Sixty-day loaf: That'll be the day!
Apparently there is something in the water in Lubbock, Texas. The city that gave us Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and, of course, the great Buddy Holly, has now given us Microzap, a...
View ArticleSéralini study 'not supported by data'
I wrote a few weeks ago about research by Séralini et al that raised concerns about the potential toxicity of genetically modified maize NK603 and of a herbicide containing glycophosate. You will find...
View ArticleScience talks across the pond
I was delighted to welcome Steve Musser, from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to the FSA recently. Steve, who is Director of the Office of Regulatory Science at the FDA's Center for Food...
View ArticleBeing transparent about risk and decisions
I welcome the publication today of a report agreed by the Heads of National Food Agencies in Europe (HoA) that looks at how to ensure that risk assessments are used consistently and transparently in...
View ArticleDon't splash out on a turkey
If you wash your turkey under a tap, bacteria already present on the meat can be splashed up to three feet from where the meat is washed. It seems rather Olympian. It’s certainly not to be ignored....
View ArticleWhat's your science book of the year?
Assessing information and making decisions that will improve consumer health in relation to food is what we are about in the FSA. We are proud to say that our decisions are evidence-based and we...
View ArticleFacing the facts on Campylobacter
You may have heard our Chief Executive Catherine Brown being interviewed on BBC radio 4’s Face the Facts programme earlier this week. Catherine was talking about Campylobacter and urging industry to...
View ArticleMaking horse sense of contaminated burgers
It has no doubt come as a surprise to members of the public that traces of horse meat and pig meat have been found in ‘100% beef burgers’ sold by a number of UK high street retailers and that in one...
View ArticleFSA goes viral
If you read my blog on campylobacter yesterday you might be interested to find out that we have also been working on another bug – Norovirus. Earlier this week, a range of national and international...
View ArticleFancy checking out our priorities?
The Agency has just published itsForward Evidence Plan for 2013. The plan outlines science and evidence priorities for the coming year, including potential areas for research funding.The proposals...
View ArticleFood safety: the Europe question
The FSA plays a key role in the EU, representing the UK's interests in terms of food safety. As part of the current debate on Europe, the Agency has issued a Europe-themed issue of its Bite magazine.It...
View ArticleHorsemeat in beef: sampling protocol published
The FSA has announced its sampling protocolfor a UK-wide survey of food authenticity in processed meat products. The aim of the survey, which is being carried out with local authority enforcement...
View ArticleDecontamination of bovine carcasses: the acid test
I was pleased to learn that the European Commission is to authorise the use of lactic acid for the surface decontamination of bovine carcasses, with effect from 25 February. The European Food Safety...
View ArticleHorsemeat: testing times for all
Thanks to everyone who commented on my 7 February blog on sampling for horsemeat in beef. If you go to the FSA website you will find tables containing results from the latest round of tests. In...
View ArticleIt’s not as simple as in CSI
As the horse meat issue continues to unfold I’ve been asked a number of times why we can’t simply use DNA techniques to test for all species in all products – and test for them quickly. I hope that...
View ArticleWaiter. Is that an insect in my soup?
A story on the BBC website yesterday reported that Israeli citizens have been taking revenge on locusts swarming over their farmland – by eating them. According to the report, locusts taste like...
View ArticleCommunicating science – let's not speak in tongues
If consumers sometimes seem wary of scientific terms it doesn’t mean that they can’t understand them. This was demonstrated recently during some FSA research into potential techniques for treating raw...
View ArticleScience – it’s a 'can-do' profession
Did you know that tin cans have now been used to store and preserve foods for 200 years? It’s the application of science at its best, I would say.It seems that the first cans (short for tinplated...
View ArticleNutty labelling
You may have seen stories in the media recently about bags of monkey nuts being withdrawn from sale because they were not labelled as peanuts. It may seem obvious that monkey nuts contain nuts, as some...
View ArticleCompetition can spur us on
Does competition work? It can certainly encourage us to raise our game. I’m looking forward to a competition being launched next week – one co-funded by the FSA and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB)....
View ArticleDigestible facts about radiation
There are 27 nuclear sites situated at various points around the UK. Inevitably, as with any industrial process, they produce waste that enters the environment and may find its way into our food. But...
View ArticleLet pregnant women enjoy their pregnancy
Let pregnant women enjoy their pregnancyWhen women are pregnant, they should be offered every assistance in enjoying what can be an exciting time in their lives. One of the ways the FSA has contributed...
View ArticleFood safety: it’s more than child’s play
Have you ever learned something new while helping your children with homework or with a school project? I’m not embarrassed to admit that in the past I have. This is one of the reasons why teaching...
View ArticleNo one muzzles FSA scientists
I was interested to read on the BBC website that one of the UK’s most influential science communicators is ‘pressing the Government to let more of its scientists speak out’.According to a reportby BBC...
View ArticleClear cut and ungarbled
The last thing I would wish to be accused of is that this blog promotes a ‘garbled’ message on the role of science in food safety. It was with some surprise, then, that I discovered the term ‘garbler’...
View ArticleIndustry funded pseudoscientists? Not us!
When does a science commentator become an ‘industry funded pseudoscientist’? Surprisingly, it might depend on whether the media agrees with their views – rather than on the funding involved.For...
View ArticleCSI campylobacter
Research planned by the Food Standards Agency could lead to a CSI-style breakthrough in bringing the campylobacter bug ‘to book’.The FSA is planning to fund research that will use whole genome...
View ArticleWhy meat from cattle with TB is very low risk
You’ve probably heard some of the discussion on cattle with TB going into the food chain either on the news or on Twitter in the past couple of days. The Food Standards Agency refers to the very low...
View ArticleScience and evidence are our founding principles
Next week, the FSA Board will discuss the draft Annual Report of the FSA Chief Scientist, 2013.The report, which will be discussed in its draft form as an FSA Board paper contains some riveting reading...
View ArticleLet’s say a big merci to Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Executive Director Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle announced this week she was resigning to take up a public office in France from 1 September. More on the...
View Article