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e. coli in ground beef, melamine in infant formula, and salmonella in peanut butter - what is next? isn’t it about time the slices of the us food safety pie were taken back from the multiple federal agencies involved and surveillance placed under one roof? confidence in a system where 15 different agencies administer as many as 30 laws is ebbing with us politicians and food companies, following the recent salmonella scare linked to eight deaths, demanding an overhaul of how the sector is regulated.

the debate over products from cloned animals entering the european food chain will enter a new phase next week, as meps ask the commission searching questions about the welfare of cloned animals, ethics, and consumer information. the european commission has previously said that meat and milk from cloned animals are “expected to spread within the global food as early as 2010”, according to a parliament communiqué .

in spite of the global downturn, 2009 turned out to be an eventful year for the food industry. economic recovery, albeit a slow and slightly faltering one, should bring equally if not more interesting times. ben cooper looks at what is likely to be dominating the headlines in the coming year. as 2009 closes and the food industry prepares for a well-earned break - and a chance to consume far too much of its own product - attention inevitably turns to what might be dominating the headlines over the next 12 months.

reducing meat and dairy consumption, eating fewer fatty and sugary foods, and wasting less food are the three changes to consumption habits that will have the biggest impact on making diets more sustainable, says a new report. the sustainable consumption commission was asked by the uk government’s department for environment, food, rural affairs to map out evidence on sustainable diets and look at synergies and tensions between public health, the environment, social inequalities, and economic stability.

there are no human health concerns over current dietary exposure to a range of fluorinated chemicals, such as pfos and pfoa, the uk food standards agency (fsa) has said the food safety watchdog came to its conclusion after testing a range of retail foods for fluorinated substances - including perfluorooctane sulphonate (pfos) and perfluorooctanoic acid (pfoa).

a review of cloning is underway at the european food safety authority (efsa) following a request from the european commission for further advice on the implications of the technology for food safety, animal health and welfare and the environment. efsa has initiated a public consultation period to collate data to support the review, and the agency said that it aims to build on its july 2008 recommendations regarding clones.

an advisory committee for japan's food safety regulator has said that food made from cloned animals is safe to eat. in april last year, the food safety commission was asked to deliberate on the matter by japan’s ministry of health. “foods derived from cloned cows and swine, and from the offspring of clones, are as safe as food from conventionally bred animals,” said the working group in its report published today.

warranted or not, it comes as no surprise to learn that there is growing concern among uk consumers over food safety. according to new research from mintel, 41 per cent of adults were concerned about the safety of food in 1997, while in 2002 this figure has risen to 44 per cent of consumers. the report revealed that there is a considerable difference in attitude between men and women with over half of women (51 per cent) worried about food safety, compared to just 36 per cent of men.

the uk government has set in motion a review of food policy and strategies with the publication of an analytical study on current and emerging food trends. among the analysis, the report found that the british diet has shifted considerably in recent history. while the origin of food is becoming a more important factor, people have been eating more pre-prepared foods in the last ten years.

in light of the recent european bse crisis the uk food standards agency (fsa) has published a report this week that details the historic uses of mechanically recovered meat (mrm) from cattle. gaping holes in historic evidence, leading to clear uncertainty about mrm use, pervade the report. the report was commissioned at the request of the spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee (seac) - an independent expert group that advises the government on bse and vcjd issues - to examine how, up to 1995, bse may have got into food in the uk.