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Chilling is cool, others are not: FSA survey looks at perceptions of meat treatments

Much of consumers’ resistance to new decontamination techniques for meat may stem from the lack of adequate information on the procedures, according to a new study from the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) Food Standards Agency (FSA).

More than 2,000 people from around the U.K. participated in the survey, which was part of FSA’s program to reduce [...]

Phenylbutazone found in U.K. beef product

Low levels of a veterinary anti-inflammatory drug have been found in a beef product in the United Kingdom (U.K.), according to media reports.

The findings come as species identification testing continues in the U.K. in the wake of the discovery of horse and pig DNA in beef products. Phenylbutazone, or bute, often is used to [...]

FSA reports second wave of species identification test results

Additional results have come in under a United Kingdom-wide testing program for horse meat in beef products.

So far, more than 99 percent (or 3,599 samples) of samples tested contained no horse DNA “at or above the level of 1 percent.” Less than 1 percent (35 results) of samples tested contained horse DNA at or [...]

FSA, industry to implement additional species identification testing program

Food businesses that sell beef products must now test their goods to ensure they don’t contain horse or swine DNA as part of a new program, the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced.

The decision comes on the heels of the discovery of horse and swine DNA in beef products in the U.K. [...]

Survey: Food safety concerns in the U.K. have decreased through the last decade

More people are concerned about the price, healthfulness, and nutritional aspects of food than the chance of getting a foodborne illness, according to a new study.

About 63 percent of those surveyed cited food prices as one of their main concerns, with 32 percent citing foodborne illness caused by pathogens such as E. coli and [...]

Report: Counterfeit booze reports jump 27 percent in the U.K.

Reports of fake alcohol have risen sharply in May and June in the U.K., according to the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) Food Fraud Database.

Of the 170 cases reported to the FSA, about 45 percent of those involved fake alcohol. Last year, of the 238 cases reported in the same time frame, only 23 percent [...]

Report: As household budgets shrink, food safety risks increase

The economy’s effect on people’s pocketbooks may also indicate they’re more willing to eat risky leftovers, according to research from the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The report, “Food safety on a budget,” found that approximately 97 percent of those interviewed believed the cost of their usual grocery shopping trips had gone up “significantly” in [...]

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Food safety

FSIS laboratory to perform alternative testing on select Salmonella serotypes –FSIS

Beginning July 9, the Food Safety and Inspection Service will use the Centers for Disease Control and [...]