Effective April 1, Scotland has established its own food safety agency, taking the responsibility of food safety regulation out from under the oversight of the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency. Food Standards Scotland is intended to focus on the unique food safety needs of Scotland, said Maureen Watt, the country’s public health minister. Responsibilities of the new agency include ensuring the safety of Scotland’s food supply, serving as a watchdog over food fraud, and providing nutritional recommendations to the country’s citizens. The Scottish Parliament passed the bill approving the creation of the new agency in early December 2014. 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. That transfer of responsibilities “removed significant capacity” in the areas of nutrition and labeling functions for Scotland and needed to be rectified, according to health officials in Scotland. Foodborne illness impacts an estimated 132,000 Scots each year, resulting in 2,330 hospitalizations, 50 deaths, and £140 million (about $209 million) in costs. Food Standards Scotland is headquartered in Aberdeen and currently has a staff of 160.
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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
A man has been given a suspended sentence in England for food safety offences.
Arfan Sultan, from Ilford, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Nov. 14 following an investigation
A grocery company in New Zealand has been fined for selling recalled hummus products that may have contained Salmonella.
Foodstuffs South Island was told to pay $39,000 (U.S.
Rwanda has lifted a ban on some South African food products that was put in place in 2017 because of a Listeria outbreak that sickened more than 1,000 people.
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
Prairie Farms is announcing a recall of select Prairie Farms Gallon Fat Free Milk produced at its Dubuque, IA, facility and distributed to Woodman’s stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Aoun brand tahineh is under recall in Canada because of contamination with Salmonella.
The recall was triggered by test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The recalled tahineh was
Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends and feasting. Once the holiday meal ends, the spotlight turns to enjoying the leftovers in the days ahead. To keep those leftovers safe
