Russian authorities claim they want to decrease antibiotic use both in veterinary and healthcare systems but any changes have been delayed either because of the cost to the federal treasury, potentially amounting to billions of rubles, or because local businesses do not welcome these changes.Anti-antibiotics campaign is needed in RussiaOn 3 Decembe [...]

Insight to the point of view of animal health authorities, food producers and retailers.     The point of view of animal health authorities in one EU country: education and training are very important, aside the regulations, in order to reduce antibiotic use. In the EU, total antibiotic use on average has decreased significantly over the [...]

A never-ending story and lessons learned.     At the beginning of the first dioxin crises at the end of the last century, we did not anticipate that they would continue to pop up as a problem in the world for so long and that so many unexpected dioxin sources existed in the feed and food sector (see the figure on page 46). Over time, we h [...]

Because of its relatively high price and its liquid form, honey has been a target for food fraud perpetrators from time immemorial.     Honey. Naturally delicious, syrupy and sweet, with a delicate, unique flavour, honey has been prized as a special food since pre-history. Cave paintings in Europe that date back more than 8000 years depic [...]

Although multiresidue detection seems like the ideal screening test for antibiotic residues, just a few platforms that accomplish this are actually available. Advantages and limitations of the commercially available systems are hereby presented.     Although multiresidue detection in food and feed seems like the ideal screening test, and [...]

How new fraud definitions and production guidelines together with state-of-the-art analytical tools help to ensure that honey in the marketplace is authentic and truly labeled.     Food authenticity and food fraud by economically motivated adulteration have been major issues in the food sector since the horse meat scandal in 2013. The EU [...]

Traditional methods for honey authentication become obsolete or demand load of resources. New rapid methods are on the rise.Raw honey is considered to be a natural energy source with many positive effects on health: antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal properties; hay fever prevention; prebiotic; sore throat remedy; etc. On the other hand, if [...]

I will never forget the face of a lab manager in a tech meeting who reported the very high CV she measured after using a certified ELISA kit. The kit was not certified for the material she had tested. Nor will I ever forget that several feed industries have a museum of LFD readers (each brand requiring its own reader, of course) because they couldn [...]

The impact of food allergies on human health is a growing concern. We present here both a review of prevalence data and an analysis of food product recalls. The first paper demonstrates how difficult epidemiologists’ work is in this area. The second introduces the world of food manufacturing, a complex industry where allergen sources are diff [...]

Do we know how many people suffer from food allergies?        The socio-economic impact of food allergies  Allergy-related health loss is estimated to be of the same order of magnitude as prostate cancer or rheumatoid arthritis and it may be more severe than that of heart disease, skin cancer, or Parkinson’s disease ( [...]

European Union, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zelando: an update      Abstract  As part of an EU-funded project (FP7) to develop “Integrated approaches to food allergen and allergy management”, a database was constructed from publicly available information on allergen recalls between 2011 and 2014 in Eur [...]

Product labeling is uneven in different countries and, even at the European level, legislation has gaps both for food producers and for consumers. Some countries, such as the UK, are moving to implement new national legislation.     Introduction  According to the final RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) report for 2018 (Eur [...]

 Standardization of methods could soon be easier. Introduction Effective food allergen risk assessment and food allergen management are important to protect allergic consumers and to comply with allergen labeling regulations. Such approaches require reliable analytical tools for the detection of allergens in food. Due to the nature of the analyt [...]

ELISA kits can hardly be considered quantitative and LFDs play a key role in the food industry but performance is rarely documented.     Regulatory environment  EU Regulation No 1169/2011 specifies fourteen substances or products causing allergens or intolerances for which food labeling is mandatory when they are known ingredients. I [...]

FDA is increasing its efforts to enforce FSMA. “Cross-contact” must be controlled in items exported to the US. Rapid methods play a key role in the Allergen Control Plans of manufacturers. New regulations for private third-party food laboratory accreditation are expected soon.The authors of the recently published “Prevalence and Severity of F [...]