Webwatch: food safety and hygiene

Food safety issues are of primary importance to both consumers and to the food industry. Each stage of the food supply chain, from food production to retail via processing, packaging, storage and distribution, faces its own particular challenges to control or prevent contamination of foods. The consumer also has a key role to play, since a lack of good food hygiene practices in the home can also result in foodborne illness. This article provides an overview of some of the many Internet sites related to food safety and hygiene. Government-related sites The European Commissions multilingual food safety site (http://europa.eu/pol/food/index_en.htm ) details its work for ensuring safety of foods from farm to table. Animal disease control and prevention, plant health, pesticides and food safety are covered, with links to press releases, key sites, documentation and legislation (summaries and legal texts). The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website (www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/index.htm) describes its work in ensuring a sustainable and safe food supply, with information on food safety, food standards and links to organisations including the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The user-friendly website of the FSA (www.food.gov.uk/) details the Agencys work on food safety, food hygiene and allergies. There is a guide to the main food law requirements, a news centre and sections covering chemical safety, microbiological safety, hygiene, radiological safety, allergy and animal diseases. The US Department of Agricultures (USDA) Food and Nutrition Information Centre website (http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/) contains news resources, a searchable database, downloadable publications and links to other important food safety resources, such as www.foodsafety.gov/. This latter site provides access to government food safety information, including consumer advice, national food safety initiatives, industrial assistance, news safety alerts, HACCP and foodborne pathogens, with a comprehensive links page. Linked from this site is FightBAC (www.fightbac.org/), a consumer food safety resource with free downloads on safe food handling information and preventing foodborne illness. The US Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) is responsible for ensuring that food consumed in the US is safe, nutritious and correctly labelled. Their website (www.fda.gov/Food/default.htm) has information on a number of food safety topics, including the 'Bad Bug Book'. This handbook provides material on the different foodborne pathogens and natural toxins. Professional organisations and associations

The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) is a non-profit organisation based in Iowa, USA, with a membership of food safety professionals from over 50 countries. It aims to provide a forum for the exchange of information regarding protection of the food supply. The website (www.foodprotection.org/) has pages about the Association, its members, meetings, publications and useful links. The IAFP audio-visual library catalogue may be viewed from the site. The UK food and drink industry is represented by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF; www.fdf.org.uk/). In addition to news, publications and events, the website also details the Federations work on food safety and science, one of its three key priority sectors, covering the food chain, ingredients, general food law, labelling, residues and contaminants. The Federation works closely with its European counterpart, the CIAA, in policy and legislation and members can access briefing papers on a range of current policy issues. The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (SOFHT; www.sofht.co.uk/) offers members support in issues relating to food hygiene and technology. This includes elearning courses on food safety, HACCP and food hygiene, useful links, a careers centre, a range of publications and a membership list. The Societys magazine SOFHT Focus is available as an electronic version, while the SOFHT Breakfast Club offers an informal networking and fact-finding forum for members. Another UK membership-based organisation carrying out research and development for the food and drinks industry is Campden BRI (www.campden.co.uk/). It provides research, technical and advisory services to ensure safety and quality, including the hygienic design of equipment, factories and foodservice areas, microbiological analysis, cleaning, food spoilage and poisoning. The website also has a links section, a publication store and information on courses and training programmes. An information-packed website is provided by the Institute of Food Research (IFR; www.ifr.ac.uk/), linking academic and industry research in food science, diet and health throughout the UK, Europe and further afield. One key area of research at the IFR is foodborne diseases and the pathogenic bacteria Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium botulinum. The website also has news releases and access to the IFR Science Publications Database. The National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) in Chicago, Illinois, USA (www.ncfst.iit.edu/main/home.html) provides its members with an early insight into emerging food safety issues and encourages an industry-FDA interface. The website lists publications, training programmes, conferences and workshops, with the newsletter Food Safety Watch published three times a year. A further US-based resource (www.foodrisk.org/) is for safety risk analysis professionals, offering research tools, safety alerts and several consumer-oriented links. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses works closely with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to address food safety issues along the entire food production chain using new methods of risk analysis. Documents and publications are published on the website (www.who.int/foodsafety/en/). There are comprehensive links to other WHO agencies and to the Foods Standard Programme (Codex Alimentarius) and the International Food Safety Authorities Network.

