Food Standards Scotland is set to start on April 1. The Food (Scotland) Bill to set up the stand-alone body passed the Scottish Parliament in early December and received Royal Assent — meaning that the queen formally agrees to make the bill into law — on Jan. 13. Food Standards Scotland (FSS) will take over the work of the UK-wide Food Standards Agency’s division in Scotland and will tackle nutritional health, in addition to regulating food safety. “Attaining Royal Assent was the final hurdle in the primary legislation process towards a new food body for Scotland and marks the end of a mammoth task,” wrote Fiona Comrie on the Creating a New Food Body project blog. Plans for the new agency arose after the UK government transferred nutrition and food labeling in England from the Food Standards Agency to the Department of Health and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Scottish Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said the changes in England “removed significant capacity” in the agency’s nutrition and labeling functions for Scotland and needed to be addressed. It is estimated that foodborne illness affects about 132,000 Scots each year, resulting in 2,330 hospitalizations, 50 deaths, and £140 million in costs. The profile of foodborne disease varies across the UK, with higher rates of particular illnesses reported in the Scottish population compared to other countries. For example, E. coli O157 is consistently reported more frequently in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
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As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
A supplier of ready-to-eat hummus products in South Africa is facing a fine after Listeria was found in its products.
The National Consumer Commission (NCC) referred BM Foods Manufacturers to
Auricchio brand Taleggio D.O.P. Cheese is being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
This recall was triggered by the company, according to the Canadian Food
7-Eleven brand sandwiches, subs and wraps are being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
The products were distributed to 7-Eleven stores in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Liquid Blenz Corp. of Rockville Center, NY, is recalling all codes of Good Brain Tonic because of Botulism potential.
The Good Brain Tonic was distributed nationwide in retail stores and
