Acrylamide is a chemical compound generated during high-temperature cooking processes that transform sugar and amino acids present in food products. For many years the scientific community has shown the correlation between the increased exposure to acrylamide and the higher risk of developing cancer. In 2015, in its first full risk assessment on acrylamide in food, […]
The term ‘ultra-processed foods’ refers to products that have undergone a substantial amount of industrial processing and whose nutritional labels generally report a long list of ingredients, including preservatives, sweeteners, or color enhancers. While there is still not enough scientific evidence to attribute health harms to ultra-processed foods, more and more studies have been highlighting […]
On July 1st, 2021 an epidemiological study on heavy metal impregnation in adults and children was released by the French National Public Health Agency. The study – the first of its kind to measure exposure levels in children aged 6 to 17- has shown that almost 100% of both population groups were continually exposed to 27 heavy […]
In the past few months, organisations have revealed that non-compliant products containing ingredients illegally processed with ethylene oxide were still being sold without proper consumer information. Ethylene oxide is a gaseous disinfectant, originally used for sterilization purposes and for decreasing salmonella occurrence in foods. It is a highly irritating and mutagenic chemical, considered to be […]
The European food supply chain and food safety system are proving to be extremely resilient, according to Europe’s People Party (EPP) coordinator at European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, Herbert Dorfmann, as people still manage to find available and safe food on supermarket shelves even in time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here
Although coronavirus can survive on surfaces for a limited time, food safety regulations in EU member states ensure a high level of protection against contaminated food, said the chief of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Bernhard Url in an interview. Read more here
On 17 December 2019, a cross-party coalition of 34 MEPs sent a letter to Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides to ask for an extension of the French ban on the white colourant E171 to the entire EU. In the response to the MEPs’s letter on 15 January 2020, Commissioner Kyriakides underlined that the […]
On 5 Dec 2019, European civil society groups have sent a joint letter to Ms. Stella Kyriakides – European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety on the issue of the white colourant E171 (titanium dioxide in food). With this letter, SAFE together with 7 other NGOs strongly urge Ms. Stella Kyriakides, in her lead role […]
A recent evaluation of titanium dioxide in food from the French national food safety agency ANSES belied EFSA’s assessment of this substance. The evaluation highlighted significant data gaps and recommended limiting exposure to the food colouring E171, which has proved to be potentially carcinogenic. A French decree from 17 April banned the whitening food additive […]
Another food scandal broke out in France, as it was revealed that beef burgers of Polish origin that failed to meet legal standards were sold to charities tackling food poverty. This alarming piece of news follows the latest food scandals (Polish beef, fipronil in eggs, etc.). Read the whole case here.