Ok, so can you tell just by smelling a food whether it is going to make you sick from food poisoning?

The answer is a very simple – no.

This is because most bacteria do not create a smell, so this is one test which will not stop us getting food poisoning.

However, there is now a hand held scanner available on line for anyone to purchase, which can help us work out if a meat is fresh.

The “FOODsniffer” can be used with beef, pork, chicken or fish to determine the amount of ammonia, temperature, humidity and other useful information. The results are sent using Bluetooth to a smart phone app to show if the product is fresh, needs to be well cooked or spoilt.

It can be used by businesses and consumers but it must be remembered that it is only a guide and will not prevent food poisoning.

Each year the experts in nutrition predict what will be the big thing for that year, so what are they saying for 2016?

Seaweed

If you like / love sushi, you would already be eating seaweed. Well, it seems that it will be leaving the sushi train and heading to a supermarket near you. As one of the few non animal sources of B12, seaweed is about to be the big thing.

It is high in calcium and iodine and antioxidants and low in fat and sodium. With no gluten and being a good source of protein and fibre, it is a food we should all have been eating already. Some have a difficulty with the whole concept of eating seaweed, but to those who do regularly, it is tasty and very healthy.

Coconut

This high fat food is not going anywhere in the healthy stakes and will continue to be a favourite in cooking, drinks / waters and, in fact, nearly everything. It is high in fibre, iron, magnesium, potassium, and Vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5 & B6.

Beans means…..

Although traditionally not a large part of a western diet, beans in all their forms are making a big break through into our supermarkets.

Vegetarians have long known how important and tasty beans are, and now the meat eaters are joining the party.

They are high in copper, folate, iron, protein, antioxidants and fibre. Being low fat and containing no cholesterol is helping to finally make beans an increasingly important part of the western diet.

Sugar is bad, isn’t it?

Apparently there is an increasing trend toward snacking on savoury foods, so it seems like people are working on reducing their sweetness threshold.

Sugar is being seen as a potential contributor to the increase in obesity and disease in our society, so people are moving away from it.

Artificial sweeteners and natural alternatives are not really that popular.

Honey seems to be the emerging sweetener of choice as it is natural and consumers understand what it is.

Free from…..

So the whole “gluten free” thing has been everywhere and is not going anywhere, but the expected new “free from” will be lactose and dairy.

The ads on TV for almond, rice and soy milks shows that this may well be the case.

OK, so we see eggs in the supermarket labelled as “free range”, but what does this actually mean?

There has been an argument going on for quite a few years on what this tem means in Australia.

Well we now know.

The Consumer Affairs Ministers from across all levels of government across the country have finally set the definition.

“Free range” eggs will now only be permitted to be labelled as such if there are no more than 10000 birds per hectare and these birds have “meaningful access” to open space.

The labelling must also clearly show the number of birds per hectare.

With all controversial issues, there will always be those happy with the decision and those who are not.

In this case, CHOICE is leading the group who are not satisfied. It was supporting the CSIRO Model Code recommending a maximum of 1500 birds per hectare

CHOICE spokesperson Tom Godfrey said; “These new rules fail the common sense test. All you need to do is look at egg cartons labelled free-range in any major supermarket to see how these products are marketed to Australians, with pictures of chickens outside. Eggs that come from hens that don’t go outside and have high stocking densities don’t meet consumers’ expectations and don’t deserve the free-range label. Because of this, we are calling on consumers to boycott bad eggs that have an outdoor stocking density of up to 10,000 hens per hectare.”

So, expect to see further action on this issue. Even though a decision
has finally been made there made still be a change.

So what makes you want to go back to a restaurant or café?

Is it the food, is it the ambience, is it the presentation?

No, it is the customer service.

Even if the food is only so so, you will go back to a place as long as the customer service is outstanding.

We probably already knew this but it has been confirmed in a recent survey by the Commonwealth Bank

The study found that 68 percent of those surveyed stated that poor customer service was the main reason for being unhappy with a food business.

More than half (53 percent) of those surveyed hated queuing, especially if they have to wait to pay their bill.

