The recent E.coli outbreak is likely to renew interest in the irradiation of salads, although it is too early to tell if it will lead to generic approval across the EU, according to an irradiation specialist from the International Atomic Energy Agency...
Take up of pulsed light (PL) as a decontamination technique is set to take off over the next few years as food companies increasingly realise its safety, cost and environmental benefits, said a leading French research institute.
The first products using sustainable sugarcane under a new certification scheme are about to hit the market after the initial batch was purchased by The Coca-Cola Company’s bottling system.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has demonstrated the scope of its new powers to control online marketing by ruling against a colon health-promoting email campaign for ionised alkaline mineral water.
Food safety authorities in Asia and Australasia have banned a number of soft drinks from Taiwan after it emerged that a clouding agent had been contaminating with the plastics additive DEHP.
Drinking two sugary beverages a day for four weeks is enough to dull sensitivity to the sweet taste and lead to a “viscous cycle” of consumption, claims a new UK study from Bangor University.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has denied a suggestion by two MEPs that it may have lost data relating to a previous safety evaluation of the high intensity sweetener aspartame (E951) and that it failed to examine it properly in the first place.
Frustrated Finnish dairy and ingredients firm Valio says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rejection of its probiotic claim contradicted or ignored peer reviewed data in its dossier that included 86 studies.
A widely publicised journal article attacking the marketing of energy and sports drinks to children and teenagers fails to recognise that youngsters are not the target of campaigns, claims Red Bull.
Energy drinks are “never appropriate” for children or adolescents and some contain substances that could be harmful, warns a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
MEPs have voted to allow nectar manufacturers to drop “with added sugar” labelling and to permit tangerine juice to be added to orange juices made in the EU.
The European Commission has asked EFSA to conduct a full re-evaluation of the safety of aspartame by July 2012, due to MEPs’ concerns and EFSA’s decision to look more closely at two recent studies on carcinogenicity and pregnancy effects.
Import controls of food from Japan have been strengthened after a thirteenth prefecture was added to the list of areas liable for extra scrutiny over fears of radiation contamination.
The cranberry industry, divided over differing methods of measuring the active proanthocyanidins (PACs) content of the berries, are offering differing interpretations of new advice from the French food agency (ANSES).
The long-standing dispute within the cranberry industry about the most appropriate way to measure the urinary tract infection (UTI)-battling berry’s active constituents was resolved in France recently when a government body backed a version of the DMAC...
The UK company behind a high pH, electrolysed water product says it fully expected the advertising watchdog to rule against its cancer, ageing and other claims, and will appeal.
Wine and spirit trade industry body the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) is launching a fraud prevention unit in an effort to combat fraud in the sector.
Coca-Cola Hellenic is the first company in the European beverage industry to receive an A+ for its 2010 stakeholder-reviewed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, according to the firm.
The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo have settled a trademark lawsuit over PepsiCo’s Trop50 juice packaging design, which Coca-Cola had claimed was too similar to that of its Simply juice range.
Use of high intensity light pulses (HILP) and thermosonification (TS) is effective in cutting E.coli populations in orange juice, according to new research.
The European Parliament’s Environment committee is pushing for a warning label on products containing aspartame stating that they may not be suitable for pregnant women – despite opinions from EFSA and the French food safety ANSES that scientific evidence...
A new study to be published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has sent out another warning about the popularity of energy drink mixers among young people.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a new standard to certify the 100 per cent purity and quality of soluble coffee powder to detect misleading declarations and counterfeit products.
A leading probiotics researcher says the ongoing uncertainty about endpoints and biomarkers in European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claim evaluations, means the best chance for probiotic products to make claims is to combine them with nutrients...
The European Federation of Bottled Water (EFBW) is celebrating two positive opinions from three claims that the trade association sent to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
As customs officers in the UK raid an illegal vodka plant and the FSA sends out a warning about fake bottles of Jacob’s Creek wine, scientists in Leicester claim to have developed a counterfeit wine and spirit detector that works on unopened bottles.
The increasing number of SALSA approved businesses over the past 24 months and greater retailer recognition are indicators of both the scheme's growth potential and its suitability for the SME sector, claims one of the trade groups behind the scheme.
The Indian Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized nearly 17,000 packets of a Unilever red tea product for making non-approved antioxidant claims.
Last ditch efforts to salvage the novel foods regulation were derailed yesterday after the European Parliament and Council failed to reach agreement over the issue of cloned animals – with each side blaming the other for the impasse.
Food audits are a day-to-day reality in the modern food processing industry, as consumer and regulatory expectations become ever-more demanding. But what is it like for the people who spend their lives inspecting plants?
The food safety management scheme FSSC 22000 is set for explosive growth over the next three years as increasing numbers of major food processors and retailers switch to using the system, said the organisation’s chief Fons Schmid.
The number of food factories certified to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety is up more than 20 per cent on last year to 13,923 but doubts remain over the quality of the audits.
Fairtrade International (FLO) has increased minimum prices and required price gaps for different Fairtrade coffees in reaction to the recent spike in prices.
The German federal risk assessor has recommended further research into hormone-like activity in natural mineral waters despite finding no cause for concern in recent tests.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has withdrawn one of its Lucozade products after consumers complained of an unpleasant smell and taste that the company believes is linked to the preservative potassium sorbate.
The food industry has a responsibility to label allergenic ingredients as big and bold as they can – but also not to over-egg the slimmest of slim possibilities that a trace amount of an allergen may have slipped into a product.
Colorado may regain a tax exemption for sugary soft drinks after a House Republican plan to remove recently imposed taxes passed the state’s finance committee on Wednesday.
A European Commission initiative to release 500,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar onto the EU market has been backed by member states in the EU sugar management committee today.
The European Food Safety Authority health claims panel has turned in two negative opinions for separate claims that sought to link calcium-fortified fruit juice and tooth demineralisation; and water consumption and dehydration.
Austrian bottle and preform producer Alpla said it has secured an important legal victory in its battle with Italian company Cobarr over a disputed PET patent.
Dutch-based Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) player, Lipid Nutrition, has withdrawn its CLA Novel Foods application in Australia and New Zealand due to the two countries’ policy to reduce all trans fatty acids (TFAs) in the diet.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) claims that some caramel colorings may cause cancer, and has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban them in foods and beverages.
US researchers have singled out children and teenagers with heart abnormalities, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or other health or emotional problems as being susceptible to adverse events when consuming energy drinks.
The latest proposal to tax soda at a state level has fizzled, as Hawaiian Senators have voted against a plan to tax sugary drinks by up to 25 cents a bottle.
The Indian Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) has been blocked from including representatives from the food and beverage industry in a scientific panel set up to advise on safety and standards.
