NZ fails to identify source of gastroenteritis outbreak
22 October, 2014An outbreak of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis has been reported in New Zealand. The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) have been working to discover the cause of the outbreak but thus far have been unable to pinpoint the source.
Detectapen metal-detectable antimicrobial pen
29 September, 2014Detectapen is a pen moulded from XDETECT, a polypropylene-based compound, optimised for metal and X-ray detection in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Egg stamping becomes mandatory in November
05 September, 2014Egg stamping will become mandatory from 26 November 2014. From this date, each egg will need to be stamped with a unique identifying mark that allows it to be traced back to the farm where it was laid in the event of a food-poisoning outbreak.
Big data mining helps identify contaminated food sources
17 July, 2014Identifying the source of foodborne disease outbreaks is not always easy. Some outbreaks have quite long incubation times and getting consumers to remember exactly what they ate some weeks ago is almost impossible. However, IBM has developed a tool that may help.
Dead lizards and what ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?
14 July, 2014 by Janette Woodhouse"Rotting lizard found in baby formula" makes an arresting headline. It has all the features to make it popular - innocent babies, uncaring international food processors, biosecurity threat to the nation … But are we sure its true?
If only they used HACCP - US food safety moving from reaction to prevention
30 June, 2014In the US, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) will fundamentally change food safety for food processors as the focus will shift from reacting to contamination incidents to preventing such incidents.
Fresh Produce Safety Centre addresses gap in industry
03 June, 2014The University of Sydney is hosting the Fresh Produce Safety Centre, a new industry-funded centre aimed at ensuring the safety of fresh food produced in Australia and New Zealand.
Pathogen control important for pet food, too
27 May, 2014Pathogen control isn't only an issue in food processing for human food - pet food is just as susceptible to contamination. Palatability enhancers, manufacturing equipment and post-manufacture storage can all contribute to pet-food contamination.
Pointing the finger: communicating food risk accurately and quickly
03 March, 2014When German health authorities incorrectly linked a deadly E. coli outbreak to Spanish cucumbers in 2011, farmers across the European Union watched produce rot in their fields and warehouses, losing millions of euros in the process.
Gut microbes key to foodborne pathogen infection
11 December, 2013Whether or not you succumb to infection by Listeria could come down to what’s in your gut. New research shows that germ-free mice are more susceptible to infection from the foodborne pathogen than mice with conventional intestinal microbiota.
Half of consumers ignore 'best before' dates
12 November, 2013Less than half of Australian consumers read and comply with 'best before' dates, new research shows. In addition, only 55% always read and comply with 'use by' dates, a national Newspoll survey has revealed.
Govt shutdown hampers testing for Salmonella outbreak
09 October, 2013The US Government shutdown could not have come at a worse time, with testing for a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 300 people across 18 states severely hampered.
Fonterra review findings announced
04 September, 2013Fonterra is choosing to see its recent recall as a glass half full (of whey protein, presumably), rather than half empty. Chief Executive Theo Spierings said the review has enabled the company to strengthen its systems to prevent such an incident occurring again.
Competititveness and Sustainable Growth Report released
01 July, 2013The AFGC has released the first Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth Report, which it says is the most detailed financial health check ever undertaken of Australia’s $110 billion food and grocery manufacturing sector.
Detectamet metal-detectable products
18 June, 2013Detectamet products can be detected by conventional X-ray systems (dependent on detection sensitivity), inline metal detectors and magnetic extraction systems.
