The following is an update to a current recall and is included here with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

UPDATE TO RECALL

Dear Stakeholders

Please find below information on a recent Australian consumer level food recall. This information is also available on our website at www.foodstandards.gov.au/recalls

Date notified to FSANZ

28/08/2015 2015 updated on 9/9/15

Food type

Non-alcoholic beverages

Product name

Coco Joy Pure Coconut Milk Banana Flavour
Coco Joy Pure Coconut Milk Chocolate Flavour
Coco Joy Pure Coconut Milk Coffee Flavour

Package description & size

500ml, PP Bottle

Country of origin 

Vietnam

Reason for recall

the presence of an undeclared allergen (dairy)

Distribution

Independent retailers nationally (previously SA and WA)

Consumer advice

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

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

Contact

FAL Healthy Beverages Pty Ltd

02 9317 0812

www.falfoodandbeverages.com

In this year’s Food and Health Survey in the USA, 36 percent of respondents are concerned with chemicals in their food. This is an increase of 13 percent in just one year, and beats food borne illness by two percent.

The Survey is run by International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation.

Interestingly, the concept of “chemicals in food” has different meaning, depending upon whether you are a consumer or in the food industry. The general perception by the public is the chemicals in the food means anything added to the food and is not a good thing.

The result is really about perceived risk (“the chemicals in the food”) and the actual risk (the bacteria in the food which can cause food poisoning if poorly handled).

Carl Winter, extension food toxicologist and vice chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California at Davis, said; “The risks posed by pesticides in food pale in comparison to the risks from foodborne illness. Our typical exposure to pesticide residues is at levels more than 1 million times lower than levels that, when given to laboratory animals on a daily basis throughout their lifetimes, do not produce any noticeable effects in the animals. This strongly contrasts with the risk of foodborne illness, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the incidence at 48 million cases per year in the U.S.”
 

It would be interesting to find out if this increasing concern of chemicals in the food is also happening in Australia.

September is Food Safety Month in the USA, whereas in Australia, Food Safety Week is the second week in November. Both focus on promoting good food safety practices by consumers to reduce the likelihood of food borne illness.

The following is a Product Recall Notice. It is included here with permission for Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

Date notified to FSANZ – 28/08/2015

Food type – Coconut milk drink

Product name

FAL Healthy Beverages Pty Ltd, Coco Joy Pure Coconut Milk

• Banana Flavour
• Chocolate Flavour
• Coffee Flavour

Package description & size – 500ml PP Bottle

Country of origin  – Vietnam

Reason for recall –The presence of an undeclared allergen (dairy)

Distribution –SA and WA

Consumer advice

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

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

Contact – FAL Healthy Beverages Pty Ltd   02 9317 0812   www.falfoodandbeverages.com

The following is from a media release by the New South Wales Food Authority.

“Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) certificates expire five years from the date of issue, with the first round due to expire from 1 September 2015.

Should your FSS certificate be close to expiring and you wish to continue to be the FSS for a retail food business, you will need to undertake recertification training with a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) approved under the FSS program.

Food businesses have 30 working days from the date printed on the certificate to ensure their appointed FSS renews their training and obtains a new FSS certificate.

From 1 September 2015, FSS recertification training is available from RTOs approved under the FSS program (see the approved provider list) and will include training in three key focus areas –cleaning and sanitising, safe egg handling and allergen management.”

Other states do not yet require any recertification of Food Safety Supervisors, but with NSW taking the lead, it is inevitable to become something that is required elsewhere in one form or another.

Food Safety Australia is one of the approved RTOs.

So when a woman is told by her Doctor that she is pregnant there is usually a discussion about eating the right foods, nutrition and not eating other foods (eg.no shellfish or soft cheeses).

According to a recent study published online in the journal Public Health Nutrition in July 2015, two thirds of pregnant women believe they eat the right diet. However the study found that none in the study actually followed the Australian Dietary Guidelines on the eating of the five food groups.

The study surveyed at least 850 pregnant women from across the country. It was done for her PhD by Dr Lenka Malek, of the University of Adelaide’s Women’s & Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI). The School of Agriculture, Food & Wine and Global Food Studies was also involved in the study.

The following results were found;

• 56% of pregnant women consumed the daily      recommendation of fruit
• 29% consumed enough dairy
• less than 10% ate the recommended levels of      other food groups: vegetables, grains and lean meats.

