Panera Bread is facing wrongful death lawsuits after two customers in vulnerable populations suffered fatal cardiac events following the consumption of the chain’s Charged Lemonade drinks. The lawsuits assert that the drink is not advertised as a dangerously caffeinated beverage.
Hygiena’s Innovate RapiScreen Dairy and Beverage Kits are the first methods to be awarded the AOAC RI Performance-Tested MethodsSM (PTM) Certification for the entire product testing workflow.
A study led by Tulane University recently found that some commonly consumed beverages contain levels of toxic metals that exceed federal drinking water standards. The study was conducted to fill knowledge gaps, as there are few peer-reviewed studies examining the contents of U.S. beverages.
Traditionally, food safety issues associated with alcoholic beverages focus on chemical or physical hazards from the processing line. Intoxication with alcoholic beverages, as it relates to food safety, is less reported in the literature. However, the addition of cheap methanol to illicitly produced liquor—a rising issue in Asia—is increasingly being studied as a food safety and food adulteration issue.
An interview with Mabel Gil, Ph.D., a senior researcher in the Food Science and Technology Department at the Spanish National Research Council, describes the use of chlorine dioxide as a chemical disinfectant for fresh produce and its applications for the juice industry.
Adulteration of fruit juice is a widespread problem that can be addressed using the Code of Practice developed by the European Fruit Juice Association.