FSAI NEWS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER. Food Labelling and Allergen Seminar

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1 13 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER FSAI NEWS ISSN / VOL 15 / ISSUE 6 Food Labellig ad Allerge Semiar The latest updates o the ew food iformatio to cosumers legislatio, as well as permitted utritio ad health claims, were discussed at a recet semiar o food labellig ad allerges. Hosted by the FSAI, i cojuctio with Teagasc ad safefood, the semiar was held i the Teagasc Coferece ad Traiig Cetre, Ashtow, o 20 November. Food allerges ad their madatory labellig were discussed i depth, cocludig with case studies o the maagemet of food allerges i the maufacturig settig. Ae-Marie Bolad ad Edel Keaveey of the FSAI gave overviews o the ogoig discussios at EU ad atioal level that are iteded to clarify particular aspects of the Food Iformatio to Cosumers Regulatio (EU) No. 1169/2011, as well as the growig list of utritio ad health claims that have bee assessed by the Europea Food Safety Authority. Mervy Briggs, Seior Policy Officer, Food Stadards Agecy, Norther Irelad, provided some perspective o the implemetatio of the ew food labellig rules i orther Irelad. This is of sigificat iterest to busiesses that operate close to the border or egage i trade directly with the UK. Delegates were also iformed about ew food allerge labellig requiremets which, from 2014, will exted to o-prepacked food for the first time. Ruth Charles, Irish Food Allergy Network, James McItosh, safefood, ad Michael Walker, facilitator of the safefood Food Allergy ad Food Itolerece Network, elaborated o the impact of livig with a food allergy or itolerace, particularly for childre ad their parets. Curret detectio methods ad ogoig scietific work to establish safety thresholds were also outlied. Allerge cotrols for food productio were outlied by Ita White, Teagasc. Adrew Flaaga, Public Aalyst Laboratory, Galway, detailed how food allerges are sampled ad aalysed. Idustry represetatives, Siobha Lawless, The Foods of Athery ad Joh Cuigha, Epico Pictured at the semiar o food labellig ad allerges, were (L-R) Ita White, Teagasc, James McItosh, safefood, ad Ae-Marie Bolad, FSAI. Irelad, preseted examples of real-life maufacturig operatios, how persoel, igrediets ad product flow are maaged, ad the importace of segregatio ad other cotrol measures. The semiar was atteded by represetatives from food maufacturig, processig, retailig, ad caterig sectors as well as eforcemet officers. It was timely for the food idustry as it moves toward a critical period of plaig for future product labellig eeds i order to comply with the ew food labellig regime which will come ito force i December Liks to the FSAI iformatio documet ad the Europea Commissio Q&A documet that relate to the Food Iformatio to Cosumers Regulatio (EU) No. 1169/2011 are available at: 1 Food Labellig ad Allerge Semiar 2 Official Food Cotrols Time to Reform? 3 Complex Equipmet for Raw ad Ready- To-Eat Foods 3 Irelad s FVO Audits, Irish Farmed Salmo: A Premium Product Eat ad Ejoy 6 Legislatio Update 8 Zoooses Data Collectio ad Reportig 9 WHO/FAO Expert Cosultatio 9 Update o Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) Outbreak Ivestigatio 10 EFSA calls for Chemical Occurrece Data 11 FAQ 12 Small Food Busiess Start-Up Semiar 12 Recet Publicatios

2 Official Food Cotrols Time to Reform? 2 Effective official food cotrol systems are a essetial corerstoe of the regulatory framework i all Member States of the Europea Uio. They serve a umber of purposes to esure cosumers are give the protectio of the laws desiged to guaratee food safety; to uderpi the sustaiability of our food idustry ad to esure fair ad safe trade. The official food cotrol system i Irelad is coordiated by the FSAI through a service cotract arragemet with 33 official agecies. The service cotracts are reviewed ad agreed periodically. The existig system came ito force i 1999, whe the FSAI was established ad has evolved over the years i respose to chages i techology, emergig food safety problems ad allocated resources. A exteral evaluatio or review of the system has ot bee udertake up util ow. The mai focus of the approach to date has bee o the delivery of a effective service, with less focus o efficiecy. The chagig ecoomic eviromet i recet years, meas that available resources are limited, makig the eed to reduce iefficiecies all the more pressig. Cosumers still have to be protected ad, with the agri-food sector as oe of the mai drivers of our ecoomic recovery, appropriate ad trasparet regulatory oversight remais essetial. I November 2011, the Public Service Reform Pla was lauched by the Govermet. It outlies key commitmets ad actios for chage across the public service. The pla sets out five cetral themes: placig customer service at the core of our work maximisig ew ad iovative service-delivery chaels radically reducig costs to drive better value for moey leadig, orgaisig ad workig i ew ways placig a strog focus o implemetatio ad delivery It is worthwhile therefore, to examie the food cotrol system i the light of decreasig resources ad the expectatio of public service reform. The service cotract mechaism, upo which Irelad s food cotrol service is based, has ot bee subject to a thorough review, eve if the scope ad ature of the actual cotracts betwee the FSAI ad the official agecies have sigificatly matured over time. The Food Safety Authority of Irelad Act, 1998, i ay evet, stipulates that the FSAI should keep uder review the efficacy of the food ispectio services. will cosider what the FSAI, the official agecies, Govermet departmets ad other stakeholders wat ad expect from a official food cotrol system, takig ito accout legal requiremets ad best practice. Cosultatio with all stakeholders will take place over the comig moths. The group is beig assisted by exteral cosultats. It is iteded that the report will review the orgaisatio, quality ad operatio of the official cotrol system, advise the FSAI o the stregths ad weakesses of curret arragemets ad idetify ay opportuities for improvemet. The Steerig Group will also agree a model of performace measuremet that will allow