The emergence of international food safety standards and guidelines: understanding the current landscape through a historical approach

Following the Second World War, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) teamed up to construct an International Codex Alimentarius (or 'food code') which emerged in 1963. The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) was charged with the task of developing microbial hygiene standards, although it found itself embroiled in debate with the WHO over the nature these standards should take. The WHO was increasingly relying upon the input of biometricians and especially the International Commission on Microbial Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) which had developed statistical sampling plans for determining the microbial counts in the final end products. The CCFH, however, was initially more focused on a qualitative approach which looked at the entire food production system and developed codes of practice as well as more descriptive end-product specifications which the WHO argued were 'not scientifically correct'. Drawing upon historical archival material (correspondence and reports) from the WHO and FAO, this article examines this debate over microbial hygiene standards and suggests that there are many lessons from history which could shed light upon current debates and efforts in international food safety management systems and approaches

The Variations in Religious and Legal Understandings on Halal Slaughter

Purpose: This paper attempts to provide an overview of different understandings regarding the concept of "what constitutes halal" and "who determines this concept?" In practice, this equates to contemporary legal understandings versus religious understandings. The paper further aims to provide an overview of competing Muslim understandings regarding the concept of "What does or does not constitute halal slaughter?" In practice, this equates to evaluating the application of no stunning at all upon an animal (unanimous acceptance) versus the application of reversible stunning upon an animal (contested). Design: The study includes a review of priori literature and considers the current scenario of the halal poultry trade and raises important questions regarding Islamic dietary practices, halal food integrity, religious and animal welfare understandings. Three key questions were raised: "To what extent does stunning impact halal slaughter?’, ‘Who determines what is halal slaughter?’ and ‘What are the variations and tensions between legal and religious understandings of halal slaughter?’ Findings: The examination of such requirements and concomitant consumer and provider expectations is underpinned by a study of an operational framework, i.e. industry practices with poultry (hand slaughter, stunning, mechanical slaughter, etc.), ethical values and market forces to appraise whether there is a point of convergence for these that can be beneficial for both seller and consumer concerns. This paper has considered different perspectives on the religious slaughter and provided an overview of competing understandings regarding the above concepts. Originality/value – This study although academic and philosophical in nature, raises questions on route to suggesting future research directions. It provides real value in stimulating more research in the area of halal food production and contributes to the understanding of different slaughter requirements for religious slaughter and the meat industry. It further sheds light on not only the religious and secular legal frameworks on animal slaughter and welfare but also the variations in understanding between them and provides examples of attempts to bridge any gap. The paper highlights the importance of halal food based on religious values and its implications for wider society

Expert opinion as 'validation' of risk assessment applied to calf welfare

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recently, a Risk Assessment methodology was applied to animal welfare issues in a report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on intensively housed calves.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Because this is a new and potentially influential approach to derive conclusions on animal welfare issues, a so-called semantic-modelling type 'validation' study was conducted by asking expert scientists, who had been involved or quoted in the report, to give welfare scores for housing systems and for welfare hazards.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Kendall's coefficient of concordance among experts (n = 24) was highly significant (P < 0.001), but low (0.29 and 0.18 for housing systems and hazards respectively). Overall correlations with EFSA scores were significant only for experts with a veterinary or mixed (veterinary and applied ethological) background. Significant differences in welfare scores were found between housing systems, between hazards, and between experts with different backgrounds. For example, veterinarians gave higher overall welfare scores for housing systems than ethologists did, probably reflecting a difference in their perception of animal welfare.</p> <p>Systems with the lowest scores were veal calves kept individually in so-called "baby boxes" (veal crates) or in small groups, and feedlots. A suckler herd on pasture was rated as the best for calf welfare. The main hazards were related to underfeeding, inadequate colostrum intake, poor stockperson education, insufficient space, inadequate roughage, iron deficiency, inadequate ventilation, poor floor conditions and no bedding. Points for improvement of the Risk Assessment applied to animal welfare include linking information, reporting uncertainty and transparency about underlying values.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study provides novel information on expert opinion in relation to calf welfare and shows that Risk Assessment applied to animal welfare can benefit from a semantic modelling approach.</p

Influence of psychological factors in food risk assessment - A review

Background: Typically, food-related risk assessments are carried out within a four step, technical framework, as detailed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (World Health Organization/ Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 2015). However, the technical framework presumes a level of ‘objective risk’ and does not take into account that risk is complex and psychologically constructed, something which is rarely acknowledged within risk analysis as a whole. It is well documented that people's perceptions of risk are based on more than merely probability of occurrence, but reflect other non-technical psychological factors (e.g., risk origin, severity, controllability, familiarity). Moreover, the basis of these risk perceptions is largely similar for experts and non-experts. Scope and approach: In this review, we consider each stage of the risk assessment process from a psychological perspective, reviewing research on non-technical factors which could affect assessments of risk and subsequent risk management decisions, with a particular focus on food safety. Key Findings and Conclusions: We identify 12 factors from the psychological literature which could potentially influence how risks are assessed and characterised. Drawing on insights from this research, we propose a number of recommendations to standardise approaches in risk assessment. Acknowledging and working with the subjectivity of risk is key to ensuring the efficacy of the wider risk analysis process

