EFSA has developed a new food safety management approach that makes it simpler for small retailers to donate food. 

The simplified system would mean that retailers are not required to have detailed knowledge of specific hazards. It includes steps for checking that donated food is safe, such as shelf-life control, maintenance of the cold chain and ensuring communication between the donor and recipients.

Under the new system, retailers need only to be aware that biological, chemical and physical hazards or allergens may be present and that a failure to undertake key control activities – such as separation of raw from cooked products – could pose a risk to consumers. The approach is intended for food distribution centres, supermarkets, pubs, restaurants and other small retailers.

Some experts say scaling down inspections is likely to lead to more consumers being infected with campylobacter. EWFC agrees with that!

Millions of chickens could soon be sold across the EU without being individually inspected for contamination or signs of disease after being killed, in a move some experts believe will put consumers at increased risk of food poisoning bugs.

Under current rules, every poultry carcass is individually, visually checked after slaughter and before being released for public consumption. But proposals being considered by the European Commission would see slaughter plants able to look at just a “representative sample” if they have a history of complying with the standards set by official veterinarians. 

In December 2019 regulation 854/2004 will be repealed. This legislation created the current detail of official controls on food of animal origin. EWFC have always known that the replacement for 854 would have to be created by Implementing and Delegated Acts added to the new regulation 2017/625. We have followed the creation of these proposals with great interest as it is our members, amongst other officials, that enforce them.

The EWFC Managing Board met in Vienna on the 4th and 5th of October to review the proposals, our comments to the Commission and their response.

The Board of EWFC are very concerned by some of the proposals, our comments on them are posted in an abbreviated form on the Commission forum for public consultation. You can read the detailed version below.

An outbreak of salmonella that has been linked to cucumber in ready-to-eat food has sickened nearly 150 people, hitting the United Kingdom by far the hardest.

Five countries have so far this year reported cases of the illness caused by the same strain of Salmonella enterica. The United Kingdom has had 88 per cent of cases with 129, followed by Finland with 15, then Germany, Denmark and Ireland with one case each.

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have identified ready-to-eat meals containing cucumbers as a possible source, but warned as of July 26 it had not been possible to identify the point where contamination occurred. In a joint report the two European agencies said: At present, there is insufficient epidemiological information available on the consumption of contaminated products by humans to support the microbiological evidence provided by the isolation of the outbreak strain in food. “The epidemiological investigations in the other affected countries did not generate any strong hypothesis about the vehicle or source of infection.

The Commission has published a new Regulation that significantly tightens the restrictions on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials. It lowers the regulatory limit (specific migration limit or 'SML'), which is the amount allowed to migrate from the plastic material into food while keeping it safe, and extends this restriction to coating materials, which are used to line food and drink cans. The new Regulation also extends the ban from 2011 on the use of BPA in baby bottles by prohibiting the use of BPA to manufacture infant 'sippy' cups as well as the migration of BPA from coated materials containing food intended for infants and children 0–3 year olds. The new Regulation will apply from 6 September 2018.

More on BPA: https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/safety/docs/cs_fcm_qa_bisphenol_a.pdf

EWFC inspectors and Italian food inspectors have agreed to meet in December, during the MIG or "Mostra Internazionale del Gelato Artigianale di Longarone". Both sides are eager to meet and see if there is a common interest to keep up contacts or even possibilities to join the EWFC.

MIG or "Mostra Internazionale del Gelato Artigianale di Longarone" is the oldest trade show in Europe exclusively dedicated to the artisanal gelato: along the years the value of the tradition mixed with innovation led this event to a privileged position worldwide. The next 58th MIG, scheduled in Longarone (Italy) in the Dolomiti alps, from Sunday, 3rd to Wednesday, 6th December 2017 will be focused on artisan gelato made with local products.