MEP’s have called on the Commission to remove titanium dioxide (E171) from the EU list of permitted food additives and have objected to the proposal to amend the rules setting maximum levels of acrylamide in certain foodstuffs for infants and young children.

E171 is used mainly to colour confectionery, bakery, and pastry products as well as chewing gum, sweets, chocolates, and ice cream. As these products are very popular with children, there is a concern about their exposure levels to the additive. France have already banned sales of food products containing titanium dioxide as of 1st January 2020 and 85,000 citizens across Europe have signed a petition to support the French ban.

As regards acrylamide, MEPs are requesting that the Commission lower the proposed maximum level allowed for two food products often given to infants and young children – biscuits and rusks. They have also proposed that biscuits and rusks that are not specifically produced for infants and young children but are often given to or even marketed to them, should face the same, more stringent demands. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had previously confirmed that acrylamide could potentially increase the risk of developing cancer.

Both objections were adopted by Parliament which now means that the Commission cannot approve the proposed actions and is obliged to amend or withdraw them.

The draft resolution on the objection relating to E171 can be found here

The draft resolution on the objection relating to acrylamide can be found here

There have been a host of new government measures announced in recent weeks, to give people a route into work and provide a pool of talent for employers to draw on – from Kickstart and Apprenticeship incentives, to Traineeships and industry placements.

But how can these initiatives contribute to your immediate workforce needs as you grapple with the impact of COVID, and how can they support your longer-term workforce planning?

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Strategic Development Network (SDN) have teamed up to host a webinar, to take you through:

• The new initiatives – what, why, when, where and how?
• Short-term priorities vs long-term workforce planning – how could the initiatives support both?
• Hear from employers who are drawing on these initiatives and the role they will play in developing their workforce
• Hear from a kickstart gateway organisation, working with employers to offer kickstart placements and how this is working in practice

The webinar will take place on Tues, 24 November (3-4pm) and is free of charge.

A recording of the webinar will be sent to those who register.

You can register for the webinar here

Any questions about the session can be sent to: events@strategicdevelopmentnetwork.co.uk

At the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s (CIEH) Food Safety Conference, on 22^nd October 2020, the FSA’s Chief Executive, Emily Miles, drew attention to the fact that local authorities are struggling with funding shortages amplified by the pandemic – as well as dealing with resources already being 20% down prior to Covid-19 hitting.

Miles stated that, “At the start of this financial year only 80% of the professional posts that local authorities need to run their food service were allocated budget for 2020/21.”

As the FSA doesn’t have the budget to put the right regulatory resources in place they have appealed to HM Treasury via the MHCLG Grant for additional support.

The FSA have also written to local authority chief executives expressing their concerns and have set out their expectations to prioritise activities whilst confirming that they have adjusted their expectations of local authorities during the pandemic.

Miles added that protecting the standards and food safety in the UK was not just ‘critical to public health’ but ‘vital to the UK Food Industry’s ability to export food’ and its reputation around the World.

A team of leading UK scientists are calling for people to take part in a survey on the impact of food hypersensitivity. The study is funded by the FSA and led by Dr Rebecca Knibb at Aston University in collaboration with Universities of Surrey, Manchester and Newcastle, Allergy Action, Guys and St Thomas and Birmingham University Hospitals NHS Trusts.

If you or your child has food allergy, food intolerance or coeliac disease the team would like you to complete some questionnaires about how it affects your quality of life and has an impact on day-to-day life. They are looking for adults, parents of children aged 0-17 years and young people aged 8-17 years to take part.

To take part in the study, please use the following links:

• Adults with food hypersensitivity click here
• Parents of children aged 0-17 with food hypersensitivity click here
• Young people with food hypersensitivity aged 8-12 years click here
• Young people with food hypersensitivity aged 13-17 years click here

All of the impact study surveys are also available in Welsh:

• Click here for the adult survey
• Click here for the parent survey
• Click here for young people aged 8-12 years
• Click here for young people aged 13-17 years

The Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) and Food Standards Scotland’s Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) have recently published an assessment of food crime threats to the UK.

The Food Crime Strategic Assessment found that most food crime, broadly speaking, fell into two categories:

• selling something of little or no value to the food chain as edible and marketable,
• selling something as a product with greater volume or more desirable attributes.

In practice, this may have meant that ingredients had been replaced with cheaper and inferior materials, use-by dates had been falsely extended, or unsafe products were deliberately marketed as being fit for human consumption.

The NFCU also recently published their control strategy for 2020-2021 outlining their priorities, and the actions being taking to prevent food crime, deter and disrupt food criminals and bring offenders to justice. These areas include:

• combatting the selling of dangerous non-foods sold for human consumption,
• preventing illegal shellfish entering the food chain,
• increasing understanding of the use of online platforms to facilitate food crime.

Darren Davies, Head of the National Food Crime Unit, said:

‘Our assessment demonstrates that while the UK has some of the safest and most authentic food in the world, the threat posed by criminals remains. Vulnerability can exist at any place along the route from farm through to fork, both in the UK or overseas.

‘We are committed to preventing and protecting consumers and legitimate businesses from food fraud and are prepared to lead, co-ordinate or support robust action against those committing these crimes.

‘As we face new challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, we aim to create a hostile environment for those engaging in food crime and will continue to work with partners to ensure that food is safe and what it says it is.’