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Hi Devina,
Hope everyone has had a great week!
Lots in the bulletin, including, borders guidance, food waste, FSA consultations on BPA and MSM, food fraud reports, HFSS Scotland consultation, not for EU labelling consultation, our response on the 16-week removal under egg marketing standards, breakfast directive amends, vegan allergy campaign, FSA board meeting, various events, papers and news including on BTOM errors, food theft and plant based alternatives safety.
Finally we're running a survey to help us better understand what you and your peers need from BRC Communities. All feedback, good or bad, much appreciated. It’s short and here – thanks in advance!
Devina Sankhla
Policy Advisor- Food
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Borders - Guidance
Guidance for moving food and animal feed from Northern Ireland to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
The UK Government published guidance on 20 February 2024 about the new definition of what qualifies as a Northern Ireland good for SPS purposes. The guidance is available here.
Defra is working on updates to published guidance on the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) - these updates will make it clearer to businesses what information is required on packing lists. They hope to share soon.
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Food Waste
Food waste prevention fund:
Speaking at the National Farmers Union’s (NFU) annual conference this week, Prime MInister Rishi Sunak confirmed his Government’s intention to launch a £15m food waste prevention fund. Read more.
Meanwhile, this article explores companies looking into food upcycling.
Timelines on consultation outcome: The Secretary of State for Defra was asked about the timelines for the consultation outcome on mandatory food waste reporting. See the response here.
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Micro WG
It was a great in person Micro WG on Wednesday 21st February. Thank you again to everyone who attended.
I attach minutes here.
I also attach slides from the FSA here and the FSRN here.
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BPA
The FSA updated us recently on BPA (Bispehnol A) at our Emerging Risks WG.
An EU consultation has launched here and is an opportunity for feedback, partiuclarly for Northern Ireland Stakeholders.
The EU level is so low that it is effectively a ban. The COT was not convinced by the report from EU and in the interim proposed to follow the BfR opinion, which has a new tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.2 µg/kg bw per day (equivalent to 200 ng/kg bw per day), compared to 0.2 ng BPA/kg bw per day from EFSA. See more here.
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MSM
The FSA has launched a public consultation on Mechanically Seperated Meat (MSM), which closes on 26th May 2024.
The below attachments have been shared and Devina will be setting up a meeting to discuss in due course. If you haven't done so already please contact Devina if interested to discuss the guidance.
FBO Update on Guidance Letter - see here.
FBO Notification Letter - see here.
MSM Guidance - see here.
MSM Guidance Consultation Document - see here
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FSS: Food Crime Prevention
FSS have published their 2024-2027 strategic plan for food crime prevention.
It describes a model for the identification, analysis and implementation of measures to reduce or prevent the occurrence or re-occurrence of food crime and the identification and mitigation of related future food crime risks.
See here.
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HFSS Scotland
The Scottish Government has published a consultation on the restrictions on Promotions and Placement for HFSS foods.
See here.
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Not for EU
Draft BRC response to the consultation on the Marking of Retail Goods (Not for EU).
See here.
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Health
NESTA published a report asking for health targets to be set for big retailers.
See here.
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SCAN
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has published the Annual Report for the calendar year 2023.
See here.
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PDO/PGI
DEFRA has published a number of PDO/PGI related update.
See here.
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Salt in Cheese
Action on salt published their latest report this week covering salt levels in Cheddar and other hard-pressed cheeses.
See here.
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Diet
The Food Foundation has published Nourishing the Nation: A shared vision of a brighter future.
See here.
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Food Insecurity
The Food Foundation has published their food insecurity tracker.
See here.
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Shopping Behaviour
Scottish Government publishes Consumer Survey on Shopping Behaviours and Meal Deals: Evidence Brie.
See here.
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Avian Flu
We submitted our response to the consultation on the 16-week removal under egg marketing standards.
See here.
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Animal Welfare
BEUC has published research into consumer expectations on animal welfare in 8 countries.
See here.
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Breakfast Directives
Briefing shared on the proposed amendments to the honey, juices and jams directives.
See here.
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JRC Food Fraud - January 2024 Report
The EC Knowledge Centre for Food Fraud and Quality (the Joint Research Centre, “JRC”) have published their monthly collation of global food fraud media reports for January 2024.
The FAN has formatted these into a useful infographic here.
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EFSA AMR Report
This report by the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control, provides an overview of the main findings of the 2021–2022 harmonised Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) monitoring in Salmonella spp., Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli from humans and food-producing animals (broilers, laying hens and fattening turkeys, fattening pigs and cattle under one year of age) and relevant meat thereof.
See here.
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FSA: Vegan Food & Allergens Campaign
On 5 March 2024 the FSA is launching a campaign on vegan food and allergens. This campaign will be targeted at consumers with a food allergy or intolerance, or those who care for someone with a food allergy and intolerance.