the food cotrol system s iputs, outputs ad outcomes to be measured ad evaluated. Oe aspect of the system to be examied is equity ad cosistecy of treatmet of food busiess operators. A fair system has to esure that both domestic ad imported foods, ad foods produced i the west of Irelad or i Dubli city, for example, are subject to the same riskbased cotrols. Irelad s official food cotrols must be desiged ad implemeted to esure a high level of public health protectio with respect to food supply. Apart from meetig legal obligatios, it must truly deliver a public service which serves the eeds of cosumers ad regulates idustry i a fair, cosistet ad resposive maer. It must take accout of ad adapt to moder techology ad workig methods, ad give due recogitio to scietific ad other factors. It also has to cotiue to operate i a trasparet ad ope maer. Much has already bee doe by the official agecies to ehace the preset systems. Now whe resources, both staff umbers ad fiaces, are limited, it is essetial to measure the effectiveess of the curret system ad assess where ad how chages to the system could lead to better outcomes. As Irelad begis to emerge from tough ecoomic costraits, difficult choices remai with regard to the provisio of public services. Reform will cotiue to be a essetial part of Govermet strategy. It will require leadership, creativity, iovatio ad buy-i across the official agecies. The visio of a high-performig official food cotrol system must be achieved. We ask all stakeholders to take a active ivolvemet i the work of the Steerig Group ad we welcome your views. More iformatio o this iitiative is available o our website, I March 2012, the FSAI Scietific Committee discussed reviewig the effectiveess of Irelad s official food cotrol programme. By September, it had agreed terms of referece for a review. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveess of the curret system; establish if it remais fit for purpose ad idetify gaps ad overlaps. I additio, the Scietific Committee requested the developmet of performace idicators which, if applied, ca be used to assess the cotiued progress ad lead to improved protectio of public health. I December 2012, the Scietific Committee established the Official Food Cotrol Review Steerig Group. This is tasked with coductig the review ad draftig a report. To this ed, the Steerig Group Ala Reilly Chief Executive

3 Complex Equipmet for Raw ad Ready-To-Eat Foods Complex equipmet is the term give to items of equipmet that ca be very difficult to clea. This may be because it is hard to access all parts of the equipmet or because it is made up of a umber of small parts ad surfaces which may ot be smooth or easy to clea. Examples iclude vacuum-packig machies, meat slicers, food mixers ad micig machies. I respose to queries raised i the past, the FSAI was of the view that the use of complex equipmet for both raw ad ready-to-eat food was permitted uder hygiee legislatio, provided effective cleaig ad disifectio was carried out to prevet cross-cotamiatio. However, followig a review of the 2009 Peigto Report o the Public Iquiry ito the September 2005 outbreak of E. coli O157 i South Wales, ad the more recet guidace produced by the UK Food Stadards Agecy o cotrol of cross-cotamiatio i relatio to E. coli O157, the FSAI has take the view that i practice it is ot possible to effectively cotrol cross-cotamiatio through cleaig ad disifectio of such equipmet. We therefore recommed that dedicated separate equipmet for raw ad ready-to-eat food should always be used. Irelad s FVO Audits, 2013 The EU Food ad Veteriary Office (FVO) programme of audits i Irelad for 2013 icluded the followig three audits: Poultrymeat/poultrymeat products Evaluatio of systems put i place to implemet Article 8(3) of Regulatio 882/2004 Bivalve molluscs Poultrymeat/Poultrymeat products The audit commeced with a opeig meetig o 17 September i the FSAI offices. It was atteded by a large group, comprisig the FVO, FSAI represetatives ad represetatives of the relevat Competet Authorities. At this meetig, the FVO outlied the objectives ad scope of the audit. The FVO team cosisted of a lead auditor, a auditor ad a observer from the Europea Free Trade Associatio (EFTA) surveillace authority. Durig the course of the audit, the FVO team visited Departmet of Agriculture, Food ad the Marie ad Local Authority poultry slaughterhouses ad maufacturig establishmets. The closig meetig took place o 27 September, at which the FVO preseted a summary of its fidigs. Some areas were idetified for improvemet ad these are already beig addressed. The draft report will be issued by the FVO shortly at which poit the Irish Competet Authorities will have a opportuity to commet o the fidigs ad recommedatios. Evaluatio of systems put i place to implemet Article 8(3) of Regulatio 882/2004 This audit commeced with a opeig meetig (o 7 October) i the FSAI offices, ad was atteded by represetatives from the FVO, the FSAI ad the relevat competet authorities. At this meetig the FVO outlied the objectives ad scope of the audit ad advised that they had already completed audits i other Member States o this topic, ad that i additio to the idividual reports, a overview report for all coutries audited would also be published. The FVO team cosisted of a lead auditor ad a auditor. The FVO met with the FSAI ad represetatives of the relevat Competet Authorities durig the course of the missio ad discussed i detail the systems i place to implemet Article 8(3) of Regulatio 882/2004. The closig meetig took place o 11 October. The FVO preseted a summary of its prelimiary fidigs ad, overall, oted that all competet authorities could demostrate compliace with Article 8(3) of Regulatio 882/2004 ad that it did t foresee ay recommedatios i the draft report, which will be issued shortly. Bivalve Molluscs This was a follow-up audit to the 2011 Live Bivalve Mollusc audit. The opeig meetig was held i the Sea-fisheries Protectio Authority (SFPA) offices, Cloakilty, Cork o 21 October ad the closig meetig was held at the FSAI offices. Both meetigs were atteded by represetatives from the SFPA, the Marie Istitute ad the FSAI. The audit team cosisted of three FVO auditors ad two atioal experts. Durig the course of the audit, the FVO team visited three SFPA port offices, three laboratories, oe shellfish productio area ad five approved establishmets. At the closig meetig the lead auditor said that improvemets had bee oted sice the previous audit. He also oted that several recommedatios sice the previous audit had bee addressed, i particular i relatio to laboratories; they are ow fully i compliace with the legislatio. The Irish authorities are awaitig the draft report for the full details of the audits fidigs. 3

