طراحی وب سایت

an extract of black radish (raphanus niger) may provide a natural alternative to sulphur dioxide for viticulturists, according to a new study from greece. writing in the journal journal of food composition and analysis , maria-ioanna salaha and her co-workers from the wine institute at the national agricultural research foundation (nagref) and the technological educational institution (tei) of athens report that the natural alternative may help reduce the quantity of sulphur dioxide used in wine making.

a successful trial of biotech tomatoes with high anthocyanin that saw them increase the life-span of cancer-prone rats could help strengthen the positive side of the gm debate in the uk, says the usda foreign agricultural service. although more accepted in the us, debate over the place of biotech crops in the food chain has been fierce in europe – and especially in the uk.

avebe has announced two new applications in its etenia range of potato starches, including as a means to reduce fat content in cakes by up to 30 per cent. etenia legato, the starch aimed at cake manufacturers, has been developed by avebe as part of its collaboration with dsm food specialties’ ‘let’s cake together’ project. avebe’s food marketing manager christer andersson told bakeryandsnacks.

new measures to restrict the import of soy foods into the eu from china may have an effect on soy stocks already in the eu, and push up ingredient prices over the coming months, say industry experts. the european commission said last week that it would take measures to ban the import of soy-containing infant food and food for young children from china, following the detection of high levels of melamine in chinese soy bean meal.

meat processors and suppliers should check the terms of supply arrangements and review their insurance policies in light of the irish pig meat recall, claims a product liability expert from international law firm eversheds. richard matthews told foodproductiondaily.com that meat product manufacturers should confer with brokers and specialist lawyers about their insurance premiums to look at ways that they can be compensated for being caught up in future blanket recalls related to contaminants in products.

walkers snack foods has recalled batches of its crisps for the second time this year due to possible contamination with rubber pieces. the company said a range of its product flavours, sizes and pack formats may have been affected. this is the second time this year that the firm has had to recall its crisps due to contamination with pieces of yellow rubber. the first incidence occurred in february 2008.

measures to help prevent the unauthorized release of genetically engineered crops into food do not go far enough, according to a report from the us government accountability office (gao). government agencies overseeing the regulation of genetically engineered (ge) crops should do more to improve co-ordination and monitoring, the investigation concluded, as the unauthorized mixing of some ge crops with non-ge crops has caused controversy, financial harm and product recalls.

mice are the unlikely villains of a new setback for the italian cheese industry after allegedly spoiling more than $1m (€777,000) of products in the northern city of parma, say news reports. mice excrement and carcasses were found by police at a warehouse in the city, leading to the seizure of 2000 cheese rounds weighing about 80 tonnes, according to the russian news agency ria novosti.

another 40 million people have been pushed into hunger this year primarily due to higher food prices, according to preliminary estimates published by fao today. this brings the overall number of undernourished people in the world to 963 million, compared to 923 million in 2007 and the ongoing financial and economic crisis could tip even more people into hunger and poverty, fao warned."world food prices have dropped since early 2008, but lower prices have not ended the food crisis in many poor countries," said fao assistant director-general hafez ghanem, presenting the new edition of fao's hunger report, the state of food insecurity in the world 2008.

the ongoing debate on the effectiveness of self regulating responsible advertising for european sprits manufacturers rages on with a new report suggesting the industry in generally is living up to its commitments. while industry-led organisations like the uk-based portman group continue to drive ahead with advertising initiatives, some health care organisations have questioned the willingness of the alcohol industry to work to its own detriment by restricting promotions.