1000 consumers were surveyed in the CommBank’s Retail Therapy research, conducted by a third party market research firm.

If a café / restaurant knows what their regulars like, they are more likely to eat there often. The study confirmed this, with 74 percent of those surveyed saying they would be loyal to businesses that know something about them and remember it – in other words, personalisation. On top of this 82 percent of the consumer surveyed would spend more if they feel valued.

A particularly interesting result was that nearly half (47 percent) of those surveyed think that more and better technology used by a business shows a better understanding of their needs.

Loyalty programs also scored well with 77 percent more likely to go back to a business which has such programs or special customer offers.

Deakin University behavioural scientist, Dr Johann Ponnampalam, said “Much of our daily life involves habitual, autopilot behaviour. When in this mindset, we crave faster, simpler, easier service interactions and when we don’t receive them, we experience friction which often leads to us avoiding purchasing altogether. Our lives are more complex than ever before and consumers have an abundance of choice. This leads to choice paralysis, which in-turn leads to avoiding purchase decisions and buyer’s remorse. The study shows that businesses need to work harder to help customers make informed, confident choices by providing personalised and relevant information during the retail experience.”

One of the things which most annoy people at cafes / restaurants is when there is a sign saying “no splitting of bills” – more than 75 percent of those surveyed want to split the bill, 77 percent don’t like it when one person has to pay the bill, and 69 percent said they hate not being able to split the bill.

So what can cafes and restaurants learn from the study; make sure that your staff are brilliant at customer service, learn something about each of your customers and remember it for next time they come in (it might be their name as a start and their favourite drink) and (as much of a business pain as it can be) offer and encourage bill splitting.

The following is a media release from the New South Wales Food Authority

Ciguatera advice to fishers on mid north NSW coast

11 April 2016

The NSW Food Authority advises fishers to avoid eating Spanish Mackerel above 10kgs (as advised by NSW industry experts), as there is an increased risk of ciguatera poisoning.

Commercial fishers, recreational fishers and consumers should not eat large Spanish Mackerel, as two recent ciguatera poisoning incidents involving 20kg and 40kg fish that were caught and consumed on the mid north coast have been reported in NSW.

The Food Authority has been advised of an incident of ciguatera poisoning affecting 3 people after consuming a Spanish Mackerel caught off the coast of Crowdy Head late in March, and a second incident last week that affected one person who consumed Spanish Mackerel caught off the coast at Crescent Head. In both cases, the fish consumed were caught by recreational fishermen.

Similar outbreaks were reported 12 months ago on the mid north and far north NSW coast and the Gold Coast in Queensland.

The following is information from www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au

Ciguatera poisoning is a form of food poisoning. It is caused by eating warm water finfish that carry ciguatera poison (toxin). Small plant-eating fish eat toxic algae and in turn are eaten by larger, predatory fish, like Spanish Mackerel.

Symptoms usually start 1 to 24 hours after eating a toxic fish. The time before onset of illness and the range of symptoms can depend on how much fish is eaten, which parts of the fish are eaten, how much toxin is in the fish and the individual susceptibility of the consumer.

Symptoms include:

•tingling and numbness in fingers, toes, around lips ,tongue, mouth and throat

•burning sensation or skin pain on contact with cold water

•joint and muscle pains with muscular weakness

•nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and/or abdominal cramps

•headache, fatigue and fainting

•extreme itchiness, often worsened by drinking alcohol

•difficulty breathing in severe cases.

Ciguatera toxin does not affect the appearance, odour or taste of fish. Processes like cooking or freezing will not destroy it and there is no method for removing it from fish.

To minimise the risk, commercial fishers and consumers should avoid eating large Spanish Mackerel (10kgs or more, in accordance with NSW industry experts) and avoid eating the head, roe, liver and viscera, as the toxin is concentrated in these areas.

Ciguatera is more common in the warmer northern waters of Queensland and the Northern Territory

A new study from Roy Morgan Research shows that in any four week period in 2015 Australians are drinking on average 23 glasses each, which works out to be 426 million glasses.

