Posts from the "Latest News" category


AU: Vegetable sector works to standardise food safety and quality assurance

ABC Rural / Sarina Locke: The horticulture sector is hoping to save $40 million by streamlining quality assurance on farms and in the supply chain. A trial of the more standardised process is happening at Coastal Hydroponics, which produces green leafy salad vegetables from its base on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

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US: Listeria/caramel apple outbreak forces a shift of priorities

Produce Retailer: The listeria outbreak connected to caramel apples in late 2014 and early 2015 gave the produce industry a slap to remind it to remain vigilant about food safety. Discussion of the outbreak dominated the first day of the seventh annual Center for Produce Safety Research Symposium on June 28-29.

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NZ: 20 years of the Food Treaty a great achievement

scoop.co.nz: Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew today acknowledged the 20th Anniversary of the Food Treaty between Australia and New Zealand at a conference in Wellington hosted by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ). “The Food Treaty, implemented in 1996, was an important step towards enhancing trade between Australia and New Zealand, as part of Closer Economic Relations,” says Mrs Goodhew.

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US: The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) – An Overview

Global Food Safety Resource: The primary purpose of the American Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is to improve food safety standards by changing both industry’s and government’s approach to food safety from reactive to preventive. As part of this comprehensive change, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been releasing rules to specifically address important aspects of food safety.

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AU: Food expiration dates everyone should know

The Huffington Post: Do you pick up a packet of chips from your pantry and throw it out after seeing it is past its ‘best before’ date (much to your dismay)? What many people might not know is that you don’t have to. In fact, throwing out foods which are not off is contributing to the one in five shopping bag’s worth of food Australians throw out every week.

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NZ: A growing army of New Zealanders is waging a war on waste

New Zealand Listener: On one page was a story about kids going to school hungry and on another a report about “dumpster divers” living off the food thrown out by super­markets. For Dunedin woman Deborah Manning, that morning’s newspaper outlined both the problem and the seeds of a solution: surely someone needed to simply connect the good food that was getting dumped with the families going hungry?

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US: Can Walmart’s food labels make a dent in America’s $29bn food waste problem?

The Guardian: If you’ve ever paused before tossing a can of food in the trash after seeing the date on the label, you’re not alone. Whether it’s because of habit, cultural norms or a genuine fear of getting sick, most consumers err on the safe side and avoid foods that have passed the date stamped on their labels.

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NZ: The top 10 food trust issues impacting fruit packhouses

Compac: Whistleblowing is bringing down more than just politicians these days. In the food processing and packaging industry, a single faulty practice has the power to bring production, reputation and profits to a grinding halt. But before you imagine this is a problem that doesn’t affect the fruit industry, think again. In recent years, there have several high profile recalls within apples, stone fruit and peanuts. These events can no longer be seen as isolated incidents.

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UK: European Commission gives controversial weed killer a last-minute reprieve

Science Magazine: To the relief of farmers, the controversial herbicide glyphosate will remain on the market in Europe for another 18 months. The widely used weed killer faced a 30 June deadline for reapproval of its safety—without which it could not be sold—but the decision has been stuck in political gridlock. So the European Commission stepped in to extend the safety approval until December 2017.

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AU: Food allergy innovation a hit at AIFST Awards

Food Magazine: A new technology that detects allergens in food products has been awarded the Food Industry Innovation Award at the 49th Annual Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) Convention. The Allergen Bureau was awarded the prestigious accolade at a ceremony on Monday night at the AIFST Convention at Brisbane’s Exhibition and Convention Centre for its VITAL Online platform, a web-based calculator that reviews the allergen status of all ingredients in a product and the processing conditions that could impact on the allergen status.

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