Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

New test method makes staphylococci detection quicker and easier

17-Mar-2010 - A new diagnostic test method will make the identification and enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS) in foods both simpler and significantly quicker, said Oxoid.

Weekly comment

The HVP recall: Damage control déjà vu

15-Mar-2010 - Not again! It emerged last week that Basic Food Flavors, the company behind the ongoing HVP recall, knew its products were tainted with salmonella but carried on shipping them anyway. Déjà vu anyone?

SPECIAL EDITION: DECONTAMINATION

Active and intelligent packaging regs - evolution and innovation

15-Mar-2010 - New active and intelligent packaging rules and guidelines introduced last year across Europe should bring much-needed clarity to the sector and pave the way for innovation, said one expert as he set out how the system could work in practice.

Special Edition: Decontamination

Poor equipment design compromising food safety, EHEDG

12-Mar-2010 - Misinterpretation of fundamental criteria for the hygienic design of equipment by designers is resulting in incorrect installation of parts such as valves and sensors at the initial design stage of new food processing equipment and leaves processors exposed to contaminant threats, claims the EHEDG.

Special Edition: Decontamination

Ozone and vapour proving to be best in class for food pathogens

11-Mar-2010 - New research from the UK shows that whole room disinfection techniques are more effective that traditional chemical fogging, and while take up by food processors is relatively low, suppliers claim demand will accelerate based on industry recognition of the need to innovate to tackle new microbe strains and other food safety challenges.

News in brief

Two more listeria cases in Austria

11-Mar-2010 - A further two people were hospitalised this week in Austria with listeriosis, the country’s food safety agency confirmed.

Special Edition: Decontamination

Plant design and personal hygiene crucial to reducing listeria risk

10-Mar-2010 - Cheese contamination has hit the headlines in recent weeks after Austrian authorities linked seven listerioisis deaths to Prolactal cheese. In light of this news, food safety expert Dr. Eleftherios H. Drosinos explains how risk of contamination from Listeria monocytogenes can be minimised in cheese processing.

Dung beetles and human error explain Prolactal cheese contamination

03-Mar-2010 - Prolactal has revealed that an error led to the wrong cultures being used in the production of cheese that authorities in Austria and Germany have linked to seven deaths.

News in brief

Spotlight on new packaging regulation at Foodex

03-Mar-2010 - Foodex this year sees a series of seminars on the latest regulation pertaining to third party inspection certification and packaging aswell as new food hygiene initiatives, research and innovation developments in packaging and processing and shelf life evaluation.

New Codex is tool for ethical practice, says USP

01-Mar-2010 - Food manufacturers aspiring to ethically sound practices should seek ingredient quality assurance, says US Pharmacopeia, the standards-setting authority behind the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC).

Seventh Listeria death linked to Prolactal cheese

25-Feb-2010 - A seventh person has died after eating cheese made by Prolactal contaminated with Listeria, Austrian authorities confirmed yesterday.

China melamine-tainted milk health threats assessed

24-Feb-2010 - Tens of thousands of Chinese children sickened by melamine-tainted milk showed signs of kidney damage months afterwards - with the potential for long-term harm a serious concern, said new research.

Weekly comment

Banning energy drinks is a doomed shot in the dark

22-Feb-2010 - Energy shot drinks have come under fire from German authorities which are employing an old-school prohibition logic that history has repeatedly dunce-hatted.

News in brief

Lidl issues warning about listeria contaminated cheese

19-Feb-2010 - Lidl has issued a second warning to German customers not to eat two Prolactal cheese products, after health authorities confirmed a link earlier this week to six deaths from food poisoning.

Prolactal “deeply shocked” by listeria cheese deaths

17-Feb-2010 - Austrian and German health authorities have revealed that six people died last year after eating listeria contaminated cheese made by Prolactal.

News in brief

Most melamine contaminated product destroyed, says China

17-Feb-2010 - China declared this week that most melamine-tainted dairy products have been destroyed over the past three months.

China forced to relaunch food safety crackdown

10-Feb-2010 - China is launching a new national food safety drive following a wave of recent damaging revelations over melamine-tainted milk products in the country.

Food industry robot sales beat records

10-Feb-2010 - Sales of robots to UK food manufacturers beat those to every other sector in 2009 for the first time, according to British Automation and Robotics Association (BARA) records.

Chinese dairies shut down on melamine discovery

08-Feb-2010 - Chinese authorities have closed two dairies in the northern region of Ningxia following the discovery of a further 170 tonnes of melamine tainted milk powder, according to media reports.

Danisco makes dairy antimicrobial free from artificial hormone

04-Feb-2010 - Danisco has removed the growth hormone rBST from the supply chain for MicroGard antimicrobials in response to requests from its dairy customers.

Get in for the pathogen kill with cold plasma technology

04-Feb-2010 - An increasing number of manufacturers are investing in cold plasma technology to kill pathogens in the air and on the surface areas of processing plants, reports sister title Food Manufacture.

News in brief

China launches new melamine probe

02-Feb-2010 - China has launched a new investigation after the discovery of more melamine-tainted milk products.

Mocon buys into Irish bioscience firm

22-Jan-2010 - Mocon Inc has prioritised the development of a pathogen screening process for a range of foods after announcing it has acquired a 16.9 per cent stake in Irish company Luxcel Biosciences Ltd.

Analyst unpicks impact of melamine scandal on Chinese dairy industry

12-Jan-2010 - A leading food analyst has warned that the latest Chinese melamine scandal will set back the local dairy industry at least two years.