Articles - Food Control

How to apply and adjust processes to achieve levels of acrylamide as low as reasonably achievable below the benchmark level.       Cooking is an ancient practice that improves organoleptic properties of foods, nutrient bioavailability, and microbiological safety. Nowadays cooking practices like baking, frying, and roasting are indisp [...]

Why doing Precautionary Allergen Labelling right matters.   Let’s take a short walk through history. Back in 1985, the Codex Alimentarius published its ground-breaking labelling standard (FAO/WHO 1985) for the labelling of pre-packaged foods. It was meant to be a better, more harmonized way to inform consumers about the composition of th [...]

Meaningful reporting best practice linking customer, method developer, laboratory, and risk assessor to generate confidence and trust in allergen analysis.         Increased momentum on the risk assessment and risk management of food allergens suggests we may be on the cusp of real progress that will help consumers, food busines [...]

Are regulatory limits a good compromise between public health and economic interests?     The EU undoubtedly has the strictest mycotoxin regulations in the world. The complex and supposedly well-structured system that enforces these regulations and guarantees the highest level of safety for EU citizens actually has some weak points and ev [...]

A survey to investigate topics including the technologies used, the number of analyses conducted, and the test kits’ certifications.     Rapid testing for grain Aflatoxin and deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination of grain depends on several factors, primary among them weather conditions in the pre-harvest period. In Europe, aflatoxin i [...]

This article provides the non-specialized reader with an overview of the major techniques employed by food testing laboratories for the analysis of mycotoxins, including a brief description of the complex analytical tools required.         Introduction   Most consumers think the word natural is synonymous with safe, healthy [...]

How tech developments have made possible the detection of large numbers of targets in a single run. What we are still missing for quantitative detection by multi-class methods. The introduction of ion mobility in high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The need for shared databases.   The (r)evolution of analytical methods over the last two [...]

How the EU regulatory context for food contact materials and articles (FCMs) may change on the way to a toxin-free environment.     The European Green Deal, Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, and Farm to Fork Strategy set the stage The European Union’s October 2020 Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) paves the path towar [...]

A key initiative to disseminate information and a platform to test food, train food business operators, and spread awareness to all stakeholders in the food supply chain.   Introduction   The World Food Safety Day theme of “Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow” highlights the importance of producing and consuming safe food f [...]

The historical lack of reference materials for food allergens limited the possibility to evaluate the performances of detection methods. Generon makes available a new range of reference materials suitable for any downstream detection method.         Food allergies are a growing health burden worldwide. Although the true prevale [...]

This article provides the non-specialized reader with an overview of the major techniques employed by food testing laboratories for the analysis of mycotoxins, including a brief description of the complex analytical tools required.         Introduction   Most consumers think the word natural is synonymous with safe, healthy [...]

How tech developments have made possible the detection of large numbers of targets in a single run. What we are still missing for quantitative detection by multi-class methods. The introduction of ion mobility in high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The need for shared databases.   The (r)evolution of analytical methods over the last two [...]

In the last 20 years, aflatoxin M1 has been found in milk in southern Europe at unprecedented levels on several occasions. Is it the result of climate change? What do experts think about the risk for consumers, both now and in the future? Is the best approach to move from an M1 limit in milk to a “total aflatoxin metabolites” limit in m [...]

The EU 2019 One Health Zoonoses report is a hefty document that summarizes relevant and (sometimes) comparable data on zoonoses and foodborne outbreaks. Here is the CliffsNotes version.     Introduction Infectious diseases originating from animal reservoirs (zoonoses) are a constant threat to public health, with effects on humans that can [...]

Overcoming the bottlenecks slowing rapid methods, looking beyond the speed of qPCR     Microbiological quality and safety of food, feed and water is a major global concern. Many people suffer from illnesses through consumption of food products contaminated by a variety of foodborne pathogens. In addition, food contamination by spoilage m [...]