Posts from the "Latest News" category


Rapid Diagnostic Methods for Foodborne Pathogens: Outlook for the Fresh Produce Industry

The Fresh Produce Safety Centre has released a new industry report on rapid diagnostic methods for the detection of pathogens on fresh produce. The report, Rapid Diagnostic Methods for Foodborne Pathogens: Outlook for the Fresh Produce Industry, was commissioned as part of the FPSC 2025 Innovation Agenda. The report details the state of current research on technologies for the quick identification of pathogens, identifies the most promising technologies for the fresh produce industry, and provides conclusions and recommendations including the next steps that should be taken to advance the field of rapid diagnostic methods.Read the full report and two-page summary.Rapid Diagnostic Methods WebinarJoin us online on Monday 19 July 1-2pm AEST / 3-4pm NZ to hear a summary of the report from co-author Dr Jo Rush. She will facilitate a Q&A panel session with some of the research experts in the field. Panelists include:

Dr Sharon Jones – General Manager Technical, One Harvest Ltd, Australia 
Dr Craig Billington – Science Leader, Environmental Science & Research, NZ
Dr Alex Quinn, co-author of the Rapid Diagnostics report

After a short presentation on the report, and a facilitated Q&A with the panelists, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about the future of rapid diagnostic methods.The webinar event page can be found here.
 

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Fresh Produce Safety Conference Early Bird deadline extended to 15 July

The Fresh Produce Safety Centre proudly announced early bird registrations open to the Fresh Produce Safety Conference in May 2021. With the recent announcement of lockdowns and restrictions around Australia we have made the decision to extend the early bird registration deadline to Thursday 15 July.
Future Directions for Produce Safety is this year’s theme with a highly experienced and broad cohort of industry professionals gathering to present, analyse and discuss the key issues facing the safe production of fresh produce, now and into the future.
Meet new contacts, join old friends, network, learn and share to advance fresh produce food safety in our region. The 2021 Fresh Produce Safety Conference is presented over one day at the Refectory, Holme Building, University of Sydney and broadcast live via an online production. Join us online or face-to-face; choose the option that works for you.
The last chance to secure early bird registrations is now 15 July 2021.
For more details about the conference and to secure your spot please click here

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CODEX HACCP Revision 2020

Guest industry blog:
Dr Barry McGookin, FIAL

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NZ Horticulture Conference 2021 early registrations open

The NZ Horticulture Conference is being held from 5-6 August 2021 at Mystery Creek, Hamilton. The conference, themed ‘Resilience and Recovery’ seeks to address the challenges and future directions of horticulture in a COVID world. With a diverse range of speakers from New Zealand and beyond, the conference aims to stimulate discussion and offer new insights and perspectives. 
Major themes include labour, climate change, freshwater, biosecurity and compliance, as well as the ongoing impact of Covid on labour, freight and cost. 
Conference Highlights:

Making Integrated Pest Management (IPM) work
Nitrogen management for sustainable vegetable production
Supermarkets, including the Commerce Commission’s investigation
How diversity can boost resilience and recovery
How to improve mental fitness
What really goes on in Parliament
Unpacking regenerative agriculture

Registrations are now open or for more information click here.

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FPSC A&NZ monthly newsletter out now!

The June 2021 edition of the Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand newsletter has just been released!

Click here to view the latest newsletter.

Stay up to date with what’s happening in the Fresh Produce Safety community by signing up for the monthly newsletter.

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Celebrating World Food Safety Day 2021!

Celebrating World Food Safety Day 2021! This year’s theme is Safe Food Now for a Healthy Tomorrow. Food safety is everyone’s business, so FPSC has put together a list of 5 actions you can take today to help enhance food safety across the supply chain:
 

Visit Freshcare at the Hort Connections Lockyer Valley Growers Expo 7 June: More
Sign up for AIFST’s webinar for World Food Safety Day on 8 June: More
Watch the GFSI webinar for World Food Safety Day: More
Review the Center for Produce Safety’s Annual Research Symposium sessions 15, 22, 29 June and 6, 13 July: More
Register for the FPSC’s Fresh Produce Safety Conference on 18 August: More 

Visit the WHO on World Food Safety Day. More.

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Registrations Now Open for the 2021 Fresh Produce Safety Conference

We’re back! Future Directions for Produce Safety is this year’s theme for the Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand’s annual conference. With an eye on the horizon, a highly experienced and broad cohort of industry professionals are gathering to present, analyse and discuss the key issues facing the safe production of fresh produce, now and into the future.
Join us on 18 August for a day of learning and sharing to advance fresh produce food safety in our region. The 2021 Fresh Produce Safety Conference is presented over one day as a live broadcast via an online production.
Click here for Conference details

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Industry-research partnerships are critical for advancing produce safety

Guest industry blog: Ilango Surendran, Regional Manager, iFoodDS
Food safety is a never-ending journey.  It is about constantly striving to improve and learn more about better methods and systems.  Among the keys to continual learning are research and studies specific to produce that identify risks as well as mitigation steps.
In the United States, the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) was established in 2007 to provide funding for targeted research, which has yielded scientific advancements in pathogen prevention and positively influenced food safety metrics and practices globally. While much is known about pathogen prevention, refinement in our practices and metrics are necessary and best achieved through research and studies.
The CPS mission is simple:  Fund the science, find solutions and fuel the change.  CPS is largely funded by produce trade associations, retail and foodservice companies, food technology companies and farmers, packers and processors of fresh produce.  Many of the companies that fund CPS have global operations and apply the research findings to fuel food safety improvements across their operations or on behalf of their customers and clients.
iFoodDS, a leader in food safety, traceability and quality solutions for the produce supply chain, is committed to helping advance continuous food safety improvements in the produce industry. As such, iFoodDS supports the critical work of CPS as well as the Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand (FPSC).
Supporting CPS and FPSC is a natural fit for iFoodDS, and complements its mission to deliver solutions that help supply chain participants provide high-quality, wholesome produce to consumers.
How can the produce industry in Australia and New Zealand benefit from the work of CPS? CPS transparently provides all study findings via its website and research symposiums so the information is available and accessible to the entire produce industry.  It is important for food safety professionals to review and understand these research findings, determine which studies could be applicable to your operations and find methods to apply the relevant studies to advance continuous improvement within your companies.
The FPSC also plays an important role in highlighting and translating this work for Australian and New Zealand audiences. While there are geographic, climatic and production differences that must be recognized with this U.S.-based research organisation, similarities also exist which provide for global learning opportunities.
Ironically, the pandemic has made the CPS annual research symposium more accessible than ever since it was offered virtually in 2020 and those sessions are now available online.  The 2021 CPS research symposium will also be virtual and take place over five weeks in June and July. It’s important to look toward all opportunities that can enhance and improve produce safety.  There are numerous resources available but the produce-only focus of CPS is unique and the results and findings should be monitored, assessed and applied as part of our industry’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement.
To learn more about iFoodDS, visit www.iFoodDS.com
To learn more about the CPS visit www.centerforproducesafety.org

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FPSC A&NZ monthly newsletter out now!

The May 2021 edition of the Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand newsletter has just been released!

Click here to view the latest newsletter.

Stay up to date with what’s happening in the Fresh Produce Safety community by signing up for the monthly newsletter.

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