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Controversial proposal among more than 200 reforms to food safety and environmental regulations put forward by farming regulation taskforce. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/17/farming-regulation-tb-cattle-milk Fiona Harvey Environment Corrspondent guardian.co.uk Tuesday 17 May 2011) Milk from cows that test positive for tuberculosis (TB) would be introduced into the human food chain under reforms suggested on Tuesday by government advisers... read more →

Scientists warn that farming practices must be adapted to a warmer world and rises in global population. (Damian Carrington – guardian.co.uk – Thurssday 5 May 2011) Global warming has already harmed the world’s food production and has driven up food prices by as much as 20% over recent decades, new research has revealed. The drop in the productivity of crop plants around the world was not caused by changes in rainfall but was because higher... read more →

UK to back imports of animal feed with traces of GM crops in move to benefit US exporters. Genetically modified crops will be allowed to enter the UK food chain without the need for regulatory clearance for the first time under controversial plans expected to be approved this week. The Observer understands that the UK intends to back EU plans permitting the importing of animal feed containing traces of unauthorised GM crops in a move that has alarmed environmental... read more →

The UK is the ‘lazy man of Europe’, and should follow example of other countries, according to the Soil Association. Successive British governments have failed to support and promote the organic food and farming sector, according to a damning report. Their failures have left the UK an isolated “lazy man of Europe”. Research from the UK’s biggest organic body highlights the low priority given to the sector by “diffident”... read more →

02/02/2011 14:04:13 – Farminguk.com Coming shortly after Professor Sir John Beddington, the Government’s chief scientist, published a report showing that globally we need to use 40% less water and produce 40% more food within the next 20 years, scientists at East Malling Research (EMR) believe their latest work could play an important role. With global population continuing to rise, scientists will be at the forefront of how growers and farmers... read more →

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been urged by experts in the field and members of its own Board to exercise caution in its use of ‘intelligent software’ to predict emerging food safety risks. (Foodmanufacturing.co.uk) The FSA plans to use more co-ordinated intelligence gathering and horizon scanning, including statistical analysis and intelligent software called Memex patriarch, to make it more effective. Its existing incident classification... read more →

Major players in Europe’s organic meat industry have expressed relief after the European Commission (EC) chose not to ban the use of nitrates and nitrites for curing products. (Foodnavigator.com) Sodium nitrite (E250) and potassium nitrate (E252) are widely used in cured meats to prevent the growth of pathogens such as clostridium botulinum, the bacterium responsible for botulism, and add flavour and colour to products such as bacon. But opponents claim... read more →

Slaughterhouses may have to install additional ventilation and air extraction systems after scientists discovered bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) can be spread to livestock by air. (Meatinfo.co.uk) They have found prions – the infectious agents triggering the disease – are not necessarily transmitted only by eating contaminated material. The researchers from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and the Institute of Immunology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut,... read more →