4 Irish Farmed Salmo: A Premium Product Eat ad Ejoy Irish farmed salmo is a high quality product produced uder strict protocols ad cotrols i the waters aroud our coasts. It is readily available o a year roud basis at a affordable price ad spearheads the drive towards icreased seafood cosumptio i Irelad. Irish farmed salmo is a excellet source of omega-3 polyusaturated fatty acids ad especially eicosapetaeoic acid (EPA) ad docosahexaeoic acid (DHA) which are importat for cardiovascular ad brai health. Farmed salmo also cotais 17-18% of high quality protei ad is a source of mierals ad some vitamis. A Irish survey i 2013 showed that cod ad farmed salmo were by far the most popular fish species ad were cited as preferred species by 56% ad 53%, respectively, of the 300 cosumers iterviewed. Farmed salmo, therefore, is a major dietary elemet of fish-eatig cosumers i Irelad. 4 Level of Fish Cosumptio Fish cosumptio i Irelad is low at about 23 kg per capita per aum relative to some other coutries icludig Maldives (187 kg), Icelad (92 kg), Greelad (84 kg), Portugal (61 kg), Japa (57 kg), Spai (45 kg) ad Frace (34 kg) ad as such must be icreased. The low cosumptio for Irelad may be due to a umber of reasos. Older geeratios remember that fish was compulsory o Fridays for religious reasos; thismay have tured some cosumers agaist fish ad the legacy of this may still liger. I coutries with very high cosumptio, fish is the mai source of protei i the diet whereas i Irelad beef, poultry, pork ad dairy products are the mai sources. The good ews is that fish cosumptio is slowly risig i Irelad due to a greater awareess of the health beefits of fish ad the availability of a wide rage of species at retail level ad i restaurats. Foreig travel has also helped Irish cosumers appreciate the culiary pleasures of well preseted fish. Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Bord Bia, TV chefs, dietitias, retailers ad others are actively promotig seafood ad cosumptio figures should cotiue to rise with farmed salmo at the forefrot. Productio of Farmed Salmo The productio of Irish farmed salmo is curretly stable at 12,000 toes per aum ad about 55% is exported. Over 80% of the productio is classified as orgaic ad is subject to Regulatio 710/2009/EC. Orgaic salmo are produced alog the Irish Atlatic seaboard where there is deep water ad strog tidal movemets. Fish stockig desity i the cages is lower tha i covetioal productio ad fish meal ad fish oil used i the salmo feed must be from sustaiable sources. Use of cotrol measures for pests ad diseases is miimal ad fish are killed humaely i accordace with best practice. Harvestig is timed to coicide with the optimum stage of fish maturity from a quality poit of view ad the product has total traceability. A umber of agecies are ivolved with salmo producers ad aid i the techology, productio, quality assurace, safety ad marketig aspects of the product. These iclude Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Sea-Fisheries Protectio Authority, the FSAI, the Marie Istitute, Bord Bia ad the Departmet of Agriculture, Food ad the Marie. Collectively they esure a top quality, safe product for cosumers. Freshess of Irish Farmed Salmo ad Salmo Products Irish farmed salmo are potetially the freshest fish to reach the cosumer as they ca be i retail outlets withi hours postharvestig. Cotrast this with trawler caught fish which are o-board i ice for a umber of days before the trawlers dock. Fish processors, wholesalers ad retailers must esure that farmed salmo are moved swiftly through the distributio ad retail chais o ice (thus esurig 0ºC) i order to reach cosumers i prime coditio. Cosumers ca assess freshess i-store by observig a umber of simple features. If purchasig whole, gutted, head-o salmo the fish should be bright silver (icludig the gill cover) with good curvature of the back ad belly, gills bright red, eyes bright/clear/bulgig (ot suke) ad fish slime clear. If purchasig loose or pre-packed fillets/dares/cutlets, slime should be clear, smell fresh with o off odours o pre-pack opeig. Most pre-packs cotai a modified atmosphere (MA) with elevated levels of carbo dioxide ad reduced oxyge ad give a 50% icrease i shelf-life over o-ma products. Smoked salmo is the mai processed salmo product i Irelad. Factories which produce this ad other processed seafoods have i-house food safety quality maagemet systems ad most are accredited to ISO ad/or BRC Global Stadards thus esurig good maufacturig practice ad top quality safe products for cosumers. A temperature of 2-4ºC must prevail throughout the cold chai for smoked salmo ad other salmo products such as mariades. Cosumer Kowledge of the Health Properties of Fish Educatig cosumers about the health properties of fish, ad especially of oily fish, is oe of the mai drivers towards icreased cosumptio. A Irish survey i 2013 (Slattery ad Gormley, UCD) showed that health was cited by 56% of the 300 cosumers

