Have you heard of Greedflation? According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), almost 50% of the inflation cannot be explained by rising energy or production costs. Do retailers make extra profits on the back of consumers? Or is it not that simple?
Food fraud and food inauthenticity have been constant issues, and on the radar of industry and competent authorities since the melamine crises in 2008. The ILSI Europe working group has compiled a comprehensive review and assessment on tools available for mitigation.
India and Pakistan heavily invest in mobile food safety testing labs. To make best use of the limited space, on-board analytical devices are ideally small but powerful. This is one of the key goals of the recently-funded TITAN project: creating portable, simple-to-use devices that, combined with artificial intelligence, can provide additional insights and data interpretation.
How can gene editing be used to reduce the use of pesticides or increase the yield? New ideas and new approaches make it possible.
What are the new trends in food security? New protein sources, new farming practices, digitization in the supply chain and new analytical methods.
The last two blogs on the cronobacter and listeria incidents showed how competent authorities failed to take timely action and lives were lost. In this post we are looking at two examples of competent authorities that are transparent, proactive and communicate with stakeholders at all levels.
Artificial intelligence is used in many areas to improve processes. Is there a role for artificial intelligence in food safety?
Before the cronobacter case in the US with infant formula, there was the so-called "Wilke case" in Germany. Wilke, a sausage manufacturer - apparently knowingly - sold products that were contaminated with listeria and caused the death of at least three people. Authorities were not inspecting the plant or not taking measures. There are striking similarities with the cronobacter case in the US in regard to the competent authorities' shortcomings.
Contamination of infant formula with cronobacter caused the death of several infants in the US. Inspectors and competent authorities acted hesitantly. Could the deaths have been prevented? What went wrong? What can be done better?