A toolkit has been shared here.
The Labelling & Legislation WG will be discussing further.
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ASOA Report & Press Release
A report was published by ASOA How to End the Misuse of Antibiotics in Farming.
The BPC is preparing a response to the report should they receive any media enquiries.
See here.
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FSA: Early Warning System (EWS) for Imported Food & Feed, January 2024
The FSA has shared recent results based on the analysis of EU RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) notifications for imports of food and feed both from outside and inside the EU.
Of high / medium priorities that are highlighted:
- Carrots from Egypt with pesticide residues.
- Oregano from Turkey with pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
- Cheese from France with listeria.
See here.
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Defra: Government Brings in Veterinary Medicines Regulations Legislation
Legislation being introduced will make regulations more effective and maintain the UK as an attractive place to market veterinary medicines.
The legislation will implement the plans set out in the recently published government response to last year's public consultation, which received widespread support from the veterinary medicines sector.
Other changes include the introduction of measures to help tackle antimicrobial resistance by increasing restrictions on the use of antibiotics and antibiotics administered via feed.
We are keeping up to date via RUMA and sharing to members part of this.
See here.
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FSA (NI): Fish Caught from Lough Neagh is Safe to Eat
The FSA has confirmed it is safe for people to eat fish from Lough Neagh if it is properly gutted and the fillets are rinsed with clean water to remove any contamination from the gutting process.
This update is based on the results of testing carried out to determine the levels and type of toxins present in water and fish during a large scale cyanotoxin-producing algal bloom affecting Lough Neagh last year.
See here.
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FSA: Board Meeting Papers Published
The FSA has shared board meeting papers for the 20th March meeting. The agenda includes:
- Foodborne Disease
- Precision Breeding
- Regulated Products Reform Update
- Strategic Risk Management
- Governance Review
See here.
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Listeria Paper
Karin Goodburn shared a paper 'Membrane filtration for enmeration of Listeria monocytogenes at low levels on salad leaf.
See here.
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FAO Risk Assessment of Food Allergens - Part 4
The 4th report 'risk assessment of food allergens - establishing exemptions from mandatory declaration has been published.
See here.
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EU: January 2024 Report on EU Agri-Food Fraud Suspicions
The report includes non-compliances with fraud suspicions. Those non-compliances are not confirmed frauds but contribute alerting and triggering investigations by Member States competent authorities.
This month 277 suspicions were retrieved from 681 IRASFF notifications.
See here.
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How to minimise disruption in an uncertain climate: Free Food Manufacture webinar 12th March 3pm - register here.
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Are FMCG brands making the most of AI's potential: Free Grocer Vision webinar 21st March 11am - register here.
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BTOM webinars: A reminder that Defra organise regular webinars to support with importing controls from 30 April 2024. There is one on 12th March 2-3pm, which can be found here.
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FDF food safety networking event: 12th June 9-1 - register here.
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IFST factsheet on cereals and ancient grains: see here.
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Newcastle University: Crack the Code to Vitamin D: How You Store and Cook Your Eggs Matters
Scientists have shown that storing your eggs on the worktop rather than in the fridge - and how you cook them - matters when it comes to preserving vitamin D, known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’.
If you want to retain more of the vitamin D in your eggs then you are better to keep them out of the fridge at ambient temperature. And scramble or poach them is best to retain most of the vitamin ~ Professor Tom Hill
See more here.
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Department for Business and Trade: UK Businesses Welcome Protection for Iconic British Food and Drink in Japan
- UK and Japan finalise protection for almost 40 British food and drink products
- Protection means British businesses can export to Japan with the confidence that their products are protected against imitation, part of Government's plan to help business export and grow
- Goods that will be protected include Scotch Beef, Cornish Clotted Cream and Welsh Lamb.
See more here.
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Food Safety News: Consumers Oppose Different Food Safety Rules in UK Nations
Outcomes from a workshop have shown that people don’t want diverging food safety standards between nations in the United Kingdom, according to research published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Reasons given for these views include thinking it would mean additional complications for businesses and consumers, impact trade, and lead to mistakes in food production and manufacturing. However, there was some support for regulatory divergence- both from the EU and across UK nations- if it reduced prices.
See more here.
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FSA: Professor Susan Jebb to Leave the FSA at the End of June
The Chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Professor Susan Jebb, is to step down on 30 June 2024 at the end of her three-year term of office.
See more here.
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Food Safety News: Scientists Assess the Safety of Plant-Based Meat Products
Researchers in Germany have provided an initial evaluation into the microbial quality of plant-based “meat.”
The microbiological status of 10 raw plant-based ground meat products was assessed.
