Posts from the "Latest News" category
Australian Food Safety Week 2014 update and quiz
There is a lot going on during Food Safety Week 9 to 16 November:
Test your knowledge with our online Food Safety in the Home Quiz and check your answers and learn more here.
Watch us on Channel 7’s Daily Edition program
The NSW Food Authority has a media release out.
Click here to read the full update from the Food Safety Information Council.
Food Safety Arrangement signed with Indonesia
NZ Govt: [New Zealand] Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew has today welcomed the signing of a Food Safety Arrangement between New Zealand and Indonesia.
“Signing of the Food Safety Arrangement demonstrates the commitment of New Zealand and Indonesia to further develop our bilateral relationship,” says Mrs Goodhew, who met with Indonesian delegates earlier today.
“The areas of cooperation range from food safety risk assessments through to formal post graduate education programmes in food safety and technology.”
Click here to read the full article on Scoop.co.nz.
NZ: No traces of the food poisoning bug Yersinia was found in Foodstuffs Living Foods property and processing plant.
NZ Herald: “Foodstuffs has released the results of testing carried out at the location where its pre-packaged Pams lettuce is grown and packed.
The results showed no Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was detected in any samples/”
To read the full article in The New Zealand Herald, please click here.
New agreement aims to improve food safety in China
Voxy: “New Zealand Government owned AsureQuality and PwC’s New Zealand and China firms are cooperating with COFCO, China’s largest agricultural and food products supplier, to continually improve China’s food safety and quality. All four parties signed a cooperation agreement to that effect on the side-lines of the 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit…”
Read the full article on voxy.co.nz.
Europe’s Three Hepatitis A Outbreaks in 2013: What Can We Learn?
James Andrews writes: “In the first half of 2013, Europe dealt with three simultaneous outbreaks from the hepatitis A virus. Knowing that at least two of those outbreaks were connected to frozen berries, Europe’s Centre for Disease Prevention and Control set out to describe what could be learned from those outbreaks in an article published in Eurosurveillance.”
Read the full article on the Food Safety News website.
Image credit: Mark_K_ / Flickr, CC BY 2.0
NSW Food Authority serves up food safety in Blacktown
Food safety will be on the menu when the NSW Food Authority brings the NSW Food Regulation Partnership retail meeting to Blacktown next week.
NSW Food Authority CEO Polly Bennett said the meeting is one of a series of regular consultation events the NSW Food Authority holds across the state, and an opportunity for local food businesses to learn how best to capitalise on their excellent reputation.
Read the full article on the NSW Food Authority website.
USA Tomato Growers Lose ‘Takings’ Lawsuit Against FDA
Dan Flynn writes: “Tomato growers, packers, and shippers in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have lost the claim they made for federal reimbursement after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mistakenly named certain tomatoes as the likely cause of a Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that later turned out to be caused by Mexican-grown jalapeño and serrano peppers.”
Read the full article at the food safety news website.
Taylor Farms receives food safety award at SQFIC
Western Farm Press: “Taylor Farms, North America’s largest producer of value-added produce to the foodservice industry, received the SQF Primary Producer of the Year award in food safety during the Safe Quality Food International Conference in Orlando, Fla.
The SQF Quality Achievement Awards Program pays tribute to the outstanding commitment, support, and performance of individuals and organizations who embrace the SQFI and its rigorous certification process.”
Read the full article at the Western Farm Press website.
Managing food recalls: a manufacturer’s guide
Michael Lincoln and Martin Stone write: “A product recall is a high impact event for any food business. It can be extremely costly and the reputational damage to a food business can be serious and long lasting if not managed correctly, report Michael Lincoln and Martin Stone.
What are the main causes for product recalls in Australia? According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) there are approximately five recalls per month in Australia and this figure has been steady over a number of years.
Approximately one-third of recalls are due to microbiological issues, one-third from labelling issues and one-third caused by physical and chemical contamination.”
Read the full article at the foodmag website.
Dung Beetles: Future Heroes of Organic Food Safety?
James Andrews writes: “In 2011, an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in Oregon killed one person and sickened more than a dozen people. The outbreak was eventually traced back to organic strawberries grown at an Oregon farm, but how E. coli had managed to contaminate the strawberries remained a mystery for some time afterward.
Eventually, state health officials traced the outbreak to deer that had been rummaging through the fields and leaving behind droppings that contaminated some of the strawberries. And animal feces on the farm have been implicated or strongly suspected in a number of other outbreaks.
But what if organic farmers had a natural, unobtrusive way to help reduce the risk of contamination from animal feces on the farm? Enter the dung beetle.”
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website
Image credit: Steve Slater / Flickr, CC BY 2.0