Posts from the "Latest News" category
AU: Australians clueless about safe cooking temperatures
Food Safety Information Council: Despite celebrity cooking shows being all the rage, the Food Safety Information Council released a national survey today for Australian Food Safety Week that shows that the majority of Australians surveyed have no idea of safe cooking temperatures for high-risk foods such as hamburgers, sausages and poultry.
Read the full article at the Food Safety Information Council website
AU: Survey finds more than 40 per cent of South Australian ready-to-eat meals have unsatisfactory bacteria levels
The Advertiser: Out of 98 meals bought at local supermarkets and shops with a shelf life of 10 or more days, 42 had an unsatisfactory micro-organism count. Eastern Health Authority chief executive Michael Livori said more small businesses were trying to capitalise on the growing popularity of ready-to-eat meals without understanding the health risks involved.
Read the full article at The Advertiser
AU: Common food safety terms
Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Starting with contaminant: a thing that shouldn’t be present in food and can make the food unsafe to eat. Examples are harmful chemicals, physical objects (e.g. glass, metal fragments) and microorganisms (germs).
Read the full article at the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website
US: Costco cleared of liability in frozen berry hepatitis case
Fresh Fruit Portal: U.S. retail chain Costco Wholesale and its supplier companies have been cleared of liability for the death of an 89-year-old woman from hepatitis A, which her family blamed on a contaminated berry blend sold by the supermarket. The family’s request for US$18 million was denied reportedly because there wasn’t enough evidence the woman actually ate the berry blend.
Read the full story at the Fresh Fruit Portal website
AU: Antimicrobial borne by feral foxes slows decay saving food and money
ABC News: A chance discovery has resulted in a scientific breakthrough that an inventor believes could radically reduce the alarming amount of fruit and vegetables going to waste across the world. Dr Cerqueira said the antimicrobial found in the fox produced a beneficial biofilm of good bacteria that protected produce against external bacterial and fungal attack.
Read the full story at abc.net.au
US: Food safety issues don’t occur in the QA manager’s office
Food Safety Tech: While you can do a lot from your office, you can’t know what’s happening on the floor without actually spending time there. You have to work closely with your employees to make sure they understand the importance of food safety and therefore the importance of their job. Here are five ways you can begin to improve the level of food safety in your company.
Read the full story at the Food Safety Tech website
AU: Amazon to sell ready meals with a 12-month shelf life and no need for refrigeration
Prepared Food: Muscling further into the grocery and ready meals markets, it is being reported that Amazon will be using new technology to create ready meals that have a shelf life of 12 months and do not need to be refrigerated. The unique process allows a wide range of foods to be packaged for the shelf, including many that cannot be conventionally processed today including salmon fillets, chicken breasts, pasta and whole vegetables.
Read the full article at the Prepared Food website
US: Paid sick leave reduces food poisoning rates
Food Safety Magazine: According to Penn State’s study, half of all foodborne outbreaks in the U.S. originate at food establishments such as restaurants, and approximately half of those can be traced back to an ill foodservice employee. This is because foodservice workers are still performing their jobs while sick, primarily because they are not entitled to pay if they do not work.
Read the full article at the Food Safety Magazine website
AU: Recall: Dried black dates
Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Ming Lee Trading Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of the above product. The product has been available for sale [in Sydney]. The recall is due to the presence of a chemical contaminant.
Read the full article at the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website
NZ: Economy earns $4.5b by getting accredited
Stuff.co.nz: A little known Crown agency says providing our export customers with gold-standard testing is worth an extra $4.5 billion to the economy. International Accreditation New Zealand (Ianz) says research conducted by NZIER has estimated that using Ianz accreditation adds $2.36b to the value of our exports.
Read the full article at Stuff.co.nz