According to the study, if this figure were 100 glasses, 48 would be beer, 25 still wine, 11 glasses of spirits, six would be “ready to drink’, four sparkling wine or champagnes, three ciders, two liqueurs and only one fortified wine.

So beer is the biggest alcohol in this country. With 50 percent of the alcohol consumed by 18-24 year olds being beer, and 42 percent for those over 65.

Wine is the big thing for those over 65, with 48 of the 100 glasses.

Andrew Price, Consumer Products General Manager at Roy Morgan Research said; “Especially striking is the fact that although a higher proportion of Aussie adults drink wine, those who drink beer consume it in greater volumes. It is also interesting to apply the 100-glass breakdown to specific groups, such as age brackets, as described above. Comparing volumes consumed between drinkers from different socio-economic circumstances can also be interesting. Beer consumption varies dramatically between the top, high-value AB socio-economic quintile of the population (who drink 45 glasses of beer per average 100 glasses of alcohol) and the lowest, least wealthy FG quintile (57 glasses of beer consumed for every 100 glasses of booze).”

There is a difference between the alcohol drunk by men and women according to the study.

“Not surprisingly, the quantities of different beverages consumed by Aussie women and men per 100 glasses vary significantly. While beer accounts for 60 of every 100 glasses drunk by men (compared to 19 for women), women drink greater volumes of almost all the other beverages,” Price stated.

The following is a summary of a recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – Estimates of the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases.

• Children under five account for 30 percent of      the deaths from foodborne disease
• 96000 children die each year from food borne      illness involving diarrhoea
• 600 million people become ill each year from      eating contaminated food
• Diarrhoea is involved in more than half of      food poisonings, including 230000 deaths each year
• Salmonella affects people in high and      low income countries
• Foodborne Cholera, Typhoid and E.coli are common in low income      countries
• Campylobacter      is      more commonly associated with high income countries
• One person in 10 worldwide will become ill      from contaminated food
• 420000 deaths each year from contaminated food
• In the African region – has the highest amount      of food borne illness per population with more than 91 million people      falling ill and 137000 deaths. Non-typhoidal Salmonella is the main cause with 32000 deaths – more than      half of the total world deaths from this disease. Non bacterial food borne      illness, like cyanide and aflatoxin cause one quarter of the food borne      disease deaths.
• In the Americas region – 77 million cases      makes it the second lowest in the world. There are an estimated 9000      deaths each year – of which 2000 are children. Norovirus, Non-typhoidal Salmonella, Campylobacter and E.coli      account for 95 percent of cases. In Central and South America there      are specific issues with pork tapeworm.
• In the Western Pacific region – 125 million      people are affected by contaminated food and there are 50000 deaths, of      which 7000 are children. It is aflatoxin which is the biggest issue in      this region with around 70 percent of the total number of cases for the      world. Chinese liver fluke is the single biggest issue with 30000 people      infected, nearly 100 percent of all world cases, and death in one in five      cases.
• In the South East Asia egion – the second      highest amount of food borne disease per population but the highest number      of deaths at 175000, of which 50000 are children. E.coli, Norovirus and non -typhoidal Salmonella are the main causes. The number of cases of      Hepatitis A and Typhoid in this region account for half of the worldwide      cases.
• In the European region – the lowest amount of      food borne disease with more than 23 million cases and 5000 deaths. Norovirus      and Campylobacter are the main      causes with nearly 20 million cases. However it is non-typhoidal Salmonella which cause the most deaths      at nearly 2000 each year. Listeria      causes around 400 deaths annually.

We all know that fruits and vegetables have seasons and so there are sometimes in the year when you cannot get specific produce, even with cold storage extending availability.

One of the reasons for some fruit and vegetables not being available is because they are not grown in winter due to their poor reaction to frost.

Over the years,many frost protection methods have been trialled and few have been successful.

So if a reliable and effective frost protection method could be found, it will change farming in many areas and make specific produce more readily available.

