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peer probes fsa aspartame study as costs double
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liberal democrat peer lord clement-jones has called on the department of health to explain how spending £322,000 of taxpayers' money on a study addressing consumer concerns over aspartame represents value for money at a time when budgets are so stretched.
clement-jones: value for money the study - commissioned by the food standards agency last year - is not testing the safety of aspartame, "which has already been established", but is designed to address "anecdotal reports" from consumers claiming to have had adverse reactions to the high intensity sweetener (stomach aches and headaches). however, lord clement-jones (pictured) questioned whether the study represented an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money given the many competing demands on the fsa’s budget. he was speaking to foodmanufacture.co.uk after it emerged that the scope of the study has just been extended, increasing the total cost to more than £322,000, despite the fact that only half of the target number of volunteers has been secured. he added: "i cannot understand why the fsa is promulgating this kind of research. i have asked several questions about how they are prioritising their funds when the number of people [claiming adverse reactions] is miniscule and the fsa is having to make substantial cuts in its budget." the fact that academics at the university of hull conducting the study had struggled to attract enough participants also raised serious questions about the genuine scale of the problem the fsa was seeking to probe, he added. "i would just like the money to be spent on something more useful." volunteers coming forward 'more slowly than anticipated' responding in writing to a question tabled by clement-jones last month about the progress of the study, parliamentary under-secretary of state, department of health, earl howe admitted: “volunteers are coming forward to participate in the fsa-funded study on aspartame more slowly than anticipated. “as such the fsa is currently negotiating to extend the end date for this work by six months with the contractors at no additional cost. it is anticipated that the study will now complete in summer 2011.” to date, just 25 self-diagnosed aspartame-sensitive individuals and 25 ‘controls’ have completed the study, which was initially targeting 100 volunteers (50 aspartame-sensitive people and 50 controls), foodmanufacture.co.uk understands. rising costs the cost of the study had also increased, said earl howe. “to date, £193,763 has been spent on this work and in total the project will cost the fsa £287,693 in addition to £35,000 to develop an appropriate cereal bar. the study was originally costed at £150,728. “following consultation of the european food safety authority's national experts on aspartame, it was agreed that to maximise its usefulness the research should also investigate aspartame metabolism by analysing samples taken from the participants. this extension will result in an additional cost of £136,965.”
Source :foodnavigator.com
Date :
6
December
2010
Category :
food industries Economic
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the paper and packaging industries are taking a hands-on role in exploring ways to curb the presence of mineral oils in the manufacture of their products, said a leading trade body. cepi managing director teresa presas the confederation of european paper industries (cepi) outlined the complex nature of the problem - and what it is doing to address the issue - in the wake of intense media speculation yesterday over the potential health threat from the toxic substance leaching from packaging.
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major food manufacturers are revamping their packaging amid concerns over the long term health hazards posed by mineral oils leaching from recycled cardboard into foods. weetabix, kellogg and jordans have all taken steps to change to packaging that does not contain mineral oils , according a report from the bbc. the confederation of european paper industries (cepi) said steps were already being taken to address the issue and that the industry regarded it seriously.
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campylobacter has been detected on the external packaging of 40 per cent of fresh chickens on sale in shops across one major uk city, a study has found. the report from birmingham city council urged meat processors to use stronger packaging , called on supermarkets to employ better display techniques and suggested a public awareness campaign in a bid to cut the risk of cross-contamination of the foodbourne bacteria from external packing.
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the european food safety authority (efsa) has reaffirmed the safety of monsanto's genetically modified (gm) gt73 oilseed rape, stating that it is unlikely to have a detrimental effect on human or animal health or the environment when used for food and feed uses. efsa was asked by the european commission to assess the impact on human and animal health as well as the environment from the renewal of two applications covering the continued marketing of existing food produced from oilseed rape gt73 (refined oil and food additives) and existing feed materials and feed additives produced from it.
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three judges will consider an appeal against a high court ruling over the rights to call aspartame a “nasty” early next year. ajinomoto – the world’s leading supplier of the sweetener – took legal action against asda in 2008 to challenge its use of the word ‘nasty’ to describe aspartame. asda has also banned the use of aspartame in its own-label range. however, while high court judge mr justice tugendhat (in july this year) agreed that aspartame was not unsafe, he concluded that calling it ‘nasty’ did not amount to malicious falsehood.
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mars says it will continue to reformulate its products to remove artificial colours, additives and saturated fats where feasible, as it launches a new advertising campaign to play up its ingredient commitments. a company spokesperson told confectionerynews.com that while it had been focusing on promoting reformulation since 2006, research and development into additives was ongoing, particularly in the field of saturated fats.
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the biggest trend in the uk market in recent years has been for manufacturers and retailers to reduce the use of additives, as well as replacing additives used with non-artificial alternatives, says the food and drink federation (fdf). the fdf made the statement in response to a comment, "hooked on es", published across decision news media sites on 10 september.
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australia\'s food watchdog on monday recalled and stopped imports of another soy sauce with a high level of a cancer-causing chemical - the 17th asian-made soy sauce product withdrawn from australian stores in the past nine months. the australia new zealand food authority (anzfa) said a king brand \"new soy sauce\" imported from vietnam was found to contain unacceptably high levels of a chloropropanol called 3-mcpd - 200 times higher than the level deemed to be safe.
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Coca.Cola
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PEPSI
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Mcdonald
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Nestle
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Mars
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Baskin & Robins
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Nutrika
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Mumika
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Chika
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glaxosmithkline (gsk) has withdrawn one of its lucozade 