The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued its Strategic Plan 2015-20 outlining a number of initiatives it plans to undertake with industry and other stakeholders over the next five years. Key activities include (i) implementing campaigns to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness caused by Campylobacter and Listeria infections; (ii) expanding capabilities of the agency’s newly established Food Crime Unit; (iii) expanding the agency’s horizon scanning and emerging risks analytical capabilities; (iv) establishing new platforms for consumer engagement; and (v) continuing robust engagement with the European Union on revisions to the regulation on official food and feed controls. See FSA News Release, June 3, 2015. Issue 567
Category Archives Europe
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its final caffeine risk assessment, concluding that “single doses of caffeine up to 200 mg” and “habitual caffeine consumption up to 400 mg per day does not give rise to safety concerns for non-pregnant adults.” Following a two-month consultation, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel) issued a scientific opinion considering “possible interactions” between caffeine and energy drink constituents, alcohol, p-synephrine, and physical exercise. The data evidently indicated no safety concerns when non-pregnant adults consume up to 200 mg of caffeine (i) less than 2 hours before intense physical exercise, (ii) in combination with energy drink ingredients such as taurine or d-glucurono-γ-lactone at typical concentrations, or (iii) in combination with alcohol at doses up to 0.65 g/kg body weight (bw). “The single doses of caffeine considered to be of no concern for adults (3mg/kg bw per day) may…
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has issued a guidance note for industry discussing general legal requirements for use of the descriptors “artisan/artisanal,” “farmhouse,” “traditional” and “natural.” “Marketing terms are designed to resonate with consumers and are an essential part of business development in the food industry,” said Wayne Anderson, FSAI Director of Food Science and Standards. “Consumers need to be confident that the foods they purchase and consume are accurately and truthfully described on the label. Food businesses should also be confident that genuine descriptions of their food are not diluted in the marketplace by undefined marketing terms.” The labeling guidelines apply to products placed on the market after December 2016. See FSAI News Release, May 14, 2015. Issue 566
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced a June 17, 2015, workshop in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss supplementary guidance for the allergenicity assessment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). According to the agency, the supplementary guidance aims to reflect technological and scientific advances as well as assessment methodologies developed since EFSA finalized the current guidance in 2011. The Working Group of EFSA’s GMO Panel requests feedback from member states, international partners, academia, non-governmental organizations and industry on the following topics: (i) non-IgEmediated immune adverse reactions to foods; (ii) in vitro digestibility tests for allergenicity assessment; and (iii) endogenous allergenicity. The June workshop will feature the work of 90 experts with a focus on molecular allergology, protein chemistry, plant science, clinical allergy, gastroenterology, food chemistry, and risk assessment. See EFSA News Release, April 14, 2015. Issue 562
The European Commission (EC) is convening a meeting to “inform Member States, Members of the European Parliament, third country representatives and stakeholders about the ongoing impact assessment on criteria to identify endocrine disruptors and to provide a platform for further exchanges of views” on June 1, 2015, at the Centre Albert Burschette in Brussels, Belgium. Sessions at the day-long event will include discussions of (i) the impact assessment vis à vis the plant protection products regulation and biocide products regulation; (ii) establishing criteria for identifying endocrine disruptors and assessing that criteria in a regulatory context; and (iii) potential impacts on health, the environment, trade, agriculture, consumers, and the food and pesticide industries. The registration deadline is May 19. See EFSA News Release, April 23, 2015. Issue 562
The U.K. Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint alleging that a message on Diageo Great Britain Ltd.’s Guinness® Twitter feed “implied that someone’s week would be improved by drinking alcohol.” Filed by Alcohol Concern, the complaint dubbed a tweet appearing on @GuinnessGB “irresponsible” for featuring a photograph of the iconic brewery’s gates with the caption, “a good week starts here.” Dismissing the challenge, ASA ultimately agreed with Diageo Great Britain that consumers would recognize the gates as belonging to St. James Brewery in Dublin and would not confuse the brewery with a bar or other social venue where alcohol was consumed. According to Diageo Great Britain, the followers of @GuinnessGB would also understand the tweet as part of a larger ad campaign highlighting individual workers at the brewery. “We also noted that the photo was tweeted on Monday,” states ASA. “In this context, we considered that the ad…
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) officially launched on April 1, 2015, assuming responsibilities previously overseen by the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA). FSS was established under the Food (Scotland) Act 2015 as a non-ministerial office, “part of the Scottish Administration, alongside, but separate from the Scottish Government.” “This is a great day for the Scottish consumer and for Scotland’s food and drink sector,” Public Health Minister Maureen Watt was quoted as saying. “We now have a new food body that is uniquely placed to focus on our own particular needs and priorities.” See FSS News Release, April 1, 2015.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reportedly concluded that “[t]here is no evidence that the Ebola virus can be transmitted through food in the European Union.” At the request of the European Commission, EFSA issued a scientific report detailing the risk pathway for the transmission of Zaïre Ebola virus (ZEBOV) via imported food consumed in the European Union. Although the report emphasizes that ZEBOV infections linked to the EU food chain have never been documented, it notes the gaps in scientific research stemming from the unlikelihood of this event. “Due to lack of data and knowledge, which results in very high uncertainty, it is not possible to quantify the risk of foodborne transmission of ZEBOV derived from the consumption of these imported foods, or in fact whether or not this mode of transmission could occur at all,” states EFSA. “The overall conclusions of both approaches are consistent and suggest…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced the final results of an aspartame study commissioned by the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), which peer-reviewed the initial findings in December 2013. Authored by Hull York Medical School researchers, the study relied on data from 48 individuals who self-identified as sensitive to the artificial sweetener aspartame. After examining various factors—including psychological testing, clinical observation and biochemistry, and metabolomics—the authors found that the participants “showed no difference in their responses after consuming a cereal bar, whether it contained aspartame or not,” according to FSA’s March 19, 2015, press release. Additional details about COT’s review of the study data appear in Issue 506 of this Update. Issue 559
The Technical University of Denmark’s (DTU’s) National Food Institute has rejected the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) recent bisphenol A (BPA) assessment, claiming that the agency’s decision to set the tolerable daily intake (TDI) at 4 micrograms per kilogram body weight per day does not adequately protect consumers. After examining EFSA’s toxicological evaluation, National Food Institute’s researchers criticized the scientific opinion for not applying an appropriate uncertainty factor and failing to take into account animal studies allegedly showing the effects of BPA on reproductive health and neurological development. The National Food Institute has instead proposed a TDI of less than 0.7 µg/ kg bw/day to protect against “endocrine disrupting effects.” In particular, the scientists note that, according to EFSA, men and women at the highest exposure levels are currently exposed to more than 1 microgram of BPA per kilogram per day, “while children and teenagers are exposed to between 1.26 and…