5 iterviewed as the reaso they bought fish ad, whe prompted, 100% said fish was good for health. Cosumer kowledge of why fish is good for health was reasoable with cotais fish oils ad is low calorie/fat the mai resposes. Relatively few cosumers respoded good source of protei or of mierals/vitamis ad oe were aware of beeficial bio-actives such as peptides ad amio acids. Most (98%) cosumers iterviewed had heard of omega-3 fish oils but 35% did ot kow why they are good for health. Heart ad brai health were the two most cited reasos as to why the oils are good for health. Oly 30% of the 300 cosumers had heard of EPA ad DHA ad of these oly 12% classified them correctly as polyusaturated fatty acids or costituets of fish oils. Results from this survey idicate the eed for cotiued promotio of the health aspects of fish by Bord Bia, the seafood sector, retailers ad health professioals as a route to icreased fish cosumptio ad better populatio health. Fish Oil ad Cardiovascular Health The beefits of fish oil came to promiece some years ago whe it became apparet that Eskimo populatios cosumig large amouts of oily fish ad seal meat had a low icidece of cardiovascular disease. Follow-up scietific studies idicated that this was partly due to EPA ad DHA which act as blood thiers, help maitai a healthy heart rhythm, ad i some cases reduce blood pressure. The recommeded miimum daily itake of EPA/DHA varies from 250 mg (EU dietary referece value) to 1,250 mg (British Nutritio Foudatio). A average servig of farmed salmo or other oily fish will easily supply these amouts. EPA ad DHA are relatively stable to heat ad thus survive heat processes such as cookig i the home, hot smokig ad caig. Ca we igest too much EPA/DHA? Probably yes, as a recet study idicates that overload from cosumig fish oil capsules ca promote certai iflammatory diseases rather tha prevetig them. It is desirable, therefore, that we obtai EPA/DHA from fish that cotai them. Fish is aturally complex ad supplies EPA/DHA i dilute ad slow release form, i.e. EPA/DHA are cotaied i the fish matrix ad are released slowly durig digestio. Fish Oil ad Brai Health DHA has a major role i eurodevelopmet ad protectio agaist demetia. The former relates to growth ad developmet of the brai ad cetral ervous system i babies ad embraces brai fuctio, emotio, learig ability, memory ad log-term cogitio. DHA is essetial for this developmet ad expectat mothers have a icreased eed for DHA which they ca get from a combiatio of supplemetatio (e.g. capsules) ad eatig farmed salmo ad other oily fish. Curret evidece suggests a protective effect of omega-3s agaist demetia ad over 100 cliical trials are ruig globally o cogitive health ad utritio. A study i Mumbai (2011) has show that DHA decreases progressio of eurodegeerative disorders i older age. I cotrast, a recet UK study o youg adults (18-29 years) showed that DHA supplemetatio icreased blood flow to the brai but was ot accompaied by cosistet improved cogitive performace i solvig computerised cogitive tasks relative to a cotrol group. The ogoig EPOCH trial is ivestigatig the effect of omega-3 PUFAs o cogitive ageig ad wellbeig i cogitively healthy older adults (Dathiir ad co-workers, Australia, 2011). A 2012 study by Ta ad co-workers o 1500 demetia-free patiets i the USA i 2012 cofirmed that a EPA/DHA rich diet protects agaist brai ageig. This was based o visual memory tests ad executive fuctios, such as problem solvig ad multi-taskig. Coclusios Over 80% of Irish farmed salmo are produced orgaically thus esurig top quality fresh ad dowstream products for Irish cosumers. Fish cosumptio i Irelad is low relative to may other coutries ad must be icreased. Bord Bia, retailers, ad others are curretly actively ivolved i fish promotio ad Irish farmed salmo will have a cetral role i icreased cosumptio. Irish farmed salmo are a excellet source of EPA ad DHA which are of key importace for cardiovascular health, brai developmet ad cogitive health. Salmo are also a good source of high quality protei ad supply mierals ad certai vitamis. Eat ad ejoy oe to two portios of Irish farmed salmo per week as part of a balaced diet. Itersperse with other oily fish such as mackerel ad with white fish as these are also highly utritious. Further iformatio More iformatio o the health properties of seafoods is available at: Article writte ad photographs provided by Prof. Roa Gormley, UCD Istitute of Food ad Health, Uiversity College Dubli, Belfield, Dubli 4. (roa.gormley@ucd.ie) 5

6 Legislatio Update 6 Irish Legislatio Sprouts ad Seeds Europea Commuities (Geeral Food Law) (Amedmet) Regulatios 2013 (S.I. No. 383 of 2014) published by the Departmet of Health give effect to Regulatio (EU) No. 208/2013 o traceability requiremets for sprouts ad seeds iteded for the productio of sprouts. For the purposes of the legislatio sprouts are defied as the product obtaied from the germiatio of seeds ad their developmet i water or aother medium, harvested before the developmet of true leaves ad which is iteded to be eate whole, icludig the seed. Schedule 4 to the S.I. sets out the traceability iformatio that a food busiess operator must have available for sprouts ad for seeds iteded for the productio of sprouts. It also icludes requiremets i regard to the iformatio that must be trasmitted to ay food busiess operator who supplies seeds or sprouts. The Schedule applies to batches of sprouts ad seeds iteded for the productio of sprouts but will ot apply to sprouts after they have udergoe a treatmet which elimiates microbiological hazards, compatible with EU legislatio. Fruit Juices ad Similar Products The Europea Uio (Marketig of fruit juices ad certai similar products) Regulatios 2013 (S.I. No. 410 of 2013) has bee published by the Departmet of Agriculture, Food ad the Marie. This S.I. gives effect to Directive 2012/12/EU which establishes quality factors ad aligs stadards for the compositio ad labellig of fruit juices ad certai similar products withi the EU, takig ito accout developmets i relevat iteratioal stadards. Directive 2012/12/EU ameds the rules cocerig the labellig of fruit juices ad certai similar products to reflect the ew requiremets regardig authorised igrediets, such as those pertaiig to the additio of sugars, which are o loger authorised i fruit juices. A trasitio period is provided i the Directive which permits the iclusio of the statemet from 28 October 2015 o fruit juices cotai added sugars i the same field of visio as the ame of products listed i poits 1 to 4 of Part I of the Aex to the Directive. This statemet may appear o the labellig util 28 October I additio, the Directive sets out the labellig format for products maufactured from two or more fruits ad requires that the product ame must be composed of a list of the fruits used, i descedig order of the volume of the fruit juices or purées icluded, as idicated i the list of igrediets. However, i the case of products maufactured