Posts from the "Water – Field Operations and Irrigation" category


SA: Microbiological food safety status of commercially produced tomatoes from production to marketing

Journal of Food Protection: Tomatoes have been implicated in various microbial disease outbreaks and are considered a potential vehicle for foodborne pathogens. Traceback studies mostly implicate contamination during production and/or processing. The microbiological quality of commercially produced tomatoes was thus investigated from the farm to market, focusing on the impact of contaminated irrigation and washing water, facility sanitation, and personal hygiene. A total of 905 samples were collected from three largescale commercial farms from 2012 through 2014.

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Back up the food safety training with a good book, writes Richard Bennett

There’s a lot of people responsible for grower, packer or processor quality assurance and food safety who are not technically trained in QA and food safety. That’s just a fact of life that reflects the size, structure and necessities of many fresh produce businesses – small, family and tight. It’s also the reason why some QA standards and customers insist on a minimum level of training for the person(s) responsible for managing food safety in the business, with some now also providing the required training.

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2014 CPS Symposium Key Learnings: 10 Lessons Learned

18 September 2014
Dr Bob Whitaker & Dr Jim Gorny from the Produce Marketing Association have provided a summary of 10 key lessons from the 2014 US Centre for Produce Safety (CPS) fifth annual reseach symposium.

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Brief Report: CPS Research Symposium Key Messages, part 1.

Brief Report, CPS Research Symposium 26 and 27th June 2013 ,Wegman’s Conference Centre Rochester, NY State.

The CPS at the University of Davis has been very supportive of the initiatives in Australia to establish an affiliated Fresh Produce Safety Centre. Over the past year they have very generously shared their research outcomes, they have given presentations to our industry, and this year invited Australian researchers to apply for research grants to work collaboratively with US scientists on issues important for the Australian fruit and vegetable industry.

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“Whats new in food safety for you?” presentation now available.

At the recent Freshcare Workshop 11-12 April 2013, Associate Professor Robyn McConchie (USyd) delivered a presentation on “Whats new in Food Safety for you?”

The presentation was based on information provided by Dr Bob Whitaker (PMA) and Ms Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli (CPS) and summarises some of the food safety research made available at the Center for Produce Safety 2012 Research Symposium.

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