Dr Malek said; “The results are rather alarming – we were expecting to see at least some pregnant women correctly following the guidelines across all food groups, but there were none. One of our main concerns is that 61% of pregnant women thought they were eating a healthy and balanced diet.”

If women think they are following good dietary practices and we find that they actually aren’t, this is a major cause of concern.

Dr Malek said; “If pregnant women already believe they are consuming a healthy and balanced diet they may not make changes to improve their eating habits. These results help to illustrate the need for greater awareness of what is considered to be a healthy diet, and a need for intervention programs aimed at helping pregnant women to meet the guidelines.”

Interestingly some groups are less likely to eat certain foods.

As Dr Jo Zhou, Senior author on the paper and a dietician from the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine and WCHRI at the University, said; “For example, women who were born overseas and who were less physically active before pregnancy were less likely to keep to the daily fruit and dairy recommendations. Women who smoked during pregnancy, were overweight before pregnancy and had lower household incomes were also less likely to eat enough fruit. And women living in metropolitan areas were less likely to meet the daily intake of vegetables. More research would be needed to better understand exactly why women aren’t consuming certain types of foods at the recommended levels. But there is a very clear need to raise awareness of this problem in the community.”

The recent Healthy Diet Score Survey has a top rating of 100 points if the diet meets all nutritional requirements and is well balanced with a good water intake.

Unfortunately Australia only scored 61 points, with some specific areas across the country scoring even lower results.

The survey is conducted by CSIRO and is scientifically validated against the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Over 40000 people were surveyed. It evaluated the following for each person;

• Food variety
• Food frequency
• Quantity of each food eaten
• The person’s age and gender

This year’s result is unacceptable, especially when it found that “junk food” consumption is three times the recommended daily limit and that we each eat around 32 kg of chocolate a year.

Professor Manny Noakes, CSIRO Research Director for Nutrition and Health and the co-author of the ‘CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet’, said; “The scores were fairly unflattering across all respondents. If we were handing out report cards for diet quality – Australia would only get a C. While many people scored highly in categories such as water intake and the variety of foods consumed, there is certainly lots of room for improvement in other areas.”

With many of the Quick Serve businesses increasingly selling large combo type meals, the survey result raises the question of whether consumers are demanding these high kilojoule intake foods, or simply purchasing them because they are readily available.

Professor Noakes said; “What we’re finding is people are having larger portions of junk food, more often. This type of food is no longer just an indulgence, its become mainstream and Australians are eating it each and every day. In order to improve your diet quality, people need to cut back on the consumption of junk food, and start to focus on eating smaller portion. They also need to be more mindful of every bite they take by eating more slowly and consciously.”

Rachelle Williams, The Green Food Safety Coach.

To help food business and council Environmental Health Officers with understanding what compliance to the Food Standards Code means, Food Standards Australia New Zealand developed a brilliant guide to “Safe Food Australia”. It has been in use for several years.

The following is a media release from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) about the call for submissions into the proposal to change the mandatory allergen labelling requirements. It is included here with permission from FSANZ

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) today released a consultation paper on a review of Safe Food Australia.

Safe Food Australia is an explanatory guide to the food safety standards in Chapter 3 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Chief Executive Officer Steve McCutcheon said Safe Food Australia is used as a practical tool, by both industry and regulators, to help understand and implement safe food handling practices.  

“This key document is used by food businesses to help them produce safe food,” Mr McCutcheon said.

“Safe Food Australia is being reviewed to address current food safety issues and trends, provide new guidance for mobile vendors and home-based vendors and to update the evidence referenced in the guide,” Mr McCutcheon said.

“FSANZ will also consider the format and delivery of the publication, for example by providing it in mobile friendly formats.”  

More information

Read the current version of Safe Food Australia

Comments can be provided through submissions@foodstandards.gov.au

According to IBISWorld forecasting, this financial year Australians will consume over $3 billion in snack foods. That is a huge figure, but the good news is that it is health snack foods that have really increased in consumption.

Ryan Lin, senior industry analyst at IBISWorld, said; “Snack food options have expanded beyond traditional snacks – such as potato chips and biscuits made with standard white flour – over the past five years as consumers become increasingly health conscious and seek higher quality snack foods.”

Since the 2010 / 11 financial year there has been a 1.4% growth in the snack food industry as a whole, but a 3% growth in the health snack food side of the industry.

Premium and gourmet snack foods, like gourmet flavoured chips, are also becoming more popular.