“The detection of presumptive Bacillus cereus and the isolation of various Clostridium species from these products indicates that spore-formers may have survived the food processing and, therefore, could pose a safety concern, which should be assessed in further studies,” according to the report.
See more here.
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The Grocer: Sainbury's Adds 'Buy British' Section to its Website
Sainsbury’s has launched a dedicated ‘Best of British’ page on its groceries website in a move to champion and profile British-grown and produced products.
The new page spotlights over 450 100% British-sourced grocery products including fruit & veg, meat, dairy, eggs and chilled essentials.
The supermarket said it would help customers find and buy locally produced products even more easily and better support local producers and growers.
See more here.
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BMPA: New Defra Guidance on Common Errors Using the New BTOM
Since the new Border Target Operation Model was introduced, Defra have been compiling a list of common errors and problems that users of the system have been encountering. These range from import notification errors like an EU instead of UK address being provided for the operator responsible for a consignment, to no regionalisation code being provided on an export health certificate.
See here.
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Which? One in Eight Households Skipping Meals as the Cost of Food Crisis Continues to Bite
Worrying numbers of households are skipping meals, Which? warns, as the consumer champion reveals the UK areas most at risk in the food affordability crisis.
Which?'s February consumer insight tracker found that the cost of food is still a key concern for consumers - with some households taking significant steps to reduce their grocery bill.
See more here.
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Food Safety News: Report Reveals Suspected Fraud Discussions in Europe
Fruit and vegetables were the top product category discussed by European countries about fraud suspicions in January.
The report includes non-compliances with fraud suspicions of a cross-border nature shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) and retrieved from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed network (RASFF), Administrative Assistance and Cooperation network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN).
See more here.
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New Study Exposes Safety Concerns and Potential Fraud in Edible Insect Supply Chain
In a new study recently published in NPJ Science of Food, researchers have raised concerns about potential safety risks and fraudulent activities within the supply chain of edible insects. With the increasing interest in insects as a sustainable source of protein, this study highlights the need for rigorous safety measures and regulatory oversight to ensure the viability and integrity of the edible insect market in Western countries.
See more here.
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Food Manufacture: Food Supply Chain Thefts Up Nearly 30%
The newly published BSI Supply Chain Risk Insights Report 2023 found that food is the commodity most at risk of being stolen in the global supply chain and now accounts for a third of all thefts.
See more here.
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Food Safety Magazine: Food Safety and Quality Considerations in the Production of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives
Each step during manufacturing and distribution introduces potential challenges and opportunities for maintaining food safety and quality of plant-based meat products
See more here.
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Nutraceuticals World: Addressing Problems of Economically-Motivated Adulteration in Botanicals
Constant vigilance and fit-for-purpose testing can help companies defend the authenticity of their products.
See more here.
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The Japan Times: Japan's Food Safety Panel Drafts Intake Limit for 'Forever Chemicals'
The Food Safety Commission of Japan released a draft report last month on the daily intake limit for PFAS, a set of fluorinated chemicals recently linked to a range of health issues such as cancer and pregnancy complications.
The report spells out the “tolerable daily intake” (TDI) of PFAS through food for the first time. It recommended a limit of 20 nanograms each of PFOA and PFOS — two of the most used PFAS compounds — per kilogram of body weight per day.
See more here.
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BFFF: Lanmark Styudy From Nomad Foods Confirms Potential to Increase Freezer Temperatures and Reduce Carbon Emissions
Nomad Foods, the company behind some of Europe’s best-known food brands including Birds Eye, Findus, iglo, Ledo and Frikom has today announced the twelve-month results of its landmark study that could change the temperature at which we store frozen food, leading to significant carbon emission reductions and cost savings.
See more here.
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ITV News: 'We're Really Struggling': British Farmers Pushed to Brink by 'Shocking' Levels of Floods
"Eighty percent of my grazing marshes with cattle on went under water in probably a six or seven day period. Most of the arable land didn't flood, but was too wet to do anything with."
See more here, including Andrew's comments.
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BBC News: Farmers Stage Further Protest Over Food Imports
About 200 farmers have staged a protest against foreign imports of food.
The farmers said they were also angry over what they have described as low prices being paid by supermarkets for their goods.
See more here, including Andrew's comments.
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The Grocer: Salmon Producers Facing Legal Action from UK Reatilers Over Price-Fixing Claims
Asda, Iceland, Marks & Spencer, Ocado, Morrisons, Aldi and Co-op have appointed Stephenson Harwood to seek compensation on their behalf.
See more here, including Andrew's comments.
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Food Corporate Affairs
12th March, 10-10.45am. Contact Andrea.
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Nutrition WG
19th March, 10-11.30am. Contact Andrea.
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Micro WG
20th March, 10-10.50am. Contact Devina.
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