Salmonella is main threat to food safety say experts

SALMONELLA, listeria (which is especially present in meat and dairy produce) and chemical contaminants will be the main threats to food safety in the near future, according to Guillermo Cubero, President of the Association of Vets Specialising in Food Safety (AVESA). The Association, in collaboration with the Balearic Official College of Vets, organised the 17th National Congress for Food Safety and Meat Quality held in Palma this past week. According to Cubero, “salmonella, listeria, and chemical contamination in production are the emergent risks to food safety. In the case of listeria, the bacteria is resistant to extreme temperatures. It can also survive in the domestic fridge. Nevertheless, Spain at the moment has a very high level of food safety”. Cubero said that, from January 1 this year, new European food hygiene regulations have been in force, which affect all phases of production up to the sale to the consumer. He added that “because of demand from society, what were small problems before are now important questions, such as the well being of animals, tracking (control and identification of any food from production to sale), evaluation of risks and audits of company control systems (producers, industrial, abbatoirs). The new European hygiene regulations oblige food producers to comply with all these requirements, and indeed all the affected sectors started to apply them a few years ago. “For those affected, especially the farmers and stockbreeders, this means more paperwork.”