There are days or weeks for nearly everything nowadays – or at least it seems that way. But really how many of the many named days or weeks in the year do most of us know or even care about it?

How many of these days or weeks actually do what they are intended to do – promote the particular issue that is being recognised so that people remember it?

For all of us involved in food the big one has to be Food Safety Week, when the Food Safety information Council Ltd takes the lead in highlighting the importance of preventing food poisoning to consumers. But do you know when this important week is each year and has your business even done anything to  recognise it? It is such an easy thing to do in your business to pint out some of the resources from the FSIC’s website (www.foodsafety.asn.au) and put them up around your business and in your newsletters, but do you know when it is? (The second week of November).

Many in the food industry cannot answer this question either, and it raises the question that if a week that is so important to all of us in the food industry is not known well, or even known that it actually happens at all, do these days and weeks actually do what they are intended to do?

Another important day for us foodies is Global Handwashing Day. As we all know the single most important thing that we can all do at home and in our business to stop food poisoning is to wash our hands when and as required. Once again most of us in the food industry do not even know about this day to encourage this vital food safety control. For your info this year Global Handwashing Day is the 15 October.    So how will your business do to recognise it?

There are days to recognise all types of cancers and other diseases, as well as days for awareness of health issues, amongst other days for certain activities, causes, animals and foods.

Some have had cut through and are well known like Cupcake Day for the RSPCA, Shave for a Cure to get funding for blood cancer research, Million Paws Walk for the RSPCA, Red Nose Day to recognise Cystic Fibrosis,  Jeans for Genes Day to raise funds for research into genetic disorders, and of course, Greatest Morning Tea for the Cancer Council. How do these get massive attention and many others don’t?

Some  are such big issues that a whole week is dedicated to them, like Heart Awareness Week and Food Safety Week.

To complicate this already crowded arena, some days and weeks are run at exactly the same time as others so the impact is spread over the two or three or more.

While most of these days and weeks are run by charities and other health organisations to get the issue / cause / disease recognised and to also raise funds, there are many days / weeks which are actually run by government, like Small Business Week to promote a particular group or topic related to the whole of the country.

It must be believed by all of these groups / government departments / organisations that these days and weeks must have some sort of impact and promote recognition and funding or there would not be as many of them as we now have each year. There is the problem, their success in achieving the funding and recognition, even if only for that day or week, is also their failure. With so many of these days / weeks happening, the impact of each is becoming progressively less, as there is just so much noise out there competing for the public’s attention that each one is at increasing risk of not being noticed anymore.

The following are the latest recall notices from the Food Standards Australia New Zealand and is include here with permission.

La Famiglia Garlic Slices 270g

Use By Dates: 13 May 2019, 16 May 2019, 17 May 2019,18 May 2019, 19 May 2019 & 20 May 2019.

The recalled products has been available for sale in Coles, Woolworths, IGA and independent stores nationally.

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of an undeclared allergen – dairy. This is due to a printing error on some packaging.

Food Safety Hazard: Any consumers who have a dairy allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

Country of origin: Australia

What to do: Consumers who have a dairy allergy or intolerance should not consume this product. Customers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full cash refund. We apologise for any inconvenience.

For further information contact Goodman Fielder Consumer Advisory Centre 1800 810 599 www.goodmanfielder.com.au

Washed Rind Pty Ltd Washed Mould Cheeses  

Product Best Before:

St Simeon 200g                   18/02/19, 04/03/19, 26/09/19, 09/04/19, 23/04/19, 10/05/19, 17/05/19

Le Coulommiers 400g          23/04/19, 17/05/19

Coulommiers Truffe 750g    19/02/19, 26/03/19, 09/04/19, 23/04/19, 10/05/19, 17/05/19

Brie de Nangis 1kg              18/02/19, 18/03/19, 04/03/19, 26/03/19

Washed Rind Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of the above products. The products have been available for sale at  in  NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA.

Problem: The recall is due to potential microbial Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Food safety hazard: Listeria may cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly and people with low immune systems.

