April 2019 – Food Safety Industry Moments You Might Have Missed
We are pleased to bring you a video update highlighting key industry moments you may have missed earlier in the month from across the globe. Each of these videos will be accompanied with a transcript and supporting resources where pertinent, as well as sources for further information, and more detailed reading.
FDA routine Intentional Adulteration Inspections Start March 2020
The FDA confirmed earlier this month during a public meeting that routine inspections to verify compliance with the FSMA Intentional Adulteration rule will begin next March.
The first compliance date for the rule is this July, but due to the, quote, “novel nature”, of the rule and to give industry time with yet to be released materials, tools, and training, routine inspections are expected to start in March, 2020.
European Food Safety Authority new rules for Risk Assessment
The European Food Safety Authority ratified proposals for new rules that intend to increase transparency in the EU food safety risk assessment process, on April 17th, by 603 votes in favour to 17 against.
The new rules have revised the General Food Law regulation and will see the creation of a common European Database of commissioned studies and allow the EFSA to make submitted studies public for third-party scrutiny.
WHO warning on climate change affecting food safety
The WHO published their first comments on climate change, warning that it may have an impact on food safety.
Previous studies by the WHO indicated that cases of salmonellosis increase by 5 to 10% for each 1 degree increase in weekly temperature above 5 degrees Celsius, and it now warns that affects may extend to the occurrence of bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, chemical residues of pesticides and veterinary medicines, and risk of food contamination may also increase.
The WHO has already begun action to help countries raise awareness of the potential effect of foodborne risks associated with climate change, including amongst other initiatives, its involvement with the International Forum on Food Safety and Trade, held last week in Geneva, Switzerland.
FSS Tool
Food Standards Scotland launched a new alert service for food allergies that will alert users by email or text message for any issue involving the 14 ingredients recognised as allergens in the UK. The tool will send alerts by text message or email and is free to use by signing up on the FSS website.
The launch comes following recent consumer research that 15% of people surveyed either suffered from an allergy or had someone in their house that did.
Global wine production at record level
Figures published by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine state that Global wine production reached a record of 292 million hectoliters in 2018.
Italy remains the world’s largest producer and, along with 2nd place France and 3rd place Spain, account for more than 50% of the world’s wine production.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s wine industry has recorded its 23rd consecutive year of export growth, with exports now valued at $1.7bn NZD ($1.13bn USD) as wine tourism continues to play an increasingly important role in promoting the nation’s wines.
More information – Global Wine Production
More information – New Zealand Wine Exports
USDA, EPA, and FDA unveil strategy to reduce food waste
USDA, EPA, and FDA revealed plans for a combined interagency strategy to tackle the issue of food waste earlier this month.
The strategy includes six key priority areas that will be worked on over the next year.
Although it focuses mostly about synergising the resources of the agencies, one of the key takeaways is more collaboration with private industry to reduce food loss and waste across the supply chain.
The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement strengthen food safety practices for leafy greens
In partial response to the Leafy Green recall last year for E.Coli, the California LGMA have adopted additional requirements to reduce risk when using water for growing lettuce and leafy greens.
The requirements introduce new safeguards that ensure farmers will categorise the source of water, consider how and when it should be applied, conduct testing to verify its safety, and verify all precautions have taken place.
International Food Safety Authorities Network report global rise in incidents
Finally, the joint UN and WHO, FAO’s International Food Safety Authorities Network revealed it investigated 21 incidents globally in the first quarter of 2019, up from 19, in Q4 of 2018.
11 of these incidents were due to microbiological hazards, with others including physical and chemical hazards, as well as undeclared allergens also. 4 of the 5 microbiological hazards already have existing datasheets, which can be accessed in the datasheet library.
Conclusion
That is your monthly Industry round up and thank you for watching. If you would like to know more about how food businesses globally use Safefood 360° to meet their compliance and quality demands, please send me a message, comment or visit Safefood360.com for more information.
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