A recent study by Ausveg has shown that a specific type of “fleece” is easy to use and significantly reduces frost impact.

The “fleece” is made from spun bonded polypropylene and holds the heat from the day in and prevents the cold sinking air of the night from affecting the crops beneath. It has been found to be particularly good on young plants

Ausveg spokesperson Dimi Kyriakou said; “Many growers choose not to plant crops that are susceptible to low temperatures during winter. However, the use of frost protection materials such as commercial ‘fleece’ may provide an opportunity for growers to address the demand in the market for cold-sensitive crops during the winter period.”

The research was published in the March/April edition of the Ausveg magazine, Vegetables Australia.

The following are two further recalls for March. The information is provided with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

Well and Good Cake and Muffin Mixes

Yaffa’s Kitchen T/A Well & Good has recalled Well & Good Cupcake Mix 510g (Bonus ICING +SPRINKLES), Well & Good Muffin Mix 450g and Well & Good MudCake Mix 450g from Coles and IGA outlets nationwide due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (milk).

Any consumers who have a milk allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed. Consumers who have a milk allergy or intolerance should not consume this product. The products can be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Date notified to FSANZ- 18/03/2016

Food type – Cake mixes

Product name

1.   Well & Good Cupcake Mix 510g (Bonus ICING +SPRINKLES)

2.   Well & Good Muffin Mix 450g

3.   Well & Good MudCake Mix 450g

Package description and size

1.   Cardboard boxes 510g

2.   Cardboard boxes 450g

3.   Cardboard boxes 450g

Date marking

1.   Best Before 12 FEB 2018

2.   Best Before 15 FEB 2018

3.   Best Before 03 FEB 2018

Country of origin – Australia

Reason for recall – the presence of an undeclared allergen (milk)

Distribution – Coles and IGA outlets nationwide

Consumer advice

Any consumers who have a (milk) allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed. Consumers who have a (milk) allergy or intolerance should not consume this product. The products can be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Contact – Yaffa’s Kitchen T/A Well & Good +613 9769 1515 www.wellandgood.com.au

Pitango Butter Chicken Curry

Pitango Pty Limited has recalled Pitango Free Range Butter Chicken Curry 400g from IGA / Foodworks / Foodland / independent supermarkets and fresh fruit / grocery stores nationally due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (almonds). Consumers who have an almond allergy or intolerance should not consume this product and may have a reaction if the product is consumed. The product can be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Date notified to FSANZ – 18/03/2016

Food type – Pre-made curry

Product name -Pitango Free Range Butter Chicken Curry 400g

Package description and size – Plastic Pouch 400g

Date marking – All Best Before Dates From: 11/03/2016 To: 24/06/2016

Country of origin – New Zealand

Reason for recall – The presence of an undeclared allergen (almonds)

Distribution

IGA / Foodworks / Foodland / independent supermarkets and fresh fruit / grocery stores nationally

Consumer advice

Consumers who have an almond allergy or intolerance should not consume this product and may have a reaction if the product is consumed. The product can be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Contact – Pitango Pty Limited www.pitango.co.nz

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is about to do a review of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

This is the first time a review of this intensity has been done.

So why write about this on a food safety related website?

Consumer Law impacts on many aspects of food law, as an example; food labelling is heavily influenced.

Food businesses must also operate under Consumer Law, regardless of the size. What they say must be what they do and sell.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said; “Just as the introduction of the ACL built on previous laws and regimes, we are confident that the 2016 review will confirm this new and improved base while taking steps to advance consumer protection. We have often commented that the introduction of AUD$1.1 million pecuniary penalties has been a game changer for regulators in terms of deterrence. But is it enough to deter larger companies? We also think there is a strong case to examine the merits of extending the reach of penalties to cover breaches of the general prohibitions against misleading and deceptive conduct.”

It is expected the review will look at the following amongst other areas; including the sharing economy, dealing with phoenix companies, and the reach and size of penalties under the ACL.

“Penalties and other remedies already apply to false or misleading representations and there is often overlap between the two,” Mr Sims said.