Analysis of dietary insoluble and soluble fiber contents in school meal

The objective of this study was to estimate the contents of dietary insoluble and soluble fiber in school meal. Samples of the school meals were collected from May to June in 2008. Three elementary schools and three middle schools around Masan area were selected for analysis. Dietary soluble and insoluble fibers in the school meals were analyzed directly by the AOAC method. From the initial experiment phase, we used cellulose and pectin as a standard of dietary fiber, and average recovery rate of insoluble fiber and soluble fiber was calculated. The recovery rate was observed, the cellulose 109.7±11.7% (range 90~150%) and pectin 77.8±10.8% (range 64.7~96.7%), respectively. The amounts of insoluble fiber and soluble fiber were analyzed in the total of 66 dishes, which included 7 kinds of cooked rice (bab) made with some cereal products and vegetables, 19 kinds of soup (guk) made with meats or vegetables, 11 kinds of kimchi, 21 kinds of entrées or side dishes, and 8 special dishes. Conclusively the school meal, per serving size, would provide above 75% KDRI of total dietary fibers through mainly soups and special menu, with the exception to fruits. In addition, it might be expected that children could consume more soluble fiber from the meals with the special dishes than from the regular ones

The OsNRAMP1 iron transporter is involved in Cd accumulation in rice

Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal toxic to humans and the accumulation of Cd in the rice grain is a major agricultural problem, particularly in Asia. The role of the iron transporter OsNRAMP1 in Cd uptake and transport in rice was investigated here. An OsNRAMP1:GFP fusion protein was localized to the plasma membrane in onion epidermal cells. The growth of yeast expressing OsNRAMP1 was impaired in the presence of Cd compared with yeast transformed with an empty vector. Moreover, the Cd content of OsNRAMP1-expressing yeast exceeded that of the vector control. The expression of OsNRAMP1 in the roots was higher in a high Cd-accumulating cultivar (Habataki) than a low Cd-accumulating cultivar (Sasanishiki) regardless of the presence of Cd, and the amino acid sequence of OsNRAMP1 showed 100% identity between Sasanishiki and Habataki. Over-expression of OsNRAMP1 in rice increased Cd accumulation in the leaves. These results suggest that OsNRAMP1 participates in cellular Cd uptake and Cd transport within plants, and the higher expression of OsNRAMP1 in the roots could lead to an increase in Cd accumulation in the shoots. Our results indicated that OsNRAMP1 is an important protein in high-level Cd accumulation in rice

Barriers to adoption of biogenic carbonates in the food, pharmaceutical & supplement sectors

There is an increasing demand for environmentally sustainable sourcing of ingredients for the food, pharmaceutical and supplements industries. In the case of calcium carbonate (E170) as by-products from the egg and shellfish processing industries these have the potential to be sustainably sourced. In addition to their green credentials, biogenic carbonates have intrinsic benefits in terms of their chemical composition, such as a low heavy metal burden. However, their biogenic origin can potentially lead to manufacturing issues such as higher levels of co-mineralising components and the organic templates of their natural production. This contribution identifies the regulatory barriers to the adoption of biogenic eggshell calcium carbonate by assessing materials from biological sources along with commercial precipitated and ground carbonates against current regulatory standards

EFSA BIOHAZ Panel (EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards), 2013. Scientific Opinion on the public health hazards to be covered by inspection of meat (bovine animals).

A risk ranking process identified Salmonella spp. and pathogenic verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) as current high-priority biological hazards for meat inspection of bovine animals. As these hazards are not detected by traditional meat inspection, a meat safety assurance system for the farm-to-chilled carcass continuum using a risk-based approach was proposed. Key elements of the system are risk-categorisation of slaughter animals for high-priority biological hazards based on improved food chain information, as well as risk-categorisation of slaughterhouses according to their capability to control those hazards. Omission of palpation and incision during post-mortem inspection for animals subjected to routine slaughter may decrease spreading and cross-contamination with the high-priority biological hazards. For chemical hazards, dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls were ranked as being of high potential concern; all other substances were ranked as of medium or lower concern. Monitoring programmes for chemical hazards should be more flexible and based on the risk of occurrence, taking into account the completeness and quality of the food chain information supplied and the ranking of chemical substances, which should be regularly updated to include new hazards. Control programmes across the food chain, national residue control programmes, feed control and monitoring of environmental contaminants should be better integrated. Meat inspection is a valuable tool for surveillance and monitoring of animal health and welfare conditions. Omission of palpation and incision would reduce detection effectiveness for bovine tuberculosis and would have a negative impact on the overall surveillance system especially in officially tuberculosis free countries. The detection effectiveness for bovine cysticercosis, already low with the current meat inspection system, would result in a further decrease, if palpation and incision are removed. Extended use of food chain information could compensate for some, but not all, the information on animal health and welfare lost if only visual post-mortem inspection is applied

The Evolution and Cultural Framing of Food Safety Management Systems – Where from and Where next?

The aim of this paper is to review the development of food safety management systems (FSMS) from their origins in the 1950s to the present. The food safety challenges in modern food supply systems are explored and it is argued that there is the need for a more holistic thinking approach to food safety management. The narrative review highlights that whilst the transactional elements of how FSMS are developed, validated, implemented, monitored and verified remains largely unchanged, how organizational culture frames the operation and efficacy of FSMS is becoming more important. The evolution of a wider academic and industry understanding of both the influence of food safety culture (FS-culture) and also how such culture frames and enables, or conversely restricts the efficacy of the FSMS is crucial for consumer wellbeing. Potential research gaps worthy of further study are identified as well as recommendations given for the application of the research findings within the food industry