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fears over the dangers of peanut allergy, a potentially deadly allergy for certain people, are becoming sensationalist and hysterical, according to a harvard professor. a level-headed approach is needed before the situation spirals out of control, wrote professor nicolas christakis from harvard medical school in the british medical journal . the food industry is already bound by certain regulations, depending on the country, to highlight possible allergens in a food product, such as the eu’s labelling directive 2000/13/ec.

the irish pork crisis has consumers staring at the prospect of an empty table at christmas, and industry doing sums on how much the so-called ‘biggest meat crisis since bse’ is going to cost. it’s no wonder new questions are being asked of food safety procedures. the detection of high dioxin levels in pork has been met by murmurs of ‘here we go again’. ireland was hard hit by the bse crisis of 1996 and by the food-and-mouth disease outbreak of 2001.

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.

the prince of wales will today award six uk schools judge to have the ‘best food culture’ at the inaugural food for life partnership awards. the food for life partnership is led by the soil association, and has seen considerable interest in membership from schools since celebrity chef jamie oliver launched his school meals campaign in 2005. jeanette orrey, food for life partnership school meals advisor and the school cook who inspired oliver’s campaign, said: “we campaigned for better school dinners, but it’s not just about school meals anymore, it’s also about practical food education like learning to cook, growing food and visiting farms to learn where food actually comes from.

consumption of genetically modified corn may lead to infertility, according to a new study commissioned by the austrian agency for health and food safety, and carried out by veterinary university vienna. results from a long-term feeding study with mice were interpreted as showing that consumption of a genetically modified corn developed by monsanto (nk603 x mon810) led to lower fertility and body weight.

national starch has developed a multi-lingual dictionary of texture called the ‘texicon’, which its sales teams use to ensure manufacturers and food scientists understand the same thing from descriptive terms. whether a food is crispy, brittle, creamy, chewy or fluffy has become a purchase driver for consumers, who seek a certain experience from their food. but national starch believes language barriers could stand in the way of delivering on expectations.

uk consumers have worried less about salt and additives this year and more about saturated fat in their food, according to the latest barometer of food views conducted by the food standards agency (fsa). the fsa conducts a survey of consumer attitudes every quarter, in order to gauge awareness of and confidence in the fsa, attitude towards food safety issues, and concern about certain food issues.

opportunities for low-calorie formulations open up for food makers as europe officially recognises erythritol as a zero calorie sweetener. erythritol, a bulk sweetener polyol that occurs at low levels in some fruits and fermented foods, contains a variety of benefits, including low-calorie content, low gi index and a low laxative effect. "we have high hopes for [cargill's branded erythritol] zerose," said henry hussell, head of marketing at cargill sweetness.

at the time of writing, the us is poised to go to the polls. the next two days are going to be hugely exciting. and when it’s all over, after the victor gets some well-earned rest… he’ll rub his sleepy eyes and ask: ‘what’s for breakfast?'. make no mistake. this is not the only question the president-elect will be asking himself about food over the next four years.

the european food and beverage industry could benefit from joint business opportunities in china, says commissioner, especially for products that have already gained recognition on that market. china’s industrialisation has led to increased affluence amongst the population, and more people are exploring western diets, rich in meat and dairy, over traditional chinese foods.