Food on the Web 12
The last article had a particular focus on nutrition; this reverts to the more usual "here, there and everywhere" approach. However, the Web sites reviewed are all related to the work of either the UK Government or the European Commission.
Web site reviews
MAFF statistics
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) has announced that it is to cease publication of many of its regular statistics press news releases and instead will publish the data on a Web site. (The journalists who received the news releases and require immediate information will have access to a"fax-back" service.)
This shift in the arrangements for the press means that the statistical information available to the public will also be very up to date and available direct from source. However, it must be noted that for most people, most of the information will hold little or no interest!
For example, for those with interests in meat, the tables include the following:
- 1.
Quarter by quarter information on UK supplies and total for domestic usage of:
all carcase meat, bacon, ham and poultry meat;
beef and veal;
mutton and lamb;
bacon and ham; poultry meat.
- 2.
Week by week UK slaughter statistics.
Other statistics being made available via this source include:
Preliminary statistics on the annual Agricultural and Horticultural Census.
Preliminary statistics from the National Food Survey - this is available approximately 8-10 weeks after the period reported (for example by early December 1998, information was available up to the end of the third quarter of 1998).
These, and an increasing range of other food supply and agricultural production statistics, can be found at the following URL: http://www.maff.gov.uk under the heading"Statistics".
Meat hygiene - European Commission inspection missions
The European Commission has begun to publish the outcomes of inspection visits carried out to review hygiene controls applying in member states and other countries to (for instance) fresh meat establishments, trade in fresh meat and mammalian animal waste, and to the national rules for specified risk material.
The inspection visits form a part of the European Union's programme of activities to eliminate bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The general URL for all reports is http://europa.eu.int/commm/dg24/health/vi/reports
European Commission, DG24 - new items
The European Commission DG24 has an extensive Web site which includes many items of interest. The site is updated on a daily basis as new items become available. (The item (above) on the reports of inspection visits is an example.)
The list which follows highlights items new to the site in December 1998 (the date of writing this article). My list does not include all items posted by DG24 but rather is selected to focus on food-related matters:
Scientific Committee on Food: Agenda for the 114th Meeting, Brussels, 9-10 December 1998. The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/agenda_en.html
Preliminary Opinion of the Scientific Steering Committee on a method to assess the geographical BSE risk of countries or regions. (This was adopted on 10 December 1998.) The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/ssc/out35_en.html
Scientific Committee on Food: Minutes of the 113rd Meeting, Brussels, 16-17 September 1998. The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/out17_en.html
Report of the Scientific Committees on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on welfare aspects of the production of foie gras in ducks and geese. (This was adopted on 16 December 1998.) The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scah/out17_en.html
Rapid Alert System for Foodstuffs - Vademecum. (This is an update to a document first issued in November 1998.) The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/afh/afh07_en.html
Details of a Commission-sponsored food safety campaign. (This is an update of a document first issued in November 1998.) The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/events/event05_en.html
Scientific Committee on Food - opinion on riboflavin as a colouring matter authorised for use in foodstuffs produced by fermentation using genetically modified Bacillus subtilis. The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/out18_en.html
Scientific Committee on Food - opinion on the use of urease prepared from Lactobacillus fermentum in wine production The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/out19_en.html
Scientific Committee on Food - opinion on an additional list of monomers and additives for food contact materials. The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/out20_en.html
Scientific Committee on Food -- opinion on the scientific background of a Spanish notification on a regulation on broths, consommÅs, soups and creams. The URL is http://www.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/out21_en.html
Throughout the above, it should be noted that the latter part of the URL indicates the language of the document; an item for which the URL ends(_en.html) is prepared in English. Readers who prefer to work in other languages may like to substitute their own language code into the URL:
Some documents are available on the Web in these languages but generally the language of the initial publication of the Commission's Web publications remains English.
Although other languages are recognised by the European Union, it must be noted that English, French and German are the most commonly used. It is rare for Web versions of other languages to be available within a reasonable working timescale.
The list given above is provided as a matter of information and without detailed review of most of the items. However, two items are particularly worthy of further examination in the next two items.
The European Food Safety Campaign
This was launched across all 15 EU member states on 15 October 1998.
The campaign has an EU-wide focus on the rights of the food consumer and will operate under the slogan "Food safety is a shared responsibility: the responsible consumer is informed and active".
In the UK, the programme is focused on young consumers and is funding a Health Education Authority programme to mount a food hygiene education initiative in secondary schools.
While this campaign is a very welcome initiative it does raise at least one significant issue - that of responsibility and accountability for food safety:
The slogan refers to "shared responsibility"; but the subsequent emphasis is placed solely on education of the ultimate consumer. If the Commission was true to the "shared responsibility" concept the programme would also include the funding of activities with food businesses.
