Is Your Food Safe? (non-US English-speakers)

May 19, 2026May 23, 2026 ~ Mr. Breeze ~ Leave a comment

kitchen scene with a person washing fresh vegetables — Food Safety

In Is Your Food Safe? (US) we discussed the three main departments that help keep food safe in the United States. Other countries have similar programs in place. We’ll cover English-speaking countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. If you would like to submit information on non-English-speaking countries, please contact us!

United Kingdom

In the UK, three main organizations help keep food safe, both for humans and pets: the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Food Standards Agency (FSA):
The FSA makes sure food is safe to eat, properly labeled, and handled the right way. It also works with local authorities to check shops and restaurants.
The FSA website has easy-to-read food safety information, including alerts and recalls.
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra):
Defra helps oversee farming, food production, and animal welfare. It works to keep the food supply safe and reliable.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA):
UKHSA studies and tracks food-related illnesses. It looks into outbreaks and helps stop them from spreading.

Canada

Three main organizations help keep food safe in Canada: the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Health Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA):
CFIA checks food products, enforces safety rules, and makes sure labels are correct. It also handles recalls.
Health Canada:
Health Canada sets the rules for food safety. It decides what is safe to use in food and how it should be labeled.
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC):
PHAC tracks foodborne illness and investigates outbreaks. It works with local health groups to respond quickly.

Australia

Three main groups help keep food safe in Australia: Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and state and territory health departments.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ):
FSANZ sets the rules for food safety, including labeling and ingredients.
FSANZ provides food safety information and recall notices for the public.
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF):
This department checks imported food and helps protect Australia from unsafe products.
State and Territory Health Departments:
Many health and safety programs are managed at the local level, including health and safety inspections. They also respond to local food safety issues.

New Zealand

Food safety in New Zealand is mainly handled by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), and local public health services.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ):
FSANZ sets the rules for food safety, including labeling and ingredients.
FSANZ provides food safety information and recall notices for the public.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI):
MPI makes sure food is safe to eat. It oversees food production, imports, and exports, and manages recalls.
MPI provides simple food safety guidance and a list of recalls for consumers.
National Public Health Service (NPHS): NPHS is responsible for preventing illness and disease, protecting population health, and promoting wellbeing and hauora. NPHS has teams in all regions of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora:
Local health services track foodborne illness and respond to outbreaks.

The Fearsome Australian Drop Bear

March 22, 2026March 27, 2026 ~ Mr. Breeze ~ Leave a comment

The Drop Bear (Thylarctos plummetus) is a large, arboreal marsupial native to the forests of Australia. A distant relative of the koala, it is described as a heavily built animal with powerful forearms for climbing. It is roughly the size of a large dog or leopard, with coarse mottled fur and a vicious bite.

Drop bears inhabit dense forests and tall woodland along Australia’s Great Dividing Range. From their elevated perches they wait silently in the thick canopy then drop onto unsuspecting prey walking below. The impact alone can stun a victim, allowing the drop bear to subdue it quickly with claws and teeth. The drop bear may haul the carcass up into the branches to finish eating it later.

Although drop bears prefer medium-sized mammals such as kangaroos or wallabies, bushwalkers are warned to remain alert beneath heavily wooded areas. Not only is the drop bear itself dangerous, but their food caches can fall and cause serious injury.

A variety of folk remedies can be used to prevent drop bear attacks. Vegemite behind the ears, forks worn in the hair, or adopting a convincing Australian accent are often recommended but none of these tactics have ever been scientifically proven.

In case you haven’t guessed, the Drop Bear is a cryptid. Australians tell the tale of the drop bear to tourists who are already a little spooked about Australian wildlife.

Shooting Craps: The Wombat

January 25, 2026January 19, 2026 ~ Mr. Breeze ~ Leave a comment

Wombat Shooting Craps
by @kittehboi and Nightcafe.

Wombats are cute little Australian animals. Their long teeth make them look like rodents, but in reality they’re marsupials, relatives of koalas and kangaroos.

Marsupials differ from mammals like dogs and cats in a number of ways, but the most important way is that wombat fetuses have a simple placenta that doesn’t provide enough nutrition for a large fetus. The joeys have to get out so early that they can’t live outside the mother’s body. After the joeys are born they have to make the arduous climb into their mama’s special pouch, where they will keep warm and drink milk until they’re big enough to live outside.

Wombat pouches are unique among marsupials. While kangaroo pouches open at the top, wombat pouches open at the bottom. Wombats like to dig. If they had a normal pouch, it would scoop up dirt.

According the the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, bare-nosed wombats are about the size of a medium size dog.

Bare-nosed wombats average 1 m [39 inches] in length and 27 kg [50 pounds] in weight yet can reach up to 1.2 m [47 inches] in length and up to 35 kg [77 pounds] in weight. The Tasmanian wombat is not as large or bulky, averaging 85 cm [33 inches] in length and 20 kg [48 pounds] in weight, while the Flinders Island wombat is smaller still averaging only 75 cm [30 inches] in length.

Now about the dice.

Wombats have particularly long, flexible intestines. It takes up to 12 days for poop to traverse the wombat’s digestive tract, and it is wrung dry during the trip. The result is that wombat poop is unique: it’s cubic like dice. No other animal in the world poops dice!