Posts from the "Topics" category
US: Produce crops are safer 24 hours after rain, irrigation
Food Safety Magazine: New research published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology–a scientific journal–says that produce [spinach] farmers should wait until 24 hours after rain or irrigation to harvest their crops. The practice is said to protect consumers from foodborne illness.
Read Article →AU: Five tips to help your family avoid gastro this winter
Food Safety Information Council: The Food Safety Information Council today released five tips to help consumers avoid the spread of norovirus, a leading cause of gastroenteritis, over the winter months. This follows recent ANU research that found there are an estimated 276,000 cases of norovirus infection on average in Australia each year, leading to 150 hospitalisations and 1 death.
Read Article →US: Television cooking shows lack food safety
Michigan State University: Cooking shows and competitions have become standard fare on television over the past few years. A 2010 Harris Poll showed that eight out of 10 American adults watch cooking shows on television on a regular basis. Unfortunately, when it comes to food safety practices, television cooking shows fall incredibly short, potentially portraying dangerous practices that, if repeated in the home kitchen, could make people sick.
Read Article →US: Faster listeria tests start hitting the market
Food Safety News: Once food manufacturers begin looking for Listeria more often, it’s only natural that they will begin to look for faster tests. Traditional means of detecting Listeria involve techniques and processes that take several days to complete while waiting for the return of laboratory results.
But new options are emerging. Here are a couple of examples…
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US: ProducePro campaign launched to help consumers safely prepare and enjoy fresh produce
Kathy Means, PMA: Consumers are the last line of defense in preventing foodborne illness.That’s why PMA supports the Partnership for Food Safety Education, which educates consumers through science-based, consumer-tested messaging.
The Partnership, with support from the Food Marketing Institute Foundation and PMA, introduced ProducePro, a new campaign to help consumers safely prepare and enjoy fresh produce with simple home safety practices.
Read Article →US: PMA Comments on FSMA Implementation Work Plans
Jim Gorny, PMA: In written comments submitted May 26 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation work plans (Focus on Implementation Strategy for Prevention-Oriented Food Safety Standards), Produce Marketing Association (PMA) again supported the need for increased funding for FDA’s food safety budget, including the appropriation of an additional $109.5 million in new budget authority. However, PMA clearly outlined its opposition to funding FSMA implementation through the imposition of user fees, inspection fees or registration fees by Federal or State governments.
The comments highlighted three areas of most concern to members…
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US: Ice cream as a catalyst for change in the produce industry? By Dr Bob Whitaker
Dr Bob Whitaker, PMA: You are probably thinking that is an odd title unless you have been monitoring the Blue Bell ice cream recall in recent weeks. Blue Bell hit the news back in mid-March when they recalled ice cream products from one of their production lines owing to contamination with Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). Flashing forward to the end of April, Blue Bell has recalled all of its products currently in the market made at all of its facilities due to potential contamination with Lm. It turns out that arriving at where this case is today has been the result of a long and complex, multi-state outbreak investigation that may reach back as far as 2010. There are currently 10 people sickened by this incident across four states (Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas) with three deaths (all in Kansas). All of the victims were elderly and had other underlying health issues and were hospitalized before developing listeriosis.
While this is a tragedy that we can all relate to, you may still be asking, what does this have to do with produce?
Read Article →US: PMA members respond to draft FSMA implementation strategy
Dr Jim Gorny, PMA: With the first five final rules for the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act regulations anticipated this August and October, and with the recent call for comments on FDA’s proposed FSMA implementation work plans, we’re shifting focus toward implementation of the final rules that are set to transform food safety for our industry.
Read Article →US: PMA gathers industry thought leaders to address produce safety policy
PMA website: Last week, Produce Marketing Association officials convened leaders of the fresh produce industry, regulatory officials, and esteemed members of academia for a Produce Safety Policy Conference in Washington D.C. Topics discussed during the event were the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) work regarding Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation and Listeria monocytogenes food safety policy, with the intent to leverage the thought leadership and collective expertise of industry and its stakeholders.
Read Article →CH: Food safety top concern in China
Shanghai Daily: An annual China Youth Daily survey in March found that food safety was the public’s top concern. In response to a list of “quality of life” issues including housing and the environment, 77.3 percent of respondents said food safety mattered most to them. The new law should rebuild confidence in the domestic food industry.
Those found to have added substances unfit for human consumption to food could be jailed for up to 15 days, and producers may face fines of up to 30 times the value of their products.
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