Training and publishing sites HACCPtown (www.haccptown.com/) is an online market place for services relating to the development and/or implementation of a HACCP food safety programme. Developed by Advancing Food Safety, it provides a range of both general and specific food safetyrelated training for all food sectors to clients in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Food safety and training services for the food industry are offered by the UK-based Advanced Food Safety (http://www.food-safety.co.uk/advancedfood/). The website details programmes covering HACCP, quality management, safety auditing and food hygiene, with links to training courses and accreditation schemes, including Allsafe (www.allsafe.org.uk/allsafe/index.html), which offers food hygiene and safety training distance learning courses and management packs. Food safety and compliance training materials and programmes are described on the Highfield website (www.highfield.co.uk/), with details of their training books and DVDs, training aids and elearning programmes in food safety, nutrition and health, and HACCP. Two journals published by Taylor and Francis contain research and review articles on additives and contaminants in foods. Food Additives and Contaminants Part A (www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/0265203X.html), published since 1984, covers chemistry, analysis, control, exposure and risk assessment. Food Additives and Contaminants Part B (www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/19393210.asp), which began in 2008, publishes surveillance data on designated food additives, residues and contaminants in food and animal feed. Abstracts are available free of charge while fulltext requires subscription to the journal. Eurosurveillance (www.eurosurveillance.org/) is an open access journal, published weekly online, containing information on the epidemiology, surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases. This includes news as well as longer in-depth research articles, which are published as a compilation every three months. All articles since 1995 are available on the website. There are also useful links to European national bulletins on infectious diseases. Hygiene and analytical services sites Diagnostic test kits and services for identifying foodborne pathogens and ensuring cleanliness are invaluable tools for the food industry. Celsis (www.celsis.com/) provides rapid screening systems to detect microbial contamination in raw materials and finished products. 3M Microbiology (www.solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/food-safety/? WT.mc_id=www.biotrace.co.uk) markets a range of quality testing and monitoring products for the detection of microbial contamination in foods. Hygiene Group (www.hygiene.co.uk/) provides specialist cleaning and hygiene services to the food and pharmaceutical manufacturing and processing industries. The multilingual site of Hygiena (www.hygiena.net/) details the companys range of hygiene monitoring products to meet sanitation protocols, HACCP regulations and safety auditing. Two other companies that offer accredited analytical services to the food industry are Premier Analytical Services (www.rhmtech.co.uk/) and International Laboratory Services (ILS) (www.ils-limited.co.uk/). Their websites focus mainly on information about the companies and their services, including press information and job opportunities.

Norback, Ley and Associates (www.norbackley.com/) offer software in English, Spanish and Japanese to facilitate HACCP and food safety implementation. News and consumer information sites The website http://www.foodsafetyanswers.org/ (developed by Iowa State University Extension) gives answers to frequently asked questions on food safety issues for both consumers and foodservices, as provided by food safety experts. There are also food safety news items, details of events and a Food Safety Tip of the Day. The Food Safety Network (FSN) was created at the University of Guelph in Canada to provide information, comment and research on food safety issues. The website (www.foodsafetynetwork.ca) provides services that focus on informing the public about current and emerging food-related risks. These include a food-safety information database, news updates, fact and resource sheets and a section with frequently asked questions. A useful source of information on the different guidelines, regulations and standards controlling safety in the food industry is David Jukes Food Law website at the University of Reading (www.reading.ac.uk/foodlaw/). There are over 2700 searchable items of news available covering food law news since May 1996, including UK, EU and international food law news together with more specific information on food additives and food labelling. The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) is a non-profit organisation that provides science-based information on food safety and quality, health and nutrition to the media, professionals and consumers. Safe food handling, risk communication and food contaminants are some of the topics covered on the user-friendly website (www.eufic.org/), with links to EU initiatives and the bi-monthly newsletter Food Today (published in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish). Other websites offering food safety information and resources to consumers and those working in foodservice include the Food Safety Project (www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/), developed by Iowa State University Extension. The multilingual site (www.foodhaccp.com/) has news on food safety and recalls, control methods, foodborne outbreaks, detection methods and USDA/FDA news together with a newsletter. Technical articles, webinars, newsletters and email alerts on plant safety, food safety and quality control, public concerns and legislation are available on (www.foodqualitynews.com/).