On January 1st the new regulations governing the use of the term 'gluten-free' came into force. As of Jan.1, to be able to call itself 'gluten-free' a food must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten, to call itself 'very low gluten' it must contain less than …
Food Standards Agency
The dangers of so-called dairy-free ice cream
There has long been a disconnect between terminology used by 'experts' and common parlance and for the most part this is a matter for humour rather than concern. But occasionally the disconnect can lead to confusion which can not only be dangerous but life threatening – and such …
Allergen labelling – and Green and Black’s
The Food and Drink Federation has just set off another round of huffing and puffing amongst food manufacturers by suggesting, perfectly reasonably and correctly, that allergen labelling is a mess. Their new paper, 'A vision for Allergen Management Best Practice in the Food …
Medical confusion…
Even twenty years ago a doctor’s life was relatively simple. You learnt your medicine in medical school, you trained in hospital and then you went into practice using the knowledge and experience that you had gained. Research happened in medical institutions but the results took …
The Consumer Loses Again…
Well, the axe has now fallen and the government has announced its decision over the future of the Food Standards Agency. As axes go, it is a pretty spongy one as they propose to retain 2,000 of the current 2,100 jobs (not much dent in the deficit there), but, as ever, it is …