Posts from the "Microbial Contamination" category
Rolling the dice with food safety
Michael Mackenzie writes: When many of us go to a restaurant or buy food from stores we do so with the expectation that the food we eat is safe. However one expert warns we might not be as safe as we think.
Each year, there are an estimated 5.4 million cases of food poisoning in Australia from an array of sources.
Read and/or listen to the full article at abc.net.au
Image credit: William Warby / Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Hazelnut growers target pathogens, pests
Mateusz Perkowski writes: Heavily shaded hazelnut orchards may discourage salmonella from lingering on the ground, but the conclusions for growers remain uncertain, according to an orchard researcher.
Ground temperatures in heavily shaded hazelnut orchards appear to fall below the temperature range in which salmonella thrives, compared to orchards with less shade cover, said Bruce Lampinen, a tree nut specialist with the University of California Cooperative Extension.
The results in Oregon hazelnut orchards were greatly different than in California almond and walnut orchards, where heavy shade cover seems to improve conditions for salmonella, he said.
Read the full article at capitalpress.com
Image credit: Jennifer C. / Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
“Learn from the past, because history has a habit of repeating itself†writes Richard Bennett
What’s the difference between a serious typhoid outbreak in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1964 and the tragic – was it cucumber or sprouts? – E. coli outbreak in Germany in 2011? Not a lot according to this article and the even worse news is that major foodborne illness outbreaks are most likely to happen…
New food safety & technology post by Richard Bennett on the PMA A-NZ Blog . View the full post here: http://ift.tt/1oYx2cq
Image credit: E. coli with flagella by AJ Cann CC BY-SA 2.0
Foreign Supplier Verification Programs summary released, new FSMA webinars announced
Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is releasing new resources to help the global fresh produce industry understand the U.S. government’s latest proposed rules to implement the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The association announces plans for bilingual produce-specific webinars explaining the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposals for Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) and Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors, released by the agency on July 26. PMA also announces release of English and Spanish summaries of the FSVP proposed rule.
The FSVP proposed rule summaries are tailored for the global fresh produce industry, as the proposed rule would extend U.S. food safety standards to imported foods. English and Spanish summaries of the Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors proposed rule will follow soon.
PMA will partner with Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Fresh Produce Association of the Americas and Western Growers to host an English-language webinar covering the two newly proposed rules on Thursday, Aug. 29, from 3-4:30 p.m. EST.
That webinar will feature FDA experts Brian Pendleton, J.D., and Charlotte Christin, J.D., both FDA senior policy advisors who will explain the proposed rules and then answer participants’ questions. PMA will also host a Spanish-language webinar covering the proposed rules on Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 3-4 p.m. EST. Both webinars are free; registration is now open for the English webinar, and will open soon for the Spanish webinar.
“The global reality of today’s fresh produce supply chain is reflected in these latest proposed rules,” said PMA Chief Science & Technology Officer Bob Whitaker. “PMA is here to help all of our members, inside and outside the U.S., understand FSMA’s implications on our global industry.”
PMA’s latest summaries and webinars are designed for:
U.S.-based fresh produce importers, who would be responsible for implementing the FSVP rule;
non-U.S. fresh produce suppliers to U.S. importers, who would be responsible for working with importers to meet FSVP requirements;
fresh produce buyers and sellers who utilize or participate in third-party audits; and
auditors or certifiers, who would be subject to the third-party audit rule
Access FSVP proposed rule summaries and additional PMA resources, by visiting the “What’s New” section of PMA’s online FSMA Resource Center.
Read Article →Researchers create rapid E.coli detector
A group of researchers at Canada’s University of Alberta have created a gadget they say can quickly detect the presence of E.coli bacteria in food. The test, which can be used at food-processing facilities, makes millions of copies of the genes in the meat being tested and provides results in under an hour. See the full article at Food Business Review (7/17)
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‘What it takes to instill a food safety culture in your business’ new presentation
Food Safety in our industry is a consumer-right, requiring a collaborative effort from all sectors of the industry. Dr Douglas Powell, Professor of food safety at Kansas State University was at PMA Fresh Connections 2013 Conference last week to challenge businesses not to rely on regulation, but to rely on their staff to deliver safe food.
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