from three or more fruits, the idicatio of the fruits used may be replaced by the words several fruits or a similar wordig, or by the umber of fruits used. The Directive applies to products placed o the market sice the 28 October EU Legislatio Food Flavourig Commissio Regulatio (EU) No. 985/2013 amedig ad correctig Aex I to Regulatio (EC) No. 1334/2008 of the Europea Parliamet ad of the Coucil as regards certai flavourig substaces has bee published i the EU Official Joural. Aex I to Regulatio (EC) No. 1334/2008 lays dow a EU list of flavourigs ad source materials for use i food ad their coditios of use. Part A of that list cotais both evaluated flavourig substaces ad flavourig substaces uder evaluatio which are idetified by footote refereces 1 to 4 i that list. The Europea Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has completed the assessmet of 23 substaces which are curretly listed as flavourig substaces uder evaluatio ad have cocluded that those flavourig substaces do ot give rise to safety cocers at the estimated levels of dietary itakes. This Regulatio therefore lists those 23 flavourig substaces as evaluated flavourig substaces ad deletes the footote refereces 1 to 4 i the relevat etries of the EU list. Food Hygiee Commissio Regulatio (EU) No. 1079/2013 of 31 October 2013 layig dow trasitioal measures for the applicatio of Regulatios (EC) No. 853/2004 ad (EC) No. 854/2004 has bee published i the EU Official Joural. This Regulatio lays dow trasitioal measures for the applicatio of Regulatios (EC) No. 853/2004 ad (EC) No. 854/2004 for a trasitioal period from 1 Jauary 2014 to 31 December 2016 ad it repeals the previous Regulatio o the matter (Regulatio (EU) No. 1162/2009). It maitais the trasitioal requiremets i relatio to the direct supply of small quatities of meat from poultry ad rabbits slaughtered o the farm to the fial cosumer or to local retail establishmets supplyig the fial cosumer. Regulatios (EC) No. 853/2004 ad (EC) No. 854/2004 lay dow certai rules for imports ito the EU of products of aimal origi ad food cotaiig both products of plat origi ad processed products of aimal origi (composite products). Regulatio (EC) No. 1162/2009 provides for trasitioal measures derogatig from certai of those rules for certai composite products for which the public health import coditios for imports ito the EU have ot yet bee harmoised at EU level. Those coditios were ameded ad will ot be completely harmoised before 31 December Accordigly, pedig future harmoisatio of EU legislatio, it is ecessary to provide for derogatios durig the additioal trasitioal period laid dow i this Regulatio. Therefore, this Regulatio maitais the

7 trasitioal arragemets regardig health coditios for imports of products of aimal origi ad the procedures cocerig imports ito the EU of products of aimal origi. Acrylamide i Food Commissio Recommedatio 2013/647/EU o ivestigatios ito the levels of acrylamide i food was published i the EU Official Joural. This Recommedatio modifies certai idicative acrylamide values provided for i the Aex to the 2011 Recommedatio, based o the results obtaied durig 2011 ad 2012 ad also o the basis of the moitorig results obtaied pursuat to Recommedatios 2007/331/EC ad 2010/307/EU. The Europea Commissio will assess the situatio regardig levels of acrylamide i food ad decide about the eed for other appropriate measures, after the updated risk assessmet performed by the Europea Food Safety Authority o the presece of acrylamide i food becomes available ad whe the results of the ivestigatios obtaied durig the years 2013 ad 2014 are available. This Recommedatio replaces the Recommedatio of 10 Jauary 2011 o ivestigatios ito the levels of acrylamide i food. the health of the geeral public with regard to radioactive substaces i water iteded for huma cosumptio. It lays dow parametric values ad frequecies ad methods for moitorig radioactive substaces. Where moitorig of water iteded for huma cosumptio is udertake i accordace with the requiremets of Aex II to this ew Directive the poit of compliace shall be: i the case of water put ito bottles or cotaiers iteded for sale, the poit at which the water is put ito the bottles or cotaiers; i the case of water used i a food-productio udertakig, the poit where the water is used i the udertakig EU Member States must brig ito force the laws, regulatios ad admiistrative provisios ecessary to comply with this Directive by 28 November 2015 at the latest. EU Report o Official Cotrols i Member States The Europea Commissio has published its report to the Europea Parliamet ad to the Coucil o the overall operatio of official cotrols i the Member States o food safety, aimal health ad aimal welfare, ad plat health. This is the third such report submitted by the Commissio. Its mai sources are: (a) the aual reports from the Member States for 2010 (b) the results of the Europea Commissio s ow cotrol activities ad (c) other relevat iformatio related to cotrols icludig: reports from Member States to the Commissio o cotrols i specific sectors the results of EU rapid alert systems Commissio eforcemet actios (icludig ifrigemet cases) related to observed ocompliaces i the Member States reports from iteratioal stadard settig bodies. I cocludig, the report foud that o the whole, EU Member States esure a good level of implemetatio of official cotrols across the food chai, ad respect for food safety, plat ad aimal health, ad aimal welfare issues. While there is still scope for improvemet, there has bee progress i the efficiet use of cotrol istrumets ad resources, ad i plaig, implemetatio, ad coordiatio of cotrols across all sectors. Cotrols are becomig icreasigly risk-based, as cofirmed by reports from audits carried out by Commissio experts. New istrumets to ehace oversight ad the performace of cotrol authorities are beig itroduced. These Commissio audit reports, complemetig Member State cotrol activities ad reports, provide a robust system for assessig the effectiveess of Member State cotrol systems. This system allows the Commissio, wheever ecessary, to take the appropriate measures to achieve improvemets i official cotrols ad audit systems i Member States. 7 Water Coucil Directive 2013/51/ Euratom layig dow requiremets for the protectio of the health of the geeral public with regard to radioactive substaces i water iteded for huma cosumptio was published i the EU Official Joural i November. This Directive lays dow requiremets for the protectio of The followig Regulatios have bee itroduced over the last few moths i Irelad: S.I. No. 371 of 2013 Agriculture, Food ad the Marie (Delegatio of Miisterial Fuctios) Order 2013 S.I. No. 408 of 2013 Europea Commuities (Official Cotrols o the Import of Food of No-Aimal Origi for Pesticide Residues) (Amedmet) (No.4) Regulatios 2013 S.I. No. 410 of 2013 Europea Uio (Marketig of fruit juices ad certai similar products) Regulatios 2013 S.I. No. 423 of 2013 Europea Commuities (Official Cotrols o the Import of Food of No-Aimal Origi) (Amedmet) (No. 4) Regulatios 2013

