Posts from the "Latest News" category
AU: Salmonella warning after seven hospital cases linked to alfalfa sprouts
Australian Broadcasting Corporation:Â South Australians are being warned not to eat alfalfa sprouts produced by SA Sprouts after seven people were hospitalised with Salmonella.
Read Article →NZ: HortNZ Food Act Update
HortNZ: The Food Act 2014 and its regulations apply to a range of horticultural growing and post harvest food activities. The only current exceptions are growers who are not selling their produce, and those that sell all of their own product direct to consumers eg. growers who sell all of their product through “gate sales” or personally take their product to a farmers’ market where they sell to consumers.
There is recognition that existing Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) programmes provide an excellent avenue for growers to meet Food Act requirements and discussions are well underway with MPI on how to ensure growers will be able to demonstrate their compliance as part of their standard GAP programme. While the details of exactly how GAP systems can be recognised for the Food Act are still being finalised, it is important that growers understand that options are being developed and details will be available in the near future.
Growers who are not currently covered by a recognised GAP programme will need to ensure their growing practices are safe and they will need to arrange for their own registration and verification. As previously stated, HortNZ recommends growers become certified under a GAP scheme to meet market and Food Act requirements.
What do growers need to do?
Growers are required to apply for registration under the Food Act 2014 by 30 November 2018 in order to be registered for the Food Act by the final deadline of 28 February 2019.
Read the full post in the HortNZ newsletter
AU: Schreurs & Sons receive Excellence in R&D Adoption award for electrolysed water system
Congratulations to Schreurs & Sons on being awarded the AUSVEG VIC Award for Excellence in R&D Adoption. In the video below, Chris Schreur (Director, Business and …
AU: Research Check: can tea towels cause food poisoning?
The Conversation: Aside from being up to the task of drying our dishes, we don’t usually give the humble tea towel much thought. But this week it’s being blamed for causing food poisoning. But there’s no cause for concern. Yes, bacteria can accumulate on tea towels, especially when they’re infrequently washed and don’t dry out between use. But most of the bacteria the researchers found on tea towels are not responsible for food poisoning or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
Read the full article at The Conversation
UK: Tesco and Ocado join new traceability platform
Fresh Produce Journal: Tesco and Ocado have become the first retailers to sign commercial contracts for using a new traceability platform called productDNA, which promotes transparency in the supply chain. Both are now approaching their suppliers to start implementing the service, developed by business standards organisation GS1 UK, into their businesses.
Read the full article at Fresh Produce Journal
NZ: Introduction to Food Safety Plans
Compac: When processing food and beverages, or anything related to food production, a company’s hygiene strategy directly affects production quality and profitability. Poorly cleaned equipment or unsafe conditions for food processing can lead to an inferior or potentially harmful product.
Read the full article at the Compac website
AU: Get ready for the single use plastic bag ban from 1 July with this food safety advice
Food Safety Information Council: The Food Safety Information Council today launched its food safety advice for re-usable shopping bags in the lead up to the single use plastic bag ban on 1 July 2018. Rachelle Williams, Council Chair, said Queensland, Victoria and WA will ban single use plastic bags from 1 July, joining the ACT, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania who have had bans in place for several years. Although NSW will not have a ban, Coles and Woolworths have undertaken to phase out single use plastic bags nationally.
Read the full article at the Food Safety Information Council website
US: Caito joins big melon recall after CDC reports 60 ill in Salmonella outbreak
Food Safety News: Caito Foods recalled fresh melon Saturday after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a multistate Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 60 people, sending 32 to hospitals. The CDC is warning the public to not to eat pre-cut cantaloupe and watermelon from certain retailers and to throw it away if they don’t know where it’s from.
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website
CN: Alibaba Cloud to tackle food production and safety with AI
Technode: Alibaba Cloud aims to increase efficiency and revenue for China’s farmers while improving food safety for consumers through the use of big data and artificial intelligence. It’s new platform, dubbed ET Agricultural Brain, was launched in Shanghai on May 7. The system is already being used by Tequ Group, a large food and farming enterprise, on its pig farms in Sichuan province. Additionally, Haisheng Group and Guoqiang Modern Farming have implemented the platform on their fruit and vegetable farms.
Read the full article at Technode.com
AU: Hepatitis A death linked to frozen pomegranate recall
ABC News: A South Australian woman has died after contracting hepatitis A from recalled frozen pomegranate. SA Health chief medical officer and chief public health officer Professor Paddy Phillips revealed the 64-year-old woman died last Wednesday after “some time” in hospital.
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