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ISO standard for food traceability |
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The International Standards Organization (ISO) recently issued
a new standard that aims for traceability along the food
chain. ISO 22005, the latest in ISO’s series for the food and
drink industry, sets out the general principles and basics
essential to design and implement a traceability system along
a processor’s supply chain. The standard uses the same
definition of traceability as the Codex Alimentarius
Commission and provides a complement for organizations
implementing the ISO 22000 standard released in 2005.
Processors who achieve certification under the new ISO
standard will be required to have systems in place to trace
the flow of feed, food, ingredients and packaging into and out
of their plants. Also, they should be able to identify the
necessary documentation and tracking for each stage of
production, ensure adequate coordination between the different
actors involved, and require that each party be informed of at
least his direct suppliers and clients. ISO also promotes the
standard as a cost-saving measure, doing away with the need
for multiple and sometimes conflicting schemes used by
different players along a supply chain.
Source:
www.bakeryandsnacks.com |
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Precautionary principle left out |
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Codex Alimentarius has excluded the controversial
precautionary tenet in its risk analysis standards, marking
the end of a long battle between trade groups and the European
Union. The final decision was made at Codex’s recent meeting
in Rome when the “Working Principles for Risk Analysis for
Food Safety for Application by Governments” was finally
adopted, excluding the precautionary principle. The
precautionary principle would have allowed governments to take
certain preventative measures for foods in cases where
scientific evidence on the safety of the food is uncertain,
seen by many organizations and governments as a tool to create
unjustified trade barriers. The principle, which has already
been established formally by the European Commission
(EC/178/2002), granted food risk managers the ability to take
measures to protect health if they feared that an unacceptable
level of health risk exists.
Source:
www.nutraingredients.com |
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Codex adopts additives at IADSA’s advised levels |
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Nine additives widely used in food supplements have finally
been adopted by Codex at the levels proposed by the
International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplements
Associations (IADSA). IADSA Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Mr.
David Pineda, states, “The adoption of these additives will
help to ensure free trade in dietary supplements across the
world and encourage countries to change legislation that is
not in conformity with these Codex standards.” The list of
additives, adopted as part of the official Codex General
Standard for Food Additives, include castor oil (1,000 mg/kg),
polysorbates (25,000 mg/kg), polyvinyl alcohol (45,000 mg/kg),
acesulphame potassium (2,000 mg/kg), aspartame (5,500 mg/kg),
cyclamates (1,250 mg/kg), neotame (90 mg/kg), saccharin (1,200
mg/kg) and sucralose (2,400 mg/kg). An additional 13
additives, including the sweetener aspartame-acesulphame salt
and colours, are due to be considered for inclusion next year.
Source:
www.npicenter.com |
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China issues new regulation on food safety |
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China’s cabinet has publicized a special regulation on the
supervision of food safety amid criticism, at both home and
abroad, of the quality of food products made in China. The
regulation issued by the State Council is aimed at
intensifying the control over producers and distributors
dealing with food products. Key points include:
- Inspection and quarantine authorities, as well as
commercial and drug supervisors, should establish positive
and negative records for Chinese food exporters and submit
all such records regularly to the media;
- Local governments at county level and above are mainly
responsible for the supervision of food product safety; and
- Exporters who provide fake quality certificates or evade
quality and quarantine inspections will be fined three times
the product’s value.
The regulation also sets out rules pertaining to the
supervision of imported food products.
Source:
www.chinadaily.com.cn |
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New Chinese standard for mass-produced food
fillings |
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The China General Chamber of Commerce has stated that a
national production standard for food fillings is likely to be
published by the end of this year. The standard will be
applied to most mass-produced food with fillings that are
consumed on a daily basis, such as buns, dumplings, cakes,
bread and ice-cream. However, it will not cover handmade food
fillings in restaurants and from vendors. Quick-frozen
dumpling fillings are also not included in the list because of
the “wide variety and complexity” of the fillings. The
examination standards for food fillings coming off the
production line have been drawn up. The products will be
tested for smell, contamination, impurities and
micro-organisms.
Source:
www.news.xinhuanet.com |
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China amends food safety standards |
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The Chinese government has amended all food safety standards,
according to the Standardization Administration of China (SAC)
and the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine. Changes have been made to 1,817
national standards for edible agricultural products and
processed foods, whereas 208 standards have been abolished.
Meanwhile, 2,588 standards established by the food industry,
6,949 standards set by local governments and more than 140,000
enterprise standards have been amended. At the end of last
year, there were 1,965 national standards in total for food
safety, among which 634 were mandatory standards. They were
accompanied by 2,892 food industry standards to further ensure
food safety. The government has drawn up mid- and long-term
development plans for food safety standards and established 62
standardization technique commissions. By 2010, the average
duration of food standards will be 4.5 years from the current
12 years.
Source:
www.chinadaily.com.cn |
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