Posts from the "Topics" category
AU: Yet another cruise ship gastro outbreak
Australian Institute of Food Safety: It’s proving difficult to keep track of gastroenteritis outbreaks on cruise ships these days with 6 outbreaks being reported in Australian waters within the last 12 months. In the latest incident, approximately 200 passengers on the Sea Princess, a cruise ship bound for Brisbane from New Zealand, were struck with norovirus.
Read the full article at the AIFST website
AU: National Residue Survey results 2016-17
Apple & Pear Australia Ltd: The apple and pear industry has once again demonstrated its commitment to food safety and minimising residues with the latest National Residue Survey results showing a 98 per cent compliance level in apples and pears tested in 2016-2017.
Read Article →AU: Average annual Salmonella cases in South Australia have risen to 1200 in past four years
The Advertiser: The salmonella outbreak linked to the Gawler South Bakery is only the tip of a food hygiene problem causing illness across South Australia. Food poisoning has become a growing problem in recent years, prompting repeated warnings from authorities about the need for good food-handling hygiene.
Read the full article at The Advertiser (adelaidenow.com.au)
US: FDA: Voluntary importer program will benefit importers and agency
The Packer: Seeing benefits for both the agency and for importers, officials at the Food and Drug Administration expect to soon begin accepting applications for the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP). The program is voluntary and fee-based, to allow for quicker reviews and importation of foods into the U.S. for approved applicants who achieve and maintain a high level of control over the safety and security of their supply chains.
Read the full article at The Packer
AU: Agvet Chemical Task Group Discussion Paper: Off-label Use Harmonisation Proposal
Photo: Aqua Mechanical / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Australian Government: The Agvet Chemical Task Group (ACTG) is conducting public consultation on the Discussion Paper: Off-Label Use Harmonisation Proposal. The discussion paper describes approaches for harmonisation of agricultural chemical product off-label use practices that are expected to deliver the most significant benefits to Australian farmers. The consultation on the discussion paper is now open and submissions must be lodged by 2:00 pm AEDT on 28 February 2018.
Download the discussion paper and make a submission at agriculture.gov.au
US: Deadly outbreak tied to romaine ongoing; no recall, few details
Food Safety News: Little information is available to the public in the U.S. or Canada more than six weeks into a deadly E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to romaine lettuce. Almost 60 people are confirmed to have fallen ill, including one in Canada who died, since mid-November. Whole genome sequencing shows E. coli O157:H7 samples from sick people in both countries are the same strain, which is evidence that a single source is likely, the CDC reports.
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website
UK: Red Tractor fresh produce to be recognised by two major food assurance schemes
Farminguk: Tesco has announced that from the beginning of April 2018 it will recognise Red Tractor’s standards as equivalent to its Nurture scheme. International assurance body GLOBALG.A.P. also confirmed that as a result of its own benchmarking exercise the requirement for a further farm assessment has been removed.
Read the full article at farminguk.com
CA: E. coli outbreak from lettuce shows problems with produce traceability: expert
Photo: Chimpr / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Canadian Press: A Canadian expert in food distribution says he is surprised by how long it is taking for a recall to be issued after one death and dozens of illnesses in recent weeks have been linked to romaine lettuce contaminated with E. coli.
Read the full article at richmond-news.com
AU: Setting the standard in traceability
Food & Beverage: Food safety scares and product recalls are unfortunate facts of life in the food sector. GS1 Australia provides the standards to enable organisations to effectively keep track of where our food comes from and help implement recalls quickly and efficiently.
Read the full article at foodmag.com.au
CA: Canadians warned to avoid romaine lettuce until further notice
Food Safety News: Canadian officials are advising the public to avoid eating romaine lettuce until further notice because of an expanding E. coli outbreak, but they have not revealed the supplier or brands involved. At least one person has died and 40 have been confirmed infected with E. coli O157:H7.
Read the full article at the foodsafetynews.com