The FDA uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations on food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed. Recent modifications to FDA’s import alerts, as posted by the agency, are listed below. Click on the URLs to view the actual alerts. Import Alert Description URL for Alert IA-16-105 Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood and Seafood Products from Specific Manufacturers/Shippers Due to Decomposition and/or Histamines https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_19.html IA-16-119 Detention…

Food businesses in England and Northern Ireland will have to include full ingredients labeling on pre-packaged foods by summer 2021. The new law was announced by Michael Gove, Environment Secretary, and is known as “Natasha’s Law” after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a teenager who died in 2016 after an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette which did not display allergen information on the packaging. Currently, food prepared on the premises in which it is sold…

Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Florida’s Senate Bill 82, prohibiting local governments from banning vegetable gardens on any part of residential properties. It means Florida property owners can again grow fruits and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants, on any part of their residential properties, including their front yards. The governor’s signature means Flordia residents will be raising more fruits and vegetables and that in turn, say the experts, means…

San Giuseppe Salami Co. by Giacomo in  Elon, NC, has recalled approximately about 830 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE), frozen andouille sausage products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically metal, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The RTE, frozen andouille sausages were produced on May 14. The following products are subject to recall: Varying weights of vacuum-packed, individually-sealed packages containing “SAN GIUSEPPE SALAMI CO. BY GIACOMO ANDOUILLE…

Beginning today, the FDA is accepting comments on proposed guidance designed to improve the safety of fresh sprouts, which have been responsible for at least 50 outbreaks in the past two decades. The proposed guidance would apply to all entities in the food supply chain, from seed producers through distributors and on to those who grow and sell fresh sprouts. Guidance from the Food and Drug Administration includes suggested practices. If entities wish to follow…

Proper storage of raw seafood and good hygiene is important to avoid contaminating sushi with Listeria at amounts that can cause illness, according to a risk assessment in Norway. The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) looked at Listeria monocytogenes in sushi after a Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) request, so the agency can update its advice on eating sushi for pregnant women and other vulnerable groups. The likelihood of vulnerable groups being…

Researchers in France have described an outbreak of Cryptosporidium linked to unpasteurized, raw milk white cheese. In November 2017, a gastroenteritis outbreak was reported at a school in Loire-Atlantique, western France, with more than 150 sick people. Cryptosporidiosis appears to be largely underdiagnosed in the general population in France and Cryptosporidium is not always covered by labs when testing for parasites, according to the researchers. Finding the source Drinking water was not associated with disease but eating…