8 Zoooses Data Collectio ad Reportig Zoooses are ifectios ad diseases that are aturally trasmissible betwee aimals ad humas. The severity of these diseases i humas varies from mild symptoms to life-threateig coditios. I order to prevet zoooses from occurrig, it is importat to idetify which aimals ad foodstuffs are the mai sources of ifectio. For this purpose, iformatio aimed at protectig huma health is collected ad aalysed from all Europea Uio (EU) Member States. 8 Coucil Directive 2003/99/EC lays dow the EU system for moitorig ad reportig of iformatio o zoooses, which obligates EU Member States to collect data o zoooses, zoootic agets, atimicrobial resistace ad foodbore outbreaks to the Europea Commissio. The Europea Food Safety Authority (EFSA) processes the data collected ad publishes it i the form of a Europea Summary Report. I Irelad, the FSAI is resposible for the compilatio ad submissio of data o zoootic agets foud i foods sampled. Food samples are tested for the presece of Salmoella, Campylobacter, Listeria moocytogees ad verotoxi-producig Escherichia coli (VTEC). Other food cotamiats such as histamie, staphylococcal eterotoxis ad Eterobacter sakazakii are also reported o a aual basis (Fig. 1). Zoooses reports ad data for Irelad are available from 2000 to 2009, to dowload from our website, From 2010 owards, data will be available i a olie electroic format. A summary of what costituted Irelad s food data submissio i 2012 is provided below. I 2012, a total of 19,405 official cotrol tests o samplig uits (comprisig sigle ad batched samples) were coducted for zoootic bacteria i foodstuffs. Samples aalysed icluded raw ad readyto-eat foods which were sampled at slaughterhouse, processig ad retail (icludig caterig) levels. Salmoella Listeria moocytogees Campylobacter VTEC Others As i previous years, the majority of uits (8,546) were tested for the presece of Salmoella. The pathoge was idetified i 38 (0.4%) of uits aalysed. Serotypig was carried out o 27 of the 38 isolates. The distributio of these serovars is provided i Table 1 below. Table 1:Distributio of Salmoella serovars Serovar Total % of Total Salmoella Ketucky % Salmoella Orio % Salmoella Bradeburg % Salmoella Dubli % Salmoella Jedburgh % Salmoella Schwarzegrud % Salmoella Typhimurium - DT % Total 27 Of the 8,483 uits tested for Listeria moocytogees, 137 were positive (1.6%). There were 1,317 uits tested for Campylobacter ad 1,059 for VTEC with 1 (0.1%) ad 2 (0.2%) uits respectively foud positive (Fig. 2) % 9000% 8000% 7000% 6000% 5000% 4000% 3000% 2000% 1000% 0% 38 Salmoella Listeria moocytogees 1 2 Campylobacter Uits Positive Figure 2: Summary of positive & total uits tested 2012 VTEC Uits Tested Figure 1: Uits tested for zoootic bacteria 2012 Of these uits tested, 178 (38 Salmoella, 137 Listeria moocytogees, 1 Campylobacter, 2 VTEC) were foud to be positive, which accouted for 92% of the samples tested. The cotiual collatio of this data by the FSAI from the various agecies ivolved i the official cotrol of food esures that Irelad s reportig obligatios to EFSA are met. The processes of compilig ad aalysig this data also allows for atioal treds to be derived, through which the prevalece of zoooses i foodstuffs ca be moitored ad assessed. Food Exhibitio i the Middle East Prof. Ala Reilly, Chief Executive, FSAI, was a ivited guest at the SIAL Middle East Food Exhibitio 2013, held i November i Abu Dhabi. He is pictured here with His Excellecy, Rashed Al-Shariqi, Director Geeral of the Abu Dhabi Food Cotrol Authority.

9 WHO/FAO Expert Cosultatio Statistical ad Mathematical Aspects of the Establishmet ad Applicatio of Microbiological Criteria The Codex Food Hygiee Committee has recetly updated the Iteratioal Stadard o the developmet of microbiological criteria for foods. These criteria are used all over the world to guide testig desiged for trade ad also for the verificatio of food safety maagemet systems i the food idustry. The origial stadard was published i 1997 but was ot aliged to moder metrics used i risk maagemet like food safety objectives (FSOs) ad performace objectives (POs). Such metrics have bee developed to provide a more trasparet, quatitative basis for decisios o microbiological risk. To complemet the publicatio of the Iteratioal Stadard, several coutries collaborated i developig worked examples illustratig how microbiological criteria might be set uder differet circumstaces. These are beig fialised ad are due to be published by WHO/FAO i the ear future. documet was produced by the ed of the meetig ad this will be further developed with a publicatio date i O a positive ote, the documet is very descriptive, with jargo kept to a miimum, ad features very few mathematical otatios. If this feature ca be maitaied through to publicatio it will be a sigificat cotributio towards better risk-based settig of microbiological criteria for foods across the world. 