With the fiercely debated EFSA decision to extend the license for glyphosate for another five years, the achievement of the WTO ministerial conference in Buenos Aires is very welcomed. 17 signatory countries have agreed to increase the capacity of Codex in setting international standards on maximum residue levels (MRLs).
The first 20 cases of infant sickness were already reported in France in early December. This had prompted the recall of 12 Lactalis products suspected to be contaminated with Salmonella Agona (Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Agona). Later that week, some more cases of infant sickness were reported.
The Special Section of the Journal of AOAC International on Food Allergens is now online. Bert Popping and Carmen Diaz-Amigo served as guess editors of the section, which includes 25 manuscripts from recognized experts in the field.
Neat marketing idea - but not for the instantly hungry.
Excellent 'Chasing Zero' session moderated by Tony Flood.
Impressive speaker line-up on first day of ILSI Europe annual symposium: Britt Maestroni (FAO), Diána Bánáti (ILSI Europe), Ana Canals Caballero (AECOSAN), Katrin Schutte (European Commission), Bert Popping (FOCOS - Food Consulting... Strategically), Lynn Frewer (Newcastle University) and Tim Benton (University of Leeds).
At the AOAC mid-year meeting, members of the community came together to discuss emerging consumer devices for the analysis of food allergens and gluten. It was noted that in several cases results obtained by consumer devices and by analytical tests used routinely by food industry showed discrepancies.
China food fraud regulation and enforcement roundtable. Excellent event and discussions around the new Food safety draft (and its gaps) with representation of CFDA, Walmart, University of California, Los Angeles and US Pharmacopeia.
Asking the German government at their BVL conference on food fraud in Berlin today, if, 200 years after Fredrick Accum revealed fraud of 6 major product categories including olive oil, dairy products and liquors, we will have to wait another 200 years to resolve the issue, the answer remained elusive. Major issues are cooperation of food authorities and shortness of resources.
