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News Headlines: 02 - 08 April 2010

Fewer inspections threatens US food safety; Tuna recalled over histamine concerns; France reports staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks; EFSA launches journal

Fewer inspections threatens US food safety

According to a report from Reuters in Washington the number of Federal inspections of food manufacturing plants in the USA is falling and some facilities have not been inspected for more than five year.

The figures come from a report by the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General, which cites a drop in the number of inspectors employed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the main reason for the decline in the number of inspections. Even facilities deemed to be high-risk are reportedly not being checked as frequently as before.

The report also found that food safety violations were not always properly addressed by the FDA, with necessary regulatory or follow-up action not being taken on occasion. It is expected that the situation may improve when the US Senate passes a new food safety bill and more funding is released for the FDA.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6365HU20100407

Tuna recalled over histamine concerns

The US Food and Drug Administration has announced that Whole Foods Market is recalling Whole Catch Yellow Fin Tuna Steaks (frozen) with a best by date of Dec 5th 2010, because of the possibility of elevated levels of the biogenic amine histamine.

The recalled fish was sold in 12-ounce bags with a Lot Code of 4853309157A and distributed to stores in 28 states plus the District of Columbia. High levels of histamine can cause a mild form of foodborne intoxication called scombrotoxic food poisoning. The recall was initiated as a precaution after two separate incidents were reported by consumers.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm207477.htm

France reports staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks

The French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) has reported the first known cases of food poisoning caused by staphylococcal enterotoxin type E in France. The cases are associated with unpasteurised soft cheese.

During October and November 2009, six household outbreaks of staphylococcal food poisoning affecting a total of 23 people were notified in six different areas. Epidemiological investigation of the outbreaks revealed that a soft cheese produced from unpasteurised cows milk was the most likely single source of infection in all the outbreaks.

Microbiological testing of samples of the cheese showed that large numbers (>150,000 CFU/g) of coagulase positive staphylococci were present and staphylococcal enterotoxin type E (SEE) was also detected. The implicated cheese was traced back to three batches made by the same producer from a single milk storage tank.

These outbreaks are thought to be the first ever reported in France that could be shown to be caused by SEE, an enterotoxin type also rarely implicated in food poisoning outbreaks in other countries. Toxin concentrations of 0.45 ng/g were found in the cheese. The cheese batches concerned in the outbreaks were recalled by the French authorities and an alert was issued to other EU countries via the RASFF system.

The full report can be found at the link below.

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19528

EFSA launches journal

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched an electronic, open-access scientific journal. The new EFSA Journal occupies a dedicated area within the Authority web site and brings together all of EFSA's scientific work in one place.

The Journal in aimed at the scientific community and contains all the work carried out by the Authority and its Scientific Committees and expert Panels throughout the food supply chain. Topics include food and feed safety, nutrition, animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection.

The journal is free to access and users can receive content updates via email or RSS feed. A searchable archive of previous issues dating back to 2003 is also available for browsing.

The EFSA journal can be found at the link below.

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal.htm

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