What to do: Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Country of Origin:  France

For further information please contact: Washed Rind Pty Ltd    08 8321 5867

The following is the latest media release from the Food Safety information Council ltd and is include here with permission.

As Autumn kicks in, people warned not to pick or eat wild mushrooms because of deadly deathcap mushroom risk

With eight people recently hospitalised in NSW due to wild mushroom poisoning, the Food Safety Information Council today warned people not to pick or eat any wild mushrooms as wild mushrooms start to appear in southern and western Australia.

Cathy Moir, Council Chair, said that foraging for wild food is becoming a popular activity but gathering wild mushrooms can be a life-threatening risk.

‘While this latest spate of wild mushroom poisonings weren’t from deathcap mushrooms be aware that the poison in one deathcap mushroom, if eaten, is enough to kill a healthy adult. In the past 16 years, four people have died after eating deathcap mushrooms found in the ACT. In 2012 two people died after eating the deadly mushrooms at a New Year’s Eve dinner party in Canberra, and in 2014 four people were seriously poisoned.

‘Deathcap mushrooms can appear any time of year but are more common during Autumn a week or two after good rains. They have been found in the Canberra region, in and around Melbourne, in northern Tasmania and in Adelaide. They are not native to Australia and are often found near oak trees growing in warm wet weather. The similar marbled deathcap mushrooms have also been recently found in WA, although they may not be as toxic.

‘Deathcap mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from other wild mushrooms so we recommend you play it safe and only eat mushrooms that you have purchased from the supermarket, greengrocer or other reputable source. People born overseas, especially in Asian countries, should be aware that these deadly mushrooms can look like edible mushrooms that they may have gathered in their home countries.

“The toxin in deathcap mushrooms is not destroyed by peeling, cooking or drying. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps and often don’t appear until 10 to 16 hours after eating. These symptoms may ease for 2 to 3 days before a terminal phase of 3 to 4 days begins. Without early, effective medical intervention people may go into a coma and die after 2 or 3 weeks of liver and kidney failure.

‘Nine out of ten deaths from mushroom poisoning in Australia result from deathcap mushrooms. However there are other wild mushrooms in Australia that, while not fatal, can make you ill with abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. These include the yellow stainer which resembles a field mushroom and is the most commonly ingested poisonous mushroom in Victoria. Australian Poisons Information Centres received almost 900 calls about possible wild mushroom poisoning over a recent 12 month period, approximately a third of which were referred to hospital or medical treatment. In NSW during 2018, 70 people were admitted to hospital with poisoning. Almost 40 calls were made to the NSW Poisons Information Centre in the past week.”

Further information: http://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/as-autumn-kicks-in-people-are-warned-not-to-pick-or-eat-wild-mushrooms-because-of-deadly-deathcap-mushroom-risk/

This is a question I have heard many times, Usually it is said by someone before they sit through my food safety training. They change their ideas after the training when they realise what can really happen from a food poisoning.

For consumers, food poisoning can be as bad as it can possibly be, with death being a possible outcome for a small number of people. Usually these people are in one of the four high risk groups, the immune compromised, the elderly, the young and pregnant women, as they are more likely to get food poisoning and to suffer badly from it.

But bear in mind food poisoning can also have other terrible outcomes besides death, like requiring kidney transplants, development of paralysis and many other long term health problems.

For the vast majority of us, a case of food poisoning will cause vomitting, diarrhoea, cramps, fevers and nausea or a combination thereof and some time off work. We may have to go to hospital but  we bounce back into our busy lives and often make a determined effort never to eat the food we think was involved. It is not a thing we want to repeat but we recover and move on. For some it is just embarassing and for others we happily talk about to warn others where we think they should not eat, but it is really more of a general inconvenience than a real problem.

A survey done for the Food Safety Information Council Ltd last year showed that one in three Australians are either in the high risk groups or live with someone who is. This highlights how we cannot just think that food poisoning is just a few days off work, it can be potentially deadly and a cause for long term and debilitating health issues.

