological control agent for aflatoxins

The USDA Agricultural Research Service has announced in a news release that it is investigating the use of a yeast species called Pichia anomala as a biological control agent for the mould Aspergillus flavus, which produces highly toxic fungal toxins (aflatoxins) in tree nuts, such as almonds and pistachios.

Research by plant physiologist Sui-Sheng Hua has shown that the yeast can out-compete Asp. flavus and reduce its incidence by up to 97% when sprayed onto trees in a pistachio orchard using a patented process. It is hoped that this research will result in the development of an environmentally friendly method of controlling aflatoxin production in tree nuts. The yeast can also be sprayed onto harvested and stored nut crops and may be useful in protecting other crops against a variety of toxin-producing and spoilage fungi.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100127.htm

Chicken confirmed as major Campylobacter source

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Biological Hazards Panel (BIOHAZ) has adopted an expert scientific opinion on the contribution of broiler chicken meat to human cases of Campylobacter infection.

It has long been suspected that broiler meat is an important source of campylobacteriosis, now the most common foodborne disease in Europe, but it can be difficult to trace the source of infection in the many sporadic (non-outbreak) cases that are recorded. On the basis of the available evidence the BIOHAZ Panel estimates that handling, preparing and consuming broiler meat could account for 20-30% of human cases of campylobacteriosis, probably making it the major source of human infection.

The Panel also concluded that the true number of cases of human Campylobacter infection is likely to be much higher than official reports suggest (about 200,000 cases in 2007) and recommends that all EU member states should carry out active surveillance to help estimate the true incidence of the disease. The BIOHAZ Panel will now turn their attention to the identification of control measures to reduce Campylobacter contamination levels in the broiler meat chain.

The full opinion can be found at the link below.

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/scdoc/1437.htm