The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Food Safety: FDA Should Strengthen Its Oversight of Food Ingredients Determined to Be Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) exempts generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances, which include spices, artificial flavors, emulsifiers and binders, vitamins and minerals, and preservatives, from the general requirement that companies obtain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval before marketing food additives. Currently, companies may determine a substance is GRAS without FDA’s approval or knowledge. GAO notes, however, that …

The Food and Drug Administration is reexamining the safety of a culinary staple found in every restaurant, food manufacturing plant and home kitchen pantry: spices.
In the middle of a nationwide outbreak of salmonella illness linked to black and red pepper — and after 16 U.S. recalls since 2001 of tainted spices — federal regulators met last week with the spice industry to figure out ways to make the supply safer.
Jeff Farrar, the FDA’s associate commissioner for food safety, said the government wants the spice industry to do more to prevent …

 
Potassium Sorbate is a naturally occurring potassium salt that is used extensively in food preservation. When potassium sorbate is dissolved in water, it ionizes to form sorbic acid, which is effective against numerous micro-organisms such as molds, yeasts and bacteria. It is widely used in preserving margarine, yogurt, pie fillings, icings, baking mixes, cheeses, icings, salted fish, fruit products and other foods that come in packages. Potassium sorbate has been cleared for use and approved as a food preservative by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). You can easily …

International shop window of foodstuffs and equipments intended for the hotel and collective catering, the GULFOOD trade show will be held from 21st till 24th February 2010, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center. To face the increasing success, more than hundred of French companies will be part of the event in 2 French Pavilions: about 60 will attend the Food and the Ingredients sectors and about 40 in the Equipment division.
 
 
n French Pavilion: FOOD (Sheikh Maktoum Hall) & INGREDIENTS (Sheikh Saeed Hall) – SOPEXA
 
This year, 62 exhibitors will …

DUBAI // With tragedies behind and challenges ahead, the time is ripe for the new federal food law, and it will be in force by the end of the year, authorities said yesterday.
Four children aged eight or younger died from food poisoning in Dubai last year.
 
Even as the country’s emirate-by-emirate food regulations are brought under a single federal umbrella, Rashid bin Fahad, the Minister of Environment and Water, identified looming new risks to the food supply.
“Despite the development and advancement in food technology and manufacturing, we still face many challenges …

According to reports in the Japanese Industrial and Economic News, China and Japan are close to signing an agreement on food safety.
It is reported that the two governments reached an understanding on the agreement in October 2009, during a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
The report states the purpose of the agreement is to reassure Japanese consumers following the “Poisonous Dumplings Incident” in 2008 when ten Japanese suffered from food poisoning as a result of eating dumplings made in China. Under the agreement, Japanese …

February 1, 2010 (New York, New York) –This afternoon New York City based Ullman, Shapiro & Ullman, LLP submitted comments urging FDA to reconsider its apparent intent to classify products marketed as dietary supplements as conventional foods merely because of product packaging. The firm, which specializes in Food & Drug Law and represents numerous companies in the dietary supplement/natural products field, expressed concern that such action by FDA would violate the Congressional intent behind OSHEA and potentially force many otherwise legally marketed supplements off the market.
The Comments observe that FDA’s …

2 Feb 2010 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting $4.03 billion to promote and protect public health as part of the President’s fiscal year 2011 budget – a 23 percent increase over the agency’s current $3.28 billion budget.
The FY 2011 request, which covers the period of Oct.1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2011, includes increases of $146 million in budget authority and $601 million in industry user fees.
“The FY 2011 resources will strengthen our ability to act as a strong and smart regulator, protecting Americans through every stage …

How to brew honey mead, short and sweet.
Honey Mead
** 15 lbs of honey in 5 gallon batch makes good sweet but 20 lbs of honey is like cotton candy. I like to use the pasteurized processed clover honey from Sam’s Wholesale club or Wal-Mart. I’ve tried different honey with varying result. The honey makes a dramatic difference in the body and flavor of your mead. Pasteurized and processed honey negates the need for campden tablets as long as you’re not putting in anything else that may be contaminated with bacteria. …

Sulphur dioxide, benzoic acid, and sorbic acid are preservatives commonly used in preserving fruits and vegetables.
Because of recent instances of excessive preservatives being detected in samples of dried fruits and pickled vegetables, the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS) decided to take a closer look.
The CFS decided to include preservatives for fruits and vegetables in its “targeted food surveillance program.”  It’s objective was to assess just how the preservatives are being used.
It analyzed 371 samples of pickled vegetables, including cucumbers, radish, leaf mustard, rakkyo, …