Food 'n' Drink – Food and Drink news |

Last week it was found that meat from a handful of cloned cows was sold on the market and ended up being consumed by several British families.  It was added later that milk from the animals may also have ended up on supermarket shelves.

The news caused headlines to cry out that ‘supercalves’ were now being used within the diary industry.  It was claimed later that hundreds of cloned cows were found in farms throughout the UK.  The headlines claimed that meat from the cloned animals would soon fill up the meat shelves at grocers.

Although one might expect the FSA to lash out with a sense of calm, it instead announced that any items from a cloned animal should be thought of as a novelty item and thus would need to be approved by the FSA before it was sold and that they simply had not given permission.

However, the EU responded by saying that approval for the goods was not needed and that milk could be sold from the animals without any need to tell the authorities.

With this interpretation in mind, the milk and meat from cows could be all over the place without people being aware of the fact.

Grahame Bulfield, the past director of Roslin Institute where the first sheep was cloned, stated that the FSA is simply making itself look ridiculous because it cannot actually prove that cloned meat or diary is being used in any way or is in fact different than any other type of meat that may be consumed.  He added that since there is not any evidence, it must be the same.

Ministers have been charged with giving in to the junk food manufacturers by bending out of any strategies that would impose tougher controls on the amount of fat, sugar, and salt content in snacks instead settling to simply lend financial support to healthy eating campaigns.

Yesterday health specialists warned that any proposal to enforce regulation on confectionary makers and drinks in return for money was the same as bribery.

Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, revealed new plans that would include the companies giving cash for the Change4Life campaign run by the Government in which a serious of advertisements are being launched to encourage the public to keep healthy by eating healthy.

In return, Lansley promised that firms will not have to worry about too much regulation.  Despite this fact, food industry companies have not yet offered much money for the campaign which has caused critics of the move to warn that junk food manufacturers are getting off the hook without actually being forced to offer something in return.

Doctors have already responded negatively responded to Lansley’s plans stating that the campaign will do little to help a problem that is quickly rising in intensity which can be seen in people’s health.  Lansley also called the healthy school meal movement by Jamie Oliver  a bomb which stirred up a bit of controversy.

The Government has ruled out a ban on trans fats in food that may cause danger even though there is strong evidence that trans fats can cause around 7,000 premature deaths annually.

NICE, the official health watchdog, has asked for a veto on the fats that are the culprits often blamed for clogged arteries, high cholesterol, and heart attacks. However, Andrew Lansley the Health Secretary has decided not to follow the advice and instead chose the food industry arguing that the ban is not necessary at this time.

In a separate announcement Lansley also stated to the British Medical Association (BMA) that the Government should not be responsible for any legislation enforcing diet or health issues.  He continued to explain that it is not the Government’s place to lecture people on their eating habits and that even efforts by Jamie Oliver to tackle poor eating habits in children has failed.

The NICE on the other hand continues to argue that a ban on trans fat is necessary in order to combat up to 40,000 deaths every year that are linked to medical causes of high salt, fat, and sugar that comes from junk food.

NICE stated that it is known that fatty acids that make up trans fat pose a large health issue to many, and although many food companies have made some efforts to remove the fats from their products, there is still a large population that continues to consume much more of these elements on a regular basis than there should be.

The health watchdog also stated that it is important that all social groups are aware of the dangers of IPTFAs.

KFC, the popular chicken fast food chain has been ordered to pay out £18,452 after pleading guilty to a number of food hygiene offenses at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court.

The flagship restaurant located near Leicester Square on Coventry Street pleaded guilty in 2008 after inspectors received numerous complaints.  Upon their visit, inspectors found a cockroach sitting on a chip near where the tongs sit to serve food and takeaway boxes, and dried chicken blood and a dead mouse lying on the floor, and that within the food preparation area there were not any hand wash dispensers fitted.

Head of health, food, and safety at the Westminster City Council, Richard Block, stated that the hygiene standards were unacceptable and appalling especially for a resultant the with the statue of the flagship KFC who should know better.

Block continued to say that the restaurant industry is a very key part of the economy and that they will not put up with any behaviour that would threaten the health and safety of the visitors.  He added that hopefully the fine will send a signal to all restaurant owners that they will take action against any outlet that sacrifices the health of its diners while they eat.

The MEP’s are considering a move to stop profiling nutrients in food and drink, this has alarmed the consumer campaign group Which? who claim such a move would allow many unhealthy food manufacturers to claim that their items were in fact healthy.

To further stress their concern, the consumer group sent a jam doughnut out to every MEP and even one to the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in order to ask them to reconsider the removal of nutrient profiling.

The Safety Committee has already got behind the deletion of nutrient profiling, but in order to become effective it will also need to be supported by the EU governments and the full Parliament.

A spokesman for the UK Government said that Britain will endorse the move if it comes up.

Which? is not only concerned about nutrient profiling, but is also advocating that the legislation tightens up their view on unhealthy foods such as doughnuts and pork sausages so that they cannot make any claims to health under the new EU law.

Chief executive of Which?, Peter Vicary-Smith, stated that when unhealthy foods such as doughnuts are allowed to make claims of being a healthy food then it is time to revisit the topic.  Smith continued to say that removing nutrient profiling would be in essence like tossing a newborn into a vat of bath water and expecting it to swim.

Under the new FSA traffic light system, Which? claims that many foods that are high in sugar, salt, and fat would receive a high health rating despite their actual harm.

It has become pretty clear that consumers in general are confused about the labelling on food products.

Different manufacturers and retailers using different codes and standards make it hard for a buyer to figure out whether the product they are buying is healthy or not, and what percentage of daily nutritional needs it supplies.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the U.K. has determined that the best-understood method of labelling uses the ‘traffic light system’, in which the colours red, yellow and green are related to high, medium and low levels of ‘unhealthy’ ingredients.  They are calling for a single industry standard that would also include the GDA (guideline daily amounts) percentage contained in each serving of the product.

The FAS says that initially two of the three elements should be included in the label, hopefully making the transition to universal labelling easier for both manufacturers and consumers.  They are trying to respond to customers’ wishes while allowing enough time for the businesses involved to make the adjustment.  Their proposal will be submitted at an open board meeting on March 10^th.

According to Clair Baynton at the FSA, even though the U.K. is a world leader in food package labelling, there is still a lot of confusion on the part of consumers.  However, the change to a single standard may have to wait for the rest of Europe to reach a similar decision.  The British Retail Consortium said that until such time it would be too costly and confusing for the U.K. to enforce its own official standard.

In order to reduce the amount of personal contributions to climate change, families are now being encouraged to switch to a vegetable based diet over red meat.

The idea is part numerous proposals listed by ministers that will hopefully help both the rising cost of food items and the effect meat consumption has on the environment.

One of the biggest contributors to CO2 emissions into the atmosphere is livestock production.  However, at the same time farmers are likely to react to the new encouragement of consumers negatively.

Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, plans to outline his new vision for farming and food at a conference later this week in Oxford.  Coincidently, or not, Benn is already a vegetarian.

The new Food 2030 policy document also contains proposals that will change army camps, hospital grounds, and parks into allotments and attempt to dissuade supermarkets from using buy-one-get-one –free specials.

The average family tosses out about £480 of viable food into the bin every year.

Also within the document is proof that the methane produced by cows makes up four percent of the greenhouse gases emitted in the UK.

A Government source said that livestock production is one of key greenhouse gas emission culprits on a global basis.

People who are growing their own food however as an alternative also face problems, as there are about 1,000 people on a waiting list for allotments.

Farmers are already raising concerns over the new plan because of its potential threat to their livelihood and the repercussions of a wide spread meat free diet.