Andrew Wadge FSA

Take the taste test

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:02:51 +0100

There was good news this week, with the results of our most recent urinary sodium analysis revealing that we are all eating less salt. The national average now stands at 8.6g – a 9% drop from the 2000/2001 figure of 9.5g. The UK is leading on salt reduction in Europe – we have substantially raised consumer awareness of the danger of eating too much salt and industry has reduced the amounts of salt in foods faster than any other country. But there’s still more to do if we are to meet the national target of consuming no more than 6g a day.

Eating nuts when pregnant

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:35:01 +0100

There were stories in several papers last week linking regular consumption of nuts by mothers during pregnancy with a higher risk of developing asthma in their children. This is another study in a fascinating and complex area where the evidence is still developing. I blogged in January about peanut allergy and the problems of giving advice to people when the evidence is incomplete.

The Committee on Toxicity started a review of the scientific evidence published, since that advice was issued, at its meeting last week and is expected to issue a statement by the end of the year. The COT review is looking primarily at exposure to, or avoidance of, peanut in pregnancy, while breastfeeding and during early childhood, and the subsequent development of food allergy or tolerance in the child. But studies looking at other allergy outcomes, such as asthma, could also provide useful information and this will be considered by the COT as part of their assessment.

Ocean’s Twelve or GMOs?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:15:26 +0100

Recently a number of FSA colleagues attended the 1st Global Conference on GMO Analysis held at the Villa Erba Conference Centre in Cernobbio, Como, Italy. Some of you might well recognise Villa Erba because it was one of the locations used when filming Ocean’s Twelve starring George Clooney, a well known resident of the Como area, along with other Hollywood notables. Although my colleagues were sadly unable to mingle with the glitterati of the movie world they were fortunate enough to attend this inaugural conference along with over 600 other experts on GMO analysis from over 90 countries. This conference was the first time the principle world experts on GMO analysis have been able to meet at a single location and engage in scientific dialogue on issues relating to this complex area of analysis. Methods of choice for GMO analysis continue to be those based upon Real Time Polymerised Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) techniques and it is clear that further work needs to be undertaken by the analytical community in relation to sampling strategies used for the detection of GMOs from farm to fork.

Government’s Food Strategy for the 21st Century

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:06:31 +0100

A new Government report, Food Matters – Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century, published earlier this week by the Cabinet Office, sets out its vision for a new food policy framework. The report is the result of a ten month Strategy Unit project commissioned by the Prime Minister to look at food issues in the UK. It draws together evidence about long-term trends in food production and consumption, and how food safety and nutrition impact on the health of the UK.

Warning of poor diet in pregnancy

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:12:15 +0100

I couldn’t help but notice the news story earlier last week that warned that a poor diet during pregnancy can lead to obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes in unborn children, the effects of which are irreversible. The story is based on a study which was carried out, in mice, at the Royal Veterinary College in London.

There is a wealth of evidence linking maternal diet to long term health outcomes for the unborn child and health later in the life course. Eating a healthy balanced diet is an important message for us all, but this is particularly so for women trying for a baby or who are already pregnant.

Salmonella outbreak in the US

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:31:41 +0100

In case anyone thought that problems of salmonella were a thing of the past, the recent outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul in the US, which caused sickness in more than 800 people, is a timely reminder of the need for continued vigilance and good traceability in supplies. Sales of tomatoes have slumped in the face of consumer worries, costing the food industry at least $100 million in lost sales. There are no winners in these situations. Industry has lost lots of money, consumers lose confidence in food safety and questions are asked about the fitness of the regulatory regime. Frustratingly, investigators from the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been unsuccessful in identifying the source of the outbreak, despite taking hundreds of samples in Florida and Mexico.

Summer time...

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:49:13 +0100

There's a summer holiday feel to the food stories in the press today. For many families, this is a time for taking the kids to theme parks and leisure centres, as well as holidays in the Mediterranean. And yet there is an irony here: the so-called Med Diet, rich in fruit, vegetables and unsaturated fats contrasts sharply with what a local government survey found was actually being served up to kids out for a summer treat at theme parks and leisure centres. The healthy diet (plenty of fruit and vegetables and starchy foods, preferably wholegrains, some protein rich foods such as milk and dairy foods, meat, fish, eggs, beans and pulses) is replaced by foods high in fat, sugar and salt.

Salt and sattvic food

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:48:31 +0100

Recently, some colleagues from the Agency met with representatives of the Hindu community at Europe’s largest traditional Hindu temple, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, London. The day started with a meeting, followed by presentation on ayurveda and sattvic food. I was interested to learn more about sattvic food, which is said to be an approach that ‘gives life, strength, energy, health, happiness and satisfaction’. The sattvic dietary approach has some similarities to our healthy eating advice, but also has approaches that are distinct.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:23:51 +0100

How do we as scientists deal with a media that reports science in shock headlines – and do we need to police ourselves when some in our profession find it expedient to publish in the tabloids rather than journals such as Nature, for example?