Another thing to consider is that not all food poisoning is caused by bacteria alone.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is caused by food contaminated by cows infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease).

The case study of arsenic poisoning from a food is Bradford Sweets when 20 of the 200 people involved in the food poisoning died after eating sweets which had been made with a sugar alternative, which contained arsenic.

This year a teacher in China was accused of adding sodium nitrate to the food of 23 kindergarten children and making them very sick with food poisoning.

Another case of food poisoning not involving bacteria is also from China, with melamine being added to products and causing much illness amongst babies in that country.

For food business food poisonings are incredibly bad. The loss of sales, the loss of profit, the loss of possible insurance, increased costs, recalls,  are just some of the potential outcomes from a business being involved in a food poisoning.

By following the food safety requirements in the Food Standards Code and State / Territory Food Acts, the likelihood can be dramatically reduced or even prevented.

Food labels  are essential to give information to consumers and so there are legal requirements surrounding them. To get them right is vital to ensure that consumers are properly informed and to also prevent your business from being involved in legal actions as a result of non-compliance to the requirements.

The problem is that to meet these requirements is not easy and it is not cheap. Specific tests and methods have to be done and followed to ensure that the correct information is available to include as required on the labels.

So why do businesses go through the hassles to meet the labelling requirements? Here are six things that the Food and Agricultural Organisation and World health Organisation say that labels help consumer do;

1. Helps keep people healthy – labels show the nutritional content of the food, which lets consumers know what they are eating. They can use this information to help monitor their energy intake and the amount of fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and sugars they are eating. For those with diabetes and other health conditions or illnesses, this information is essential in managing their diet. The Health Star Ratings are intended to help people understand how healthy foods are.
2. Labels help keep you safe – the storage, cooking / heating instructions will when followed will ensure that the food is safe for consumption.
3. Labelling when used with test methods will ensure that a food is what the label says – food fraud is on the increase and the labels on food products have to declare what is actually in the pack. This is only possible when there is good strong testing and compliance to legal requirements.
4. Labelling helps you avoid foods you need to – without having labels clearly showing what food allergens are present in a food, people could eat that food and have  significant allergic reactions.
5. Labels tell you when food can be used or not – Use by Dates on foods tell consumers that the food must be thrown out by no later than that day. Although there seems to be some people in our community who do not understand this – more education by governments around the world needs to be done to make this very clear. Once people understand the idea, this will help reduce food waste.
6. Labels help you know where your food comes from – Country of Origin lLbelling lets consumers know where their food comes from.

For more information about the big picture on food labelling,have a look at this site –http://www.fao.org/food-labelling/en/

The following three recall notices have been sent out by the New South Wales Food Authority and are included here with permission;

Desert Tribe Tropical Raw Bar and Lemon Seed Wonder Raw Bar.

Bailey Beau Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of Desert Tribe Tropical Raw Bar and Lemon Seed Wonder Raw Bar. The products have been available for sale at online and independent stores in NSW, ACT, VIC.

Product details:

• Desert Tribe Tropical Raw Bar, 40g
• Lemon Seed Wonder Raw Bar, 40g
• Best Before 28.10.19

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of foreign matter (plastic) and mould.

Food safety hazard: Food products containing plastic may cause injury if consumed. Food products contaminated with mould may cause illness if consumed.

Country of origin: Australia

What to do: Consumers should not eat this product. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund.

For further information please contact Bailey Beau Pty Ltd on 1300 574 406 or visit www.austsuperfoods.com.au.

Pana Organic Raspberry Chocolate 45gPana Organic Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of Pana Organic Raspberry Chocolate 45g. The product has been available for sale at Healthy Life and Heinemann in NSW, WHSmith in Melbourne (VIC) and Perth airports (WA), Terra Madre in VIC, Woolworths in VIC, SA and WA.

Product details:

• Pana Organic Raspberry Chocolate 45g
• Best Before BB 21 NOV 2019

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (pistachio).

Food safety hazard: Any consumers who have a pistachio allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

Country of origin: Australia

What to do: Consumers who have a pistachio allergy or intolerance should not consume this product and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund.

For further information please contact Pana Organic Pty Ltd on 1300 717 488 or at info@pana-organic.com

Chobani Flip Almond Coco Loco 140g

Chobani Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of Chobani Flip Almond Coco Loco 140g. The product has been available for sale at Coles, Woolworths, IGAs & Independents in NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA and WA.

Product details:

• Chobani Flip Almond Coco Loco 140g
• Best Before 23/04/2019

Problem: The recall is due to incorrect packaging (Lemon Meringue Tang tub, with Almond Coco Loco foil and Almond Coco Loco ingredients).

Food safety hazard: Any consumers who have an almond allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

Country of origin: Australia

What to do: Consumers who have an almond allergy or intolerance should not consume this product. Customers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full cash refund.

For further information please contact Chobani Australia on 1800 468 777 or at info@chobani.com.au, or visit www.chobani.com.au

So foods are full of all sorts of nasty chemicals right?

There are many who make this claim and advocate strongly for food with no chemicals. This is the main reason for the increase in the “clean” food movement.

Some “chemicals” are essential to give us the food we all want when we go shopping.

Without preservatives many foods would not be available when we want them.

Chemicals are used to ripen some fruits to be able to give us those fruits all year round.

Some chemicals  give us the texture we want in some foods.

Some chemicals make the food we crave the colour we expect.

Some chemicals are used to make the food we want taste like it does.

The Food Standards Code is where we find what chemicals are allowed to be used in what foods and how much is permitted to be added. This can be found in Standards One and Two –  http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/Pages/default.aspx

It is not allowed for any chemical to be added to a food if it is not permitted by the Code.

It is the role and responsibility of Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) to both develop these standards and to maintain them. To determine what is an acceptable chemical for use in food and how much can be used if allowed, FSANZ does much research, including; article searches, testing if considered necessary, review of national and international science and other jurisdiction standards, and submissions from the public and interested parties.

The decision about what chemicals are permitted and how much of these can be used is only made after prolonged review and some of these have specific safety issues surrounding them and these have more information provided on the FSANZ website.

For more details about these higher risk  or profile chemicals have a look at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/chemicals/Pages/default.aspx

The  following recall notices are included here with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the NSW Food Authority.

The first is yet another Listeria recall but only impacts on South Australia.

Meals on Wheels SA Frozen Meals  

Meals on Wheels SA is conducting a recall of all frozen meal products. The products have been sold through Meals on Wheels SA in SA. The best before dates involved are;

There are 52 different meal types on the list for this recall, with potentially thousands of meals involved.

Problem: The recall is due to microbial (Listeria monocytogenes) contamination.

Food safety hazard: Listeria may cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly and people with low immune systems.

Country of origin: Australia

What to do: Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund. For further information please contact:

Meals on Wheels SA 8271 8700

www.mealsonwheelssa.org.au

The second recall is eggs and is in place in all states except Queensland. The following is the current available information from the New South Wales Food Authority.

The NSW Food Authority is urging people to check their kitchens for any eggs that are marked with the identifying stamp AF58-099-035 through to AF58-099-065 because they may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis.

The stamp AF58-099-035 through to AF58-099-065 will be found on the shell of individual eggs, not on the carton.

These eggs are linked to those recalled yesterday. Further information here. Consumers are advised they should not eat the eggs and to dispose of them in the garbage.

Eggs are sold in different ways. These particular eggs were sold in caterers packs, not cartons, mostly direct to cafes and restaurants though some may have been on sold directly to consumers.

All other eggs are safe to eat, provided people exercise the usual caution required for a special care food like eggs such as washing your hands and avoiding raw egg products particularly if you are a vulnerable population such as the immune compromised, under two or over 70 years of age or pregnant.

To minimise food safety risks eggs should be cooked thoroughly, this means they are cooked until whites are completely firm and yolk begins to thicken.

Salmonellosis symptoms include fever, headache, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms usually start around six to 72 hours after the contaminated food is eaten and usually last for four to seven days but can continue for much longer.

If you have immediate health concerns contact your medical professional in the first instance.

Further information about how to reduce your food safety risk when consuming eggs can be found at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/eggs

Counterfeiting of money and legal documents has been going on for as long as we have had them. Claiming that food is something when it actually isn’t has been as well.

Is the Barramundi you might be having for lunch actually Queensland Barramundi or has it come from somewhere else? Is the honey you have paid a premium for  actually New Zealand Manuka like the label says or is it not? Is the caviar actually the specific type you paid for? Is the coffee you are drinking truly made from the beans which have been “pre-processed” by the Civet? Is the calamari you are thoroughly enjoying, actually squid or pigs anuses?

In other words, is the food you are eating really the genuine article?

Many foods have reputations for quality, taste, texture, colour or even medicinal properties, and people have for thousands of years been able to charge a premium for them.

This has obviously, and inevitably, created opportunies for some to try to either counterfeit these foods or to try to sell alternatives and claim they are the expected food.

When there is money to be made from a special food, there is a great temptation for some to do dishonest and illegal things to make that money.

So what can those businesses who do produce and sell the genuine aricles do about this loss of reputation and income?

One approach is to put pressure on legislators to bring in legal requirements which must be met and the associated penalties and gaol sentences if they are not followed.

In France and across the world, Champagne is the name which can only be used for sparkling wine from the Champagne region in France. This means that all other sparkling wine around the world cannot be called Champagne – even though the process used in it’s manufacture is fundamentally the same.

Similar names have now been locked in in the same way for some of our favourite cheeses.

But this is just one of the controls which have now been implemented to stop the counterfeiting of special foods. But what can the individual manufacturers do to protect their product’s reputation and their sales?

Another is DNA testing.

This method uses testing of the foods to identify specific DNA or other chemicals which are specific to the special foods. The only issue with this is that the food would need to be tested by the buyer to confirm that they have bought what they paid for.

A new development is making it’s way into the market and will provide a complete history of each individual package. By using a process which was originally developed by the finance industry, manufacturers can use “blockchaining” to allow these manufacturers to give the complete history of each individual product purchased, from it’s manufacturing history to any attempts to open the packaging before it was purchased.

It is expensive at this stage but for those companies trying to protect their special products, their reputation and their livelihood it is a  a new way to be able to give their customers what they are actually expecting.

All packaged food must include an allergen statement if that food contains any of the food allergens recognised in the Food Standards Code as either an ingredient or as what is called a processing aid. For all non-packaged food, there must be allergen information available for the purchaser. The essential requirement whether the food is packaged or not, is that the supplier must provide sufficient allergen information to enable the customer / consumer to make an informed decision on whether to purchase or eat the food or not.

The majority of allergic reactions from food occur from peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, sesame seeds, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Another was added to the list in 2017, Lupin.

A useful poster is also available. You can download a copy (PDF 418KB), or for a printed A2 version  at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/Documents/allergen-poster.pdf

Although wheat is the allergen in the list, it is not the only gluten containing material which must be declared. Any food containing wheat, barley, oats, rye, spelt and hybrids (including triticale) must contain a gltuen declaration.

Those with Coeliac Disease have no cure, so to avoid the syptoms  they must avoid eating gluten. So knowing that there is a gluten containing ingredient or other material in a food is essential to controlling this disease.

There are some exemptions to the allergen  labelling requirements based on whether the foods have been processed so that they are suitable for Coeliacs and other people with specific food allergies. The details can be found at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/foodallergies/Pages/Allergen-labelling-exemptions-.aspx

The majority of product recalls in Australia over the last 10 tears have been due to undeclared allergens, which are costly both to the bottom line and to the reputation of those compnaies involved.

It is essential to ensure that the required allergen labelling is correct for all food businesses. The following is a useful link to assist – http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/Pages/Allergen-labelling-.aspx

If anyone suspects that a food has been incorrectly labelled or undeclared, the first point of contact is the local council or health department