9 Further support for coutries i settig microbiological criteria was requested by Codex from WHO/FAO. The idea is to develop a documet for risk maagers that describes the statistical ad mathematical cosideratios that are ecessary whe settig microbiological criteria. Most documetatio to date is domiated by complex mathematics ad is t really suitable for risk maagers. WHO/FAO orgaised a expert cosultatio from 8-10 October i FAO headquarters i order to start the developmet of this guidace documet. Dr Waye Aderso, Director of Food Sciece ad Stadards, FSAI, was ivited to participate i the expert cosultatio ad was also subsequetly elected as Chair of the meetig. A draft Pictured at the WHO/FAO expert cosultatio i Rome (left to right): Back: Ferado Perez Rodriguez (Spai), Greg Paoli (Caada), Hajime Toyofuku (Japa), Adreas Kiermeier (Australia), Darrell Doohue (USA), Steve Crossley (FAO) Middle: Sophie O Coor (FAO), Moses Gathura Gichia (Keya), Sebastia Heilm (Filad), Aditya Kumar Jai (Idia), Sarah Cahill (FAO) Frot: Marisa Caipo (FAO), Waye Aderso (Irelad), Bob Buchaa (USA), Mia Kojima (WHO) Update o Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) Outbreak Ivestigatio I July, the FSAI issued a press release regardig the ivestigatio of a outbreak of hepatitis A virus. The strai of the virus i Irelad was foud to be idetical to the strai causig a outbreak, i Italy which has bee liked to cotamiated, mixed, froze, imported berries. While the Irish outbreak appears to be over, the FSAI ad the Health Protectio Surveillace Cetre (HPSC) are curretly participatig i a Europea Food Safety Authority (EFSA) coordiated project to assess the stregth of evidece gathered i this outbreak ivestigatio. To date, o overlap i the supply chai betwee Irelad ad Italy has bee idetified which could explai the source of the outbreak i both coutries. I additio, two further Member States have reported cases of the outbreak strai with oset of illess i September. I Irelad, a total of 15 primary cases ad four secodary cases have bee idetified to have the same sequece as the Italia outbreak strai. A secodary case is oe that is thought to have cotracted illess through cotact with a primary case, rather tha by eatig cotamiated food. A additioal four possible cases have bee idetified for whom sequece cofirmatio has ot bee possible. Cases were reported i five of the eight Health Service Executive areas. The date of oset of illess for the last reported primary case i Irelad is 9 August 2013; therefore, it appears that the Irish outbreak is over. While aalysis of food samples has ot idetified cotamiated berries i Irelad, the epidemiological ivestigatio supports the lik to froze berries ad the traceability ivestigatio has idetified that these berries were imported. However, as this multi-state Europea outbreak appears to be cotiuig, it suggests that there is cotamiated product still o sale o the Europea market. Therefore, the FSAI s precautioary advice to boil imported froze berries for oe miute before eatig them is still i place. For more iformatio ad advice for idustry ad the public, see FSAI Iformatio Note No. 4 ad our FAQ, both available o our website,

10 EFSA calls for Chemical Occurrece Data The Europea Food Safety Authority (EFSA) collects data for the purpose of EU-wide risk assessmet. I order to cotribute to this importat EU fuctio, the FSAI has implemeted ad tested a electroic system for trasmittig sample-based results of chemical food ivestigatios to EFSA accordig to its Stadard Sample Descriptio (SSD). No. of results Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group Chemical cotamiat aalyses performed i the official laboratories are regularly trasmitted to the FSAI as part of the Irish Natioal Food Safety Surveillace database (NFSS2) process. The iformatio provided by the laboratories icludes the EU food category ad descriptio for each sample. The ame of the chemical cotamiat tested as well as its cocetratio is also provided i each case. This system is used to reformat data ito the EFSA SSD format, ad this data is the trasmitted to EFSA for its perusal. Durig 2012, 2,431 samples (12,595 results) were aalysed ad set to EFSA i four separate trasmissios, usig this mechaism: Group 1 - Orgaic Compouds (116 samples; 797 results). This group icludes dioxis ad polychloriated bipheyls (PCBs) Group 2 Process Cotamiats (250 samples; 1,242 results), for example, PAHs ad acrylamide Group 3 Mycotoxis ad other toxis (684 samples; 3,031 results) Group 4 Other chemicals (1,810 samples; 6,500 results). This group icludes heavy metals such as arseic, cadmium, lead ad mercury. There were over 10,000 samples (30,921 results) aalysed betwee 2008 ad 2011, which were also trasmitted to EFSA i this maer (See Table 1). All aalyses were performed i the followig official laboratories: Public Aalyst Laboratory, Cork Public Aalyst Laboratory, Dubli Public Aalyst Laboratory, Galway The Marie Istitute Sample Year 2011 Figure 1: No. of results trasmitted to EFSA from the FSAI, It is worth otig that although the umber of samples is comparable each year from 2008 to 2012, there was a substatial icrease i the umber of results i This suggests that EFSA is expadig its call for chemical data; which requires the FSAI to report a wider rage of chemical cotamiat results. The processes i NFSS2 were desiged ad implemeted to facilitate completig the tasks of atioal stadardisatio of the data ad reformattig to the EFSA Stadard Sample Descriptio (SSD) format. The four trasmissios already completed allowed the FSAI to rigorously test the system desig. EFSA Data Stadard Published The revised EFSA Stadard Sample Descriptio Guidace (SSD2) was published i early November. The ew stadard, which replaces the previous oe published i 2010, icludes revisios to allow its use for reportig zoooses, additives ad atimicrobial resistace data as well as chemical cotamiats ad pesticides, for which it was origially developed. Implemetatio of this stadard i all Member States will become madatory withi the ext few years. The FSAI will begi discussio with official agecies i 2014 regardig plaig the ecessary chages i Irelad. Table 1: Breakdow of samples aalysed, See: Group Group Group Group TOTAL: Portugal Complete EFSA trasmissio of SSD Chemical Data The FSAI recetly atteded the system lauch of the Portuguese chemical aalysis reportig system at Istituto Nacioal de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) to discuss the challeges faced durig the project ad future developmets. The Portuguese project was fuded by EFSA as part of its support for implemetatio of the Stadard Sample Descriptio (SSD) i trasmissios of data ad the FSAI acted as metor throughout the project.

