Latest News From Food safety

LGMA seeks to raise the food safety bar with industrywide romaine study
LGMA seeks to raise the food safety bar with industrywide romaine study

The two-year "Romaine Test and Learn" study will collect and analyze food safety data from California LGMA members in an effort to analyze trends, gain insights and raise the bar for food safety in romaine production.

How Jersey Fresh emphasizes food quality, safety
How Jersey Fresh emphasizes food quality, safety

Agricultural products agents from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture stay on top of the latest developments in the produce industry by attending numerous grower and industry events.

How AgroFresh tech aids the food safety process
How AgroFresh tech aids the food safety process

Keeping fruits and vegetables safe isn’t always a simple task, but there’s an arm of the produce industry that strives to help growers, packers, retailers and others do just that.

IFPA offers food safety courses
IFPA offers food safety courses

The International Fresh Produce Association has developed a plethora of programs to help the industry comply with the latest food safety requirements.

What fresh produce needs to know about FSMA 204, 2D bar codes
What fresh produce needs to know about FSMA 204, 2D bar codes

The Food Safety Modernization Act 204 has a compliance deadline of Jan. 20, 2026. Is your organization ready? A Q&A with Liz Sertl of the not-for-profit information standards organization GS1 US.

Gretchen Wall
Preparing the next generation of produce safety professionals

The fresh produce industry needs to build its future food safety workforce. Guest columnist Gretchen Wall discusses how the International Fresh Produce Association is inspiring and developing young professionals.

FDA issues report on strategies for limiting norovirus infections at restaurants
FDA issues report on strategies for limiting norovirus infections at restaurants

A report from the FDA reveals that restaurants and retail foodservice operations with targeted norovirus prevention strategies are most successful in limiting infections.

Afreen Malik
4 things to know now as Cyclospora season peaks

Cyclospora is an emerging threat to U.S. fresh produce, but produce-specific help is coming, says Western Growers Association Science Programs Director Afreen Malik, writing on behalf of the Center for Produce Safety.

Pyure offers food safety tools for the food and beverage industry
Pyure offers food safety tools for the food and beverage industry

The Boynton Beach, Fla.-based company's solution works to actively improve food safety and preserve freshness while at the same time removing odors and reducing illness, according to a news release.

Food safety experts offer help to prepare for FSMA 204
Food safety experts offer help to prepare for FSMA 204

New traceability requirements will affect the entire fresh foods supply chain, and retailers and growers have until January 2026 to achieve compliance.

Report: Tech-enabled traceability to help food safety efforts
Report: Tech-enabled traceability to help food safety efforts

Tech-enabled traceability is going to play a big role in better protecting the U.S. food supply, according to a new 27-page special report by the Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists.

Natalie Dyenson joining IFPA as chief regulatory and food safety officer
Natalie Dyenson joining IFPA as chief regulatory and food safety officer

Dyenson, who previously served as vice president of food safety and quality for Dole Food Co., has almost three decades of food safety experience covering the grower, retailer and foodservice sectors.

Kinsey Clishe
3 produce safety projects to watch

For the Center for Produce Safety: North Bay Produce Food Safety Manager Kinsey Clishe talks about efforts to validate cleaning and sanitizing procedures — and the importance of discussing the "why" behind practices.

Revolution Farms recalls all lettuce for possible listeria contamination
Revolution Farms recalls all lettuce for possible listeria contamination

The Michigan-based controlled environment agriculture lettuce grower has recalled all products and date codes sold under its Revolution Farms Brand in an expansion of an earlier recall on April 5, 2023.

Growers see traceability as essential to food safety
Growers see traceability as essential to food safety

“I think traceability should be a demand [for a shipper] as a member of the produce industry as we work to provide healthy and safe fruits and vegetables,” says Chelsea Consalo of Consalo Family Farms.

Research presentations set for CPS Produce Safety Research Symposium
Research presentations set for CPS Produce Safety Research Symposium

The 2023 Center for Produce Safety’s Research Symposium is set for June 20-21 at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, Ga.

Share-ify adds Shannon Shuman as senior vice president
Share-ify adds Shannon Shuman as senior vice president

Shuman will be leading business development initiatives to maximize the growth potential for the Share-ify platform. The company offers solutions for corporate compliance, food safety and quality assurance.

Three keynote speakers set for Global Food Safety Initiative conference
Three keynote speakers set for Global Food Safety Initiative conference

GFSI’s 22nd annual conference, "Delivering Safe Food in Turbulent Times: The Need for Agility & Resilience," will be a three-day event held at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, April 24-27.

Institute of Food Technologists releases commodity-specific food traceability video series
Institute of Food Technologists releases commodity-specific food traceability video series

The Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists has released a series of educational videos on the FDA’s Food Traceability Rule.

NJDA and Rutgers team up for food safety training
NJDA and Rutgers team up for food safety training

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture and Rutgers University Cooperative Extension offer Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training required by the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule.

How timely tech is bolstering food tracking and safety
How timely tech is bolstering food tracking and safety

Companies that specialize in food safety and traceability continue to put forth innovative ways to transport and store perishable food.

Alliance for Food and Farming: EWG's 2023 ‘Dirty Dozen’ list is discredited by scientists
Alliance for Food and Farming: EWG's 2023 ‘Dirty Dozen’ list is discredited by scientists

The 2023 list is out: Every year, the Environmental Working Group publishes the “Dirty Dozen” list of nonorganic fruits and vegetables found to have the most pesticides — to the chagrin of several industry groups.

Global Food Safety Initiative announces 22nd annual conference
Global Food Safety Initiative announces 22nd annual conference

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has announced details of its April 24-27 22nd Annual Conference, “Delivering Food in Turbulent Times: The Need for Agility & Resilience.”

Strategic consulting firm launched to help produce supply chain with FSMA 204 traceability compliance
Strategic consulting firm launched to help produce supply chain with FSMA 204 traceability compliance

Andrew Kennedy, a former FDA traceability expert who helped develop FSMA 204, and Matt Regusci, co-founder of Azzule/PrimusGFS, will co-lead New Era Partners.

Researchers test sanitizers for picking bags and bins
Researchers test sanitizers