The responsibility for food safety always has to be shared - businesses along the food chain must each supply their customers with safe foods and in turn each business must deal with these foods in a proper and safe manner in order to pass them in an hygienic state to their customers (who may not be the ultimate consumer).
Following purchase at retail level consumers must deal with these foods in a manner which will ensure continued safe handling to the point of consumption. However, it is a sad, but often recognised, fact that even perfect actions by the one who purchases at retail level cannot overturn the actions of those earlier in the chain.
An example of the above point is provided by the major 1996 Scottish outbreak of E. coli food poisoning which claimed many lives. This was largely outside the control of consumers - the faults lay at an earlier stage and even exemplary actions by consumers would not have eliminated the hazards which had originated earlier.
Rapid alert system for foodstuffs
The European Commission has issued a "Vademecum'" concerning its policy regarding its strategy with respect to the Rapid Alert System for Foodstuffs (RASFF) which is managed by DG24.
The 27-page document includes the following:
- 1.
Statement of aims:
To protect the consumer against any danger or potential danger arising from the consumption of foods.
To exchange information rapidly between member states and the Commission.
- 2.
Objective: to prevent the placement on or the recall from the community market of foodstuffs which pose a serious risk to the health of the consumer
- 3.
Scope: the system focuses on food risks which go beyond the territory of a single member state.
- 4.
Legal basis: texts of relevant directives are provided as appendices.
- 5.
Criteria for notification: focuses on member state responsibilities.
- 6.
Procedures on notification by a member state to the Commission.
- 7.
Procedures for notification by the Commission to the member states: alert notification; non-alert notification.
- 8.
Follow-up actions.
- 9.
Out of hours service and press releases.
- 10.
Company recalls.
This document provides a useful summary of the procedures which are to be brought into action in the event of any cross-border food safety concerns.
A "vademecum" is defined as a handbook carried on the person for immediate use when needed; the term derives from the Latin for "go with me". This Commission document amounts to 27 A4 pages and thus is not quite so portable as might be suggested by the term "vademecum". However, the document provides a straightforward review of actions and in practice it is pages 1 to 5 which are of particular value (page 6 to 27 are principally reprints of the relevant directives and copies of the various forms).
The full text is available at the following URL: http:/europa.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/afh/afh07_en.html
Noting the comment above, French and German editions are available.
1997 Joint Annual Report of the Committees on Toxicity, Mutaganicity and Carcinogenicity
The latest reports from the above three reports have been published as a consolidated (print) volume. On the Internet, their individual identities remain, and the reports are available the following URLs:
Toxicity: http://www.doh.gov.uk/cot.htm
Mutagenicity: http://www.doh.gov.uk/com.htm
Carcinogenicity: http://www.doh.gov.uk/coc.htm
The previous editions of these reports were reviewed in Food on the Web 6.
BSE Inquiry - update
In Food on the Web 5, there was a review introducing the Phillips Inquiry into the causes of the BSE epidemic. This review had, in December 1998, just completed its first phase; this has had the following objective:
To establish and review the history of the emergence and identification of BSE and new variant CJD, and of the action taken in response to it up to 20 March 1996.
During the first phase, over 250 witnesses contributed evidence; this evidence is available on the Inquiry Web site and includes:
written submissions;
daily transcriptions of the Inquiry sessions during which witnesses presented oral evidence and were questioned by the Inquiry Panel.
The second phase of the inquiry focuses on a second objective:
To reach conclusions on the adequacy of that response, taking into account the state of knowledge at the time, and to report on these matters by 30 June 1999.
A key element of this second phase is the opportunity to challenge the evidence provided in phase one and to seek clarification of points raised.
There is a tremendous amount of information available on this site including statements from a variety of interested persons such as veterinary surgeons,research scientists, medical practitioners, government officials at various levels in the hierarchy (including those in the most senior positions), former government ministers and, not least, representatives of the families of those who suffered and died from new variant CJD.
The URL for the Inquiry Web site is http://www/bse.org.uk
Concluding comment
The earlier articles in this series have introduced readers to an initial group of Web sites. This article shows the beginnings of a somewhat different element - the update. Later editions of annual reports are becoming available and, for long-running situations such as the BSE Inquiry, it is timely to provide a reminder of the materials available. Similarly, the listing of the new material from the DG24 site is also an updating service - it is intended that a summary of new materials on the DG24 site will be a regular feature of Food on the Web.
If you have identified a Web site likely to be of interest to readers of British Food Journal please contact the author of this series of articles as follows:by e-mail to stephen.fallows@luton.ac.ukby fax to 01234 766926 or 01582 743237; by post at the University of Luton.
Dr Stephen FallowsUniversity of Luton
