Food safety breakdowns
The construction of a database of known food safety breakdowns has the potential to enable the Food Standards Agency to use knowledge of past experience to help develop policies and strategies for future investigation and surveillance studies. Heading a major project in collaboration with two groups within the Health Protection Agency (HPA) - the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre of the former Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) and the Chemical Incident Response Service (CIRS) - information was collected on food breakdown incidents associated with
These three sources of data enabled information to be collected on over 7000 incidents. The data collection form was designed to be compatible with the current outbreak questionnaire used by the HPA. It allowed for the collection of information on type of incident, food and causative agent involved, illness and symptoms. Importantly, an attempt was made to collect information on type of breakdown, the stage in the food chain where it occurred and the specific operational step associated with the breakdown. The final report is due to go to the FSA this month and it is expected that presentations on the FSA sponsored project will take place during 2005. Future use of the database is still to be considered. Mike Stringer MicroID - more than just bacteria The identification of microorganisms – sometimes to the strain level – is of great importance in many aspects of food manufacturing and processing. CCFRA has offered help and advice in this area for many years, but has in recent times has broadened its scope to offer a complete identification service, as David Dawson, Manager of CCFRA’s MicroID services explains: 
"The RiboPrinter has been the cornerstone of bacterial identification at CCFRA for the past ten years, but doesn’t necessarily answer all questions. Allying its capabilities with other techniques such as microscopy, biochemical tests, polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing has allowed us to offer a complete microbiological identification service that can cover yeasts and moulds as well as bacteria. It is very much a case of horses for courses – the combination of techniques that will be useful will depend on what information is required, as well as what is already known. For example, if a Salmonella strain needs to be matched or compared to those that have been found in a food processing area, then the RiboPrinter is the technique to use, but if an unknown yeast is isolated and its basic identity needs to be known, other techniques will be more appropriate." Other techniques now available in kit form, such as Fluorescent in-situ Hybridization (FISH), allow rapid confirmation of specific genera or species of bacteria through binding to a labelled nucleic acid probe. Contact David Dawson Labelling survey The Food Standards Agency has commissioned CCFRA to survey the uptake of the best practice advice that it published in 2002 on Clear Food Labelling and on Origin Labelling. Several hundred foods of various product types and in different packaging formats will be purchased later this month from a representative range of stores across the United Kingdom and digitally archived. All types of food labels will be assessed for compliance with the FSA’s Clear Labelling Advice, but only meat product labels will be reviewed against the Origin Labelling Guidance. In keeping with the FSA’s normal arrangements, the companies responsible for the food’s label will be advised that their products have been selected for review and given the opportunity to comment on the findings: these comments will then be published alongside the final separate reports on each survey. Contact John Hammond Glycaemic index Carmen Tudorica has recently been awarded a PhD by the University of Plymouth for her work An evaluation of the role of soluble and insoluble dietary fibres in affecting the physico-chemical and nutritional characteristics of cereal and dairy-based food products. In her work on bread and pasta she evaluated the effects of added fibre on the glycaemic index (GI) of the foods, while also following the changes that the fibre had on the eating quality of the products. Carmen, working in CCFRA’s Baking and Cereal Processing Department, will be developing this further, looking at a wider range of cereal-based products as part of a new member-funded project Dietary fibres: tools to tailor low Glycaemic Index cereal foods. GI (a measure of the effect on blood sugar levels of consuming a particular food) is an important nutritional factor to consider when developing carbohydrate-based foods. However, the relationship of GI to the actual chemical composition of a food is complex and much work is required to enable the development of low-GI products that deliver health benefits and are acceptable to the consumer. Contact Carmen Tudorica New STC chairman Alec Kyriakides, Head of Product Safety at Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd, has been elected as the new Chairman of CCFRA’s Scientific and Technical Committee. Alec, who is responsible for new product safety assessment, supplier auditing, product surveillance, policy development and serious incident management, has been involved with CCFRA for more than 16 years, notably as a two-term Chairman of the Microbiology Panel. He succeeds Dr Andrew Wainwright, Material Technology and Technical Services Manager at United Biscuits - Group Technical, who has led the Committee since June 2001. New Director of Cereals and Cereal Processing 
Dr Steven Walker has been appointed to this position. He joined the RA in 1986 after graduating from Queen’s University Belfast with a BSc in Food Science and a PhD in food microbiology. His all round scientific skills, abilities and business awareness enabled him to progress rapidly to a senior position in our Microbiology Department before being appointed as Director of Research in 1996. In recent years Steven has worked closely with our cereal scientists and been involved with the cereals industry and Home-Grown Cereals Authority in discussing future strategy for cereals research. In announcing his appointment Professor Dennis, Director-General, commented that Steven is well placed to assume responsibility for the Cereals and Cereal Processing Division and ensure that its international standing continues and the exciting future opportunities are developed. Stan Cauvain Stan Cauvain resigned from full time employment of CCFRA in December 2004 after a total of 35 years service at FMBRA and CCFRA. At a farewell presentation Professor Dennis, Director-General, said that Stan had established an international reputation in cereal science and bakery technology and that this had been appropriately recognised by him being the recipient of prestigious industrial and scientific awards such as those from the British Baker in 1998 and the Friedrich Schweitzer Medal by the International Association of Cereal Science and Technology earlier this year. He said that Stan had been instrumental in rebuilding the cereals team after the creation of CCFRA in 1995 and its current international standing was a credit to Stan and the whole of the Cereals and Cereal Processing Division. Stan will continue to provide consultancy services to CCFRA on specific projects and activities and thus continue to contribute to the science and technology of our cereals work. Manufacturing assistance for SMEs Since April 2004 CCFRA has provided a total of 50 days' assistance to eleven SME companies in the West Midlands Region, jointly funded by the government’s Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and Advantage West Midlands. The funding is to assist companies towards "lean manufacturing" and innovation. Up to 5 days' funding to a total value of £3K (incl. VAT) is available per company. We have helped a variety of companies, including a brewery, fresh produce processors and ingredients suppliers, with diverse projects, from application of new technologies, product development, packaging, and chemical and microbiological analysis to desk-based research. Contact Alan Campbell CCFRA honoured by local business leaders The Gloucestershire business community has acknowledged the contribution CCFRA makes to the well-being of the county by awarding it the Furniss Cup. This is presented annually to an organisation that has made a significant contribution to the county. In recognition of CCFRA's business success and contribution to the local economy the voting panel acknowledged our contribution to work experience and support in local education. Sensory services The analytical approach to product assessment Harnessing sensory abilities as an objective measuring tool is a powerful factor in product success. Our accredited sensory science services will enable you to specify, monitor and control product attributes and establish benchmark quality. Services include:
Contact:
Lucy Bradly New method for fat in butter CCFRA has validated a new method for analyzing fat in butter, an important food product ingredient and commodity. The service complies with the standard ’Butter, edible oil emulsions and spreadable fats – Determination of fat content’ for the direct determination of fat in butter (BS EN ISO 17189:2003). For many years the fat content of butter and similar fat spreads has been determined ’by difference’, that is the water, salt and curd analysis subtracted from 100 to give the fat content. The new method allows the fat to be extracted and determined directly. A draft amendment to the European milk product legislation has been published which will make this the official method of use in Europe. Contact Megan Davies New members Campden & Chorleywood is delighted to welcome the following new members who joined in November 2004:
Contact: Bertrand Emond or Sally Easton Please notify the Membership Department of any name or address changes with respect to our mailing list. |