Does illegal mean unsafe?
You may have seen the recent stories in the news about dioxin-contaminated eggs coming to the UK from Germany. Although eating these products is not considered to be a health concern, this story still...
View ArticlePrions transmitted by aerosol
BSE is an emotive subject, so I was surprised that new research demonstrating the transmission of prions (the infectious agent that cause BSE) by aerosol, slipped out last week without furore.The...
View ArticleThe end is nigh for BSE
The New Scientist had good news last week, reporting on the latest official figures from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which show BSE has almost been eradicated – just 25 years after...
View ArticleConcerns about recycled food packaging
On BBC Breakfast on Tuesday morning there was a report, featuring our very own Terry Donohoe, Head of Chemical Safety Division, about the safety of using recycled cardboard in food packaging. Terry...
View ArticleNine million reasons not to ‘play chicken’
What should be done about a bacteria commonly present in chickens that, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) causes an estimated nine million cases of food poisoning each year across...
View ArticleRemoving the hot air from legislation
I’ve heard on the grapevine that a well known restaurant has been using our online vacuum packing training course. The course was developed specifically for enforcement officers, to give them a better...
View ArticleConsumed by filth and corruption
Tuesday night I caught the end of the new BBC Two series 'Filthy Cities' which described 19th century New York as a city ‘consumed by filth and corruption’. And what grabbed my attention was the focus...
View ArticleReview of Chernobyl controls
An article on the front page of the Metro this morning called for restrictions to be lifted on the few farms still affected by the nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power plant. This issue has...
View ArticleFood safety – everyone’s talking about it
Obviously, staff here at the Agency have been much focused on the E.coli outbreak in Germany over the past fortnight. But it serves to remind us yet again of the importance of good food hygiene...
View ArticleIs there a clue in the code?
When investigating food poisoning outbreaks every avenue is worth following in order to build a detailed knowledge base, and gain insights into its source. There are dozens of scientists, from...
View ArticleTreating chickens
With the success of the national control plan for salmonella in chickens, it’s interesting to see research still being published that may help reduce infection further. For example, a short piece in...
View ArticleSmall pond, same big issues...
It looks like the US faces the same problem as us – their media appear intent on promoting scary headlines and shy away from good news stories that could allay consumer fears. In his blog, Trevor...
View ArticleBack to the future
Climate change, flooding, droughts, energy price rises, a squeeze on the economy could all have consequences on food safety. But how and when?A recent study provides one example: it found that the...
View ArticleThe Archers: never past its sell by date
It sounds like the recent E.coli outbreak in the Archers hasn’t just affected their ice cream – sales of all the farm’s produce has dropped off. It just goes to show ‘bad food hygiene is bad for...
View ArticleWe can beat the bugs
Our recently published study on infectious intestinal disease (IID) unearthed some worrying statistics. The research found that almost 17 million people suffer from episodes of vomiting, diarrhoea, or...
View ArticleNow wash your hands!
A woman coughs on a flight from Hong Kong. The next thing you know, a lethal unknown virus is shooting round the globe and scientists from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are racing...
View ArticleAre ‘sell by’ dates headed for the bin?
Sometimes I feel like a broken record trying to defend the importance of sticking to the humble ‘use by’ date and, conversely, reassuring people they won’t drop dead from eating a can of beans that’s...
View ArticleBalancing the risks
Judging by its press release it seems we’ve upset the National Farmers’ Union. The Agency’s Board decided not to support relaxing the ban on processed animal proteins (PAP) in feed, and the NFU is...
View ArticleCome and join the debate
We love a good robust debate here at the FSA and few subjects bring out the ‘robustness’ of people’s views like a discussion on GM crops. So to ensure that a range of views get an airing our latest...
View ArticleThink you know how to wash your hands?
A new study publicised today shows that it’s not only our hands that are dirtier than they should be, but also the everyday things we touch and use regularly, like our mobile phones.We’re talking...
View ArticleNo room for a slip up in science
The idea of using bananas as a measure of radiation is all a bit much to get my head around on a Monday afternoon, but this BBC article makes for an interesting if not mind-boggling read. Did you know...
View ArticleScience is key to building trust, but it's not an absolute
Last week, I was fortunate to be asked to speak at the European Food Safety Authority about independence and scientific decision-making – and how we’ve used this to build trust in food safety in the...
View ArticleWhat's green, furry and horrible?
“Today I’m a few spots on your Cheddar, but tomorrow your whole kitchen will be full of fur. You will only escape by burning the house down”. What is it Phil Daoust was describing, with Halloween-esque...
View ArticleIs a problem shared a problem halved?
I’m not sure whether to be reassured or despondent at the results of the Republic of Ireland's latest campylobacter in chicken survey. The results show 84% of shop bought chicken is contaminated with...
View ArticleBrazilian football legend is victim of food poisoning
I woke up this morning to hear that one of my great footballing heroes, Socrates, has died aged just 57 years. Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, to give him his full name, was...
View ArticleRecipes for disaster
How do you feel about the idea of going home this evening and cooking a lovely seared chicken breast – lightly cooked so it’s pink and bloody in the middle? Not tempted? I should hope not! We know a...
View ArticleLet's make a risk-based resolution
'What a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of any hypothesis'.Mary Wollstonecraft I came across this quotation in my Christmas reading and it seems as apt now as it was in the 1790s. It...
View ArticleBreaking out
Across the pond, cantaloupes, pine nuts, romaine lettuce and sprouts caused serious outbreaks of illness in 2011, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in...
View ArticleBack to the freezer
The news this morning that Sainsbury’s, in partnership with Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), want food relabelled so that it can be frozen up until its 'use by' date, not just on the day of...
View ArticleFood for the future
A £200,000 burger could help save the world – science fiction or science fact?You probably saw the media coverage in the past few days about the laboratory-grown meat. Dr Mark Post, head of physiology...
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