Food Standards Agency News  September 6th, 2010

Veterinary Residues Committee open meeting		The Veterinary Residues Committee is holding an open meeting at 10.30am on Wednesday 13 October at the National Railway Museum in York.

Agency commissioning evaluation of assurance schemes		The Agency is commissioning an evaluation and comparison of third party assurance schemes that focus on food and feed hygiene and standards.

Sainsbury's recalls some Freefrom brand cake		Sainsbury?s is recalling its Freefrom brand Rich Fruit Cake Slices with a ?best before? date of 4 November 2010, because the product contains low levels of wheat gluten, which isn?t mentioned on the product label. This makes the product a possible health risk to anyone with a gluten intolerance or an allergy to or intolerance of wheat. The Agency has issued an Allergy Alert.

FSA Board meeting 15 September 2010		The next FSA open Board meeting is being held at the Aberdeen Douglas Hotel, 43-45 Market Street, Aberdeen, AB11 5EL. It will begin at 9am on Wednesday 15 September and will be chaired by Agency Chair Jeff Rooker. You can attend in person or watch it live online.

Government food labelling changes		From today, there are changes being made to which Government departments have responsibility for food labelling policy.

Views wanted on dihydrocapsiate		A Japanese company has applied to the Food Standards Agency for approval to market dihydrocapsiate as a novel food ingredient. A novel food is a food or food ingredient that does not have a significant history of consumption within the European Union before 15 May 1997.

Views wanted on taxifolin		A Russian company has applied to the Food Standards Agency for approval to market taxifolin as a novel food ingredient. A novel food is a food or food ingredient that does not have a significant history of consumption within the European Union before 15 May 1997.

Update on products free of colours associated with hyperactivity		The Agency has updated its list of product ranges that do not contain the six food colours associated with possible hyperactivity in young children.