Posts from the "Topics" category
EU traceability requirements rank top in global table of food safety regulations
European Union countries rank highest when it comes to global food traceability regulations and requirements, according to a new report from The Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC). Australia and New Zealand come in as ‘Average’.
To read the full report, please click here.
Source: http://www.ift.org.
Image credit:
David Andersen / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
GS1 Recallnet: Half-day Information & Training Sessions
19 November 2014
GS1 Australia is hosting free information and optional training sessions on product recall using GS1 Recallnet. GS1 Recallnet is a secure, online portal used to streamline the recall and notification process.
The Melbourne event will focus on the Primary Grower / Producer and the challenges that a recall event brings to this sector.
Read Article →Food safety standards for Australia and New Zealand
Food safety standards place obligations on Australian and New Zealand food businesses to produce food that is safe and suitable to eat. There are also health and hygiene obligations for food handlers. The standards aim to lower the incidence of food-borne illness.
A food business is any business or activity that involves the handling of any type of food for sale, or the sale of food in Australia. The requirements apply to all commercial, charitable or community activities including ‘once-only’ projects that involve the handling or sale of food.
Food businesses in New Zealand are required to comply with New Zealand’s Food Act 1981 and the regulations and standards under this Act. For more information visit the Ministry for Primary Industries website.
Source: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au
NZ: No traces of the food poisoning bug Yersinia was found in Foodstuffs Living Foods property and processing plant.
NZ Herald: “Foodstuffs has released the results of testing carried out at the location where its pre-packaged Pams lettuce is grown and packed.
The results showed no Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was detected in any samples/”
To read the full article in The New Zealand Herald, please click here.
Europe’s Three Hepatitis A Outbreaks in 2013: What Can We Learn?
James Andrews writes: “In the first half of 2013, Europe dealt with three simultaneous outbreaks from the hepatitis A virus. Knowing that at least two of those outbreaks were connected to frozen berries, Europe’s Centre for Disease Prevention and Control set out to describe what could be learned from those outbreaks in an article published in Eurosurveillance.”
Read the full article on the Food Safety News website.
Image credit: Mark_K_ / Flickr, CC BY 2.0
NSW Food Authority serves up food safety in Blacktown
Food safety will be on the menu when the NSW Food Authority brings the NSW Food Regulation Partnership retail meeting to Blacktown next week.
NSW Food Authority CEO Polly Bennett said the meeting is one of a series of regular consultation events the NSW Food Authority holds across the state, and an opportunity for local food businesses to learn how best to capitalise on their excellent reputation.
Read the full article on the NSW Food Authority website.
USA Tomato Growers Lose ‘Takings’ Lawsuit Against FDA
Dan Flynn writes: “Tomato growers, packers, and shippers in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have lost the claim they made for federal reimbursement after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mistakenly named certain tomatoes as the likely cause of a Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that later turned out to be caused by Mexican-grown jalapeño and serrano peppers.”
Read the full article at the food safety news website.
Taylor Farms receives food safety award at SQFIC
Western Farm Press: “Taylor Farms, North America’s largest producer of value-added produce to the foodservice industry, received the SQF Primary Producer of the Year award in food safety during the Safe Quality Food International Conference in Orlando, Fla.
The SQF Quality Achievement Awards Program pays tribute to the outstanding commitment, support, and performance of individuals and organizations who embrace the SQFI and its rigorous certification process.”
Read the full article at the Western Farm Press website.
Managing food recalls: a manufacturer’s guide
Michael Lincoln and Martin Stone write: “A product recall is a high impact event for any food business. It can be extremely costly and the reputational damage to a food business can be serious and long lasting if not managed correctly, report Michael Lincoln and Martin Stone.
What are the main causes for product recalls in Australia? According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) there are approximately five recalls per month in Australia and this figure has been steady over a number of years.
Approximately one-third of recalls are due to microbiological issues, one-third from labelling issues and one-third caused by physical and chemical contamination.”
Read the full article at the foodmag website.
Dung Beetles: Future Heroes of Organic Food Safety?
James Andrews writes: “In 2011, an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in Oregon killed one person and sickened more than a dozen people. The outbreak was eventually traced back to organic strawberries grown at an Oregon farm, but how E. coli had managed to contaminate the strawberries remained a mystery for some time afterward.
Eventually, state health officials traced the outbreak to deer that had been rummaging through the fields and leaving behind droppings that contaminated some of the strawberries. And animal feces on the farm have been implicated or strongly suspected in a number of other outbreaks.
But what if organic farmers had a natural, unobtrusive way to help reduce the risk of contamination from animal feces on the farm? Enter the dung beetle.”
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website
Image credit: Steve Slater / Flickr, CC BY 2.0