11 May people cotact our advice-lie each moth to ask questios o a variety of food safety issues. Some questios get asked time ad time agai so i each issue of FSAINEWS, we feature a Frequetly Asked Questio. This issue s questio is... What are the ew traceability requiremets for products of aimal origi ad sprouts/seeds? I light of experiece from a umber of large pa-europea food icidets, the legal requiremets for traceability were stregtheed by the itroductio of additioal specific provisios for products of aimal origi ad for sprouts ad seeds iteded for the productio of sprouts. These requiremets are i additio to those set out i S.I. No. 747 of 2007 (as ameded) for food busiess operators (FBOs) supervised by the Health Service Executive (HSE) ad S.I No. 432 of 2009 (as ameded) for FBOs supervised by the Departmet of Agriculture, Food ad the Marie, the Sea-fisheries Protectio Authority, the local authority veteriary service or the HSE. Traceability Iformatio for Food Products of Aimal Origi Commissio Implemetig Regulatio (EU) No. 931/2011 sets out traceability requiremets for FBOs dealig with both processed ad uprocessed foods of aimal origi (e.g. raw meat, fish, eggs, pasteurised milk, salami ad cheese). For cosigmets of these products the followig iformatio, as a miimum, must be kept ad supplied to food busiesses, where appropriate: a accurate descriptio of the food the volume or quatity of the food the ame ad address of the food busiess operator from which the food has bee dispatched the ame ad address of the cosigor (ower), if differet from the food busiess operator, from which the food has bee dispatched the ame ad address of the food busiess operator to whom the food is dispatched the ame ad address of the cosigee (ower), if differet from the food busiess operator, to whom the food is dispatched a referece idetifyig the lot, batch or cosigmet, as appropriate, ad the date of dispatch. The above iformatio must be updated o a daily basis ad must be kept available util it ca be reasoably assumed that the food has bee cosumed. It must be provided to the Competet Authorities o request. Note: This requiremet does ot apply to products cotaiig both products of plat origi ad processed products of aimal origi, such as pepperoi pizza or ham ad spiach quiche. As a rule of thumb, foods with a oval mark (EU plat approval umber e.g. IE 1234 EU) o it requires the additioal iformatio. Traceability Iformatio for Sprouts ad Seeds Commissio Implemetig Regulatio (EU) No. 208/2013 requires that FBOs ivolved i the productio, processig or distributio of sprouts or seeds iteded for the productio of sprouts keep o record the iformatio below, where appropriate. The FBO must also esure that the iformatio eeded to comply with these provisios is trasmitted to the food busiess operator to whom the seeds or sprouts are supplied: a accurate descriptio of the seeds or sprouts, icludig the taxoomic ame of the plat the volume or quatity of the seeds or sprouts supplied where the seeds or sprouts had bee dispatched from aother food busiess operator, the ame ad address of: the food busiess operator from which the seeds or sprouts have bee dispatched, ad the cosigor (ower) if differet from the food busiess operator from which the seeds or sprouts have bee dispatched the ame ad address of the food busiess operator to whom the seed or sprouts are dispatched the ame ad address of the cosigee (ower), if differet from the FBO to whom the seeds are dispatched a referece idetifyig the batch as appropriate the date of dispatch. Best Practice The above iformatio cocers the miimum iformatio that must be legally kept o record. However, it is recommeded that a FBO s traceability system should be as detailed as possible to facilitate efficiet ad speedy recall/withdrawal of product if ecessary. I additio, sice FBOs are reliat o each other to have efficiet ad effective traceability systems i place, it is highly recommeded that FBOs determie that their immediate suppliers ad immediate customers also have effective traceability systems i place prior to establishig tradig relatios. Further Iformatio Guidace Note No. 10 Product Recall ad Traceability (Revisio 3) (2013) details the legal requiremets ad best practice for establishig traceability systems. This is available to dowload free from our website at publicatios.html 11

12 Small Food Busiess Start-Up Semiar The FSAI is hostig a half-day semiar aimed at makig it easier for ew food busiesses to get up ad ruig ad helpig them to comply with all the relevat food safety requiremets. The Small Food Busiess Start-Up Semiar is takig place o Wedesday 29th Jauary 2014 at Chartered Accoutats House, Pearse Street, Dubli 2. Registratio ad further iformatio is available at 12 The half-day semiar will brig together experts to explore everythig from registerig a ew food busiess, food product developmet, food safety traiig requiremets, settig up a food safety maagemet system, labellig regulatios, traceability, the food recall process, ispectios ad the iformatio resources available from the FSAI. There will be a umber of Q&A sessios throughout the morig ad experts will be available after the evet closes for further discussio. Pictured at the lauch of the semiar are baker Agelia Ryder, butcher Jack Porter ad chef Elle Key, all aged 4. Recet Publicatios The followig publicatios were recetly produced by the FSAI: Factsheet: Servig Burgers that are Safe for the Cosumer Leaflet: Geeral Labellig of Pre-Packaged Food (revised) These publicatios are available o our website at: Editor: Edel Smyth Cotributors: Waye Aderso, Ae-Marie Bolad, Hele Crowley, Garret Keatig, Siead Murphy, Lisa O Coor, Eilee O Dea, Pat O Mahoy, Emma Reihardt Exteral Cotributor: Roa Gormley, UCD 2013 Permissio is grated to reproduce iformatio cotaied herei with appropriate credit. FSAI: Abbey Court, Lower Abbey Street, Dubli 1 Tel: (01) Fax: (01) ewsletter@fsai.ie Website: twitter.com/fsaiifo Mailig List FSAINews is a resource for all public health professioals, researchers, food scietists, food hygieists ad quality cotrol persoel workig i food safety. We would like to esure that ayoe who may fid it useful receives a copy. If you thik there is someoe else i your orgaisatio who would beefit from receivig a copy please fill i the form below. You ca also use this form to chage your ow mailig details. Please add the followig perso to your mailig list for future issues: Chage of mailig details: NAME NAME JOB TITLE JOB TITLE ADDRESS ADDRESS By By Post By By Post Please retur this completed form to: Ooagh Eustace, Food Safety Authority of Irelad, Abbey Court, Lower Abbey Street, Dubli 1.