Ryan Lin also said; “While potato chips remain the most popular form of snack food, increasing consumer demand for healthier options manufactured by Australia’s Health Snack Food Production Industry – including dried fruits and nuts, which account for 42.8% of industry revenue; muesli bars (29.1%); protein bars (17.4%), and other items such as fruit and vegetable bars (10.7%) – is anticipated to drive growth and deliver both challenges and opportunities for industry players.”

The recent CSIRO Diet Survey shows that on average Australians are eating up to 32 kg of chocolate each per year, so it is little surprise that in the IBISWorld forecasting this snack food will show an annual revenue growth of 1.9%. in the 2015 / 16 financial year

Biscuit consumption, and therefore manufacturing has declined in revenue by 2.6%, and is the only snack food to show a decline since 2010/11.

So all those new chips flavours and “healthy snacks” we see on the supermarket shelves are being driven by consumer demand, or is it that consumers are buying them because they are now available?

The following is a media release from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) about the call for submissions into the proposal to change the mandatory allergen labelling requirements. It is included here with permission from FSANZ.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) today called for submissions on a Proposal to remove mandatory allergen labelling requirements for certain foods and ingredients.

FSANZ Chief Executive Officer Steve McCutcheon said the Proposal involves removing the mandatory requirement for certain products, where processing results in negligible amounts of protein being left in the final product.

“In some cases processing means products are essentially stripped of allergenic proteins, making them safe for consumers who have an allergy to that protein,” Mr McCutcheon said.

“The products being considered are exempt from allergen labelling requirements in some parts of the world such as Europe.”

The products being considered are certain glucose syrups made from wheat starch, fully refined soy oil, soy derivatives (tocopherols and phytosterols) and distilled alcohol from wheat or whey.

“FSANZ conducted a thorough safety assessment on the Proposal which included consulting with allergy specialists and industry,” Mr McCutcheon said.

All FSANZ decisions on standards are notified to ministers responsible for food regulation. The ministers can decide to adopt, amend, or reject standards or they can ask for a review.

The closing date for submissions is 6pm (Canberra time) 23 September 2015.

More information

Proposal P1031 Allergen Labelling Exemptions

How to make a submission

Antibiotics are the silver bullet for killing bacteria, right? Well that may have been the case, as little as a few years ago, but is not so true now.

Why has our most important medical advancement become less, and much so, powerful than it has been before.

Most people think of antibiotics as something we take when we are sick. Most would not realise that much less than half of the antibiotics used in today’s society are actually used by humans.

The vast majority of antibiotics used today are placed into animal feed to maintain health for cattle, pigs, poultry and other livestock. They are used to prevent these animals from getting sick and keep the mortality rate low in livestock. If an animal in a feedlot gets sick and dies, the farmer loses that animal and the illness can also affect others and that reduces the profit of that business. So antibiotics are used to keep the bacteria under control and stop illness.

On top of this as humans, we have taken antibiotics in the past when not really required.

As a result, due to excessive overuse and the development of resistance, the antibiotics we rely on to stop us from being sick are no longer having the same effect on the bacteria they were designed to kill.

We have created our own problem and it has authorities worldwide terrified, as there are still no practical easy to source alternatives which can be used on a large scale.

As with many things in the past, New Zealand is once again stepping onto the world stage and saying NO.

The recent announcement by the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA)that by 2030 New Zealand will not be using antibiotics in the care of animals is the first time a country has stepped up and made that decision.

NZVA President Dr Steve Merchant said; “By 2030 New Zealand Inc will not need antibiotics for the maintenance of animal health and wellness. Given the wide acceptance that the future for antibiotics is limited, and the close links between animals, humans and the environment we share, achieving this goal is essential. With sharply increasing levels of resistance to antibiotics worldwide, we want animals and, by extension, humans to enter the ‘post-antibiotic’ era as safely as possible.”

It will mean that the use of antibiotics in animal feed will no longer be happening in that country as of 2030. Antibiotics will obviously still be used for illness of animals, as well as humans.

It is going to be a big job, first finding suitable alternatives and then getting all the involved parties on board. But the country has made the first and gigantically important step of committing to it. It will be interesting to see how many others join New Zealand in this commitment.

New Zealand already has no use of antibiotics in aquaculture, has little or no feedlots, and is the third lowest user of antibiotics on animals in the world. So it will be easier for them than for most other countries.

Rachelle Williams, The Green Food Safety Coach.