Those were some of the questions being asked in the Agency yesterday evening when scientists and fellow travellers gathered to hear Professor Colin Blakemore present the inaugural Chief Scientist’s Lecture. Colin is chair of the Agency’s General Advisory Committee on Science and I was pleased to welcome him to speak to a packed room on communication of science over the past 15 years – and who the public trust to do that communication.

Wise about science

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:23:14 +0100

A key part of the scientific process is challenging both the evidence and its analysis. This principle is embedded in the way the FSA does its work. This means that whether or not you’re a scientist you can engage with us, and challenge us at each stage of the process from framing the question through to generating the answer. You can look at what we’ve done, the way we’ve done it and drill down to the evidence so you can make up your own mind.

Just because we seek to involve you in the way that we develop our thinking and give you the opportunity to make up your own mind, doesn’t mean that we always get it right or that there’s not room for improvement. This is why I am pleased to welcome the recent launch of the Sciencewise Expert Resources Centre. Lord Robert Winston, the centre’s figurehead and leading ambassador, sees the new Sciencewise-ERC ‘as a valuable resource for developing two-way conversation with the public and, most importantly will build greater trust between Government, scientists and society as a whole’.

Fancy a bit of Russian Roulette?

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:10:16 +0100

Now although I’d like to think of myself as a bit of a James Bond (I can hear my wife chortling), the truth is I’m not really a gambling man. While I might be tempted to hedge my bets in the Grand National, or on the 2p penny fall machines on Brighton Pier, I’d steer well clear of playing Russian roulette with use-by dates on food.

That’s why I was particularly perturbed by Jonathan Maitland’s use by dates 'experiment' reported in the Mail on Sunday yesterday. It reminded me of the type of justification some smokers used years ago – they could always point to their Great Aunt Bess who smoked her self silly for 50 years and never had a health problem. There’s always one, but would you advocate smoking on the back of this? Fortunately, food safety policy is based on sound science rather than meaningless experiments of one subject.

Annual report of incidents

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:47:24 +0100

The FSA strives to inform consumers and protect them from food risks – this is one of the reasons the Agency came into being. One of the most important ways we do this is by working with industry, local authorities and consumers when there are problems associated with the food chain.

We have just published our second Annual Report of Food Incidents. This report shows that during 2007 the Agency handled 1,312 incident investigations. You will probably remember some of these, such as the bird flu outbreaks in East Anglia and the grounding of the MCS Napoli off the south coast. Behind the scenes though, there are often less high profile incidents. For example, over the Christmas period last year we helped prevent consumers eating mince pies containing rubber, and in September we worked with the food industry to remove cereals containing insects from the shelves.

Food safety in Shanghai

Wed, 28 May 2008 14:38:44 +0100

I spent part of last week in Shanghai advising on food safety issues in advance of the World Expo 2010, which will be held in that city. This was my first visit to China, so as well as providing a good opportunity to catch up with food safety experts from the World Health Organization, the US Food and Drug Administration, Australia, Japan and China, it also gave me a flavour of life in that part of the world and I was welcomed by some charming and enthusiastic students of food science from Shanghai Ocean University. Ensuring food safety during the World Expo will be a huge challenge. Seventy million visitors are expected to visit the site between May and October – the hottest time of the year. And it is not just the safety of food sold at the event that will help determine its success – or otherwise – but also food sold throughout the city.

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men…

Mon, 19 May 2008 12:45:06 +0100

With apologies to Robert Burns, I am delighted to broadcast that not all of man’s schemes ‘gang aft agley’ (often go awry). Regular Wadge bloggers will no doubt be aware of my desire that policy decisions should as far as possible be scientifically justified and based on sound evidence. Therefore, it is satisfying to be able to announce the introduction of new high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methodology into the Agency’s monitoring programme for the detection of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in mussels. This will account for around 80% of all PSP toxin tests in the UK monitoring programmes. We plan to be able to test other shellfish species by HPLC by the end of the year, or shortly thereafter.

Nicarbazin project

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:10:26 +0100

In April last year, I mentioned the start of a joint initiative with the poultry industry to identify ways in which farmers can reduce residues of the feed additive nicarbazin, a type of feed additive used to control coccidiosis, a disease that can prove fatal for poultry. Though not a significant food safety risk, consumers should reasonably expect veterinary medicine residues to be kept to a minimum in their food.

The results were published on 13 May in ‘Reducing the Incident and Levels of Nicarbazin Residues in British Chicken’, a good example of how the Agency can work with industry.