Coming soon: another food safety incident

Cross-contamination and mislabelling of products – often containing allergens that were not included on ingredients lists – were the main reasons why the Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued food alerts in 2013.

The high-profile horsemeat contamination cases, which began emerging in January 2013, exposed deficiencies in the food supply chain, which could easily have been a safety risk.

With pressure on the FSA and local authority resources and temptation on some manufacturers to ‘cut corners’ on good food safety practices, fears are rising that another big food safety incident is only just around the corner.

Food safety conference​

To address these, and other issues, Food Manufacture is organising a one-day food safety conference on Wednesday October 15 at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire on the subject of ‘Safe and Legal Food in a Changing World’.

The event, to be chaired by Professor Colin Dennis, formerly president of the Institute of Food Science & Technology and former director general of Campden BRI, will include a line-up of top quality speakers.

Experts in various fields will discuss subjects ranging from emerging risks to the latest regulatory and inspection changes affecting food businesses. Others will describe new technologies to ensure the safety of food.

The conference will be divided into four sessions: ‘Tomorrow's food safety risks’, examining what is on the horizon. It will include presentations from Professor Sarah O’Brien, from the University of Liverpool, who also chairs an FSA advisory committee on microbiological safety and Stephen Pugh, head of labelling at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who will provide an update on the new Food Information for Consumers Regulation.

In the same session, an FSA speaker will talk about the changing role of the regulator, while Jenny Morris, chief policy officer for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, will describe what changes food and drink businesses can expect from their local authorities regarding inspections and advice.

Food hygiene and safety​

Session two will be devoted to managing the supply chain. An expert on food hygiene and safety in the supply chain will describe what retailers expect and demand these days from their suppliers.

Dr Kirsty Foster, from Public Health England, will describe the use of social media in last year’s food poisoning outbreak in Newcastle. Other speakers will discuss the latest supply chain risk management procedures.

Session three will be devoted to practical ways of keeping the food manufacturing and supply chain safe. Subjects covered will range from ways of avoiding workplace cross-contamination, to allergen control by Simon Flanagan, a senior consultant with RSSL. Dr Sandra Stringer, senior research associate from the Institute of Food, will describe the reformulation of foods to reduce sugar, salt and fat without compromising safety.

The last session will highlight what’s new in the use of novel foods and packaging. Speakers will include Dr Alistair Irvine, manager, food contact compliance, Smithers Pira, who will describe the impact of new food contact regulations. Other speakers will outline the use of new technologies for reducing the high levels of campylobacter in poultry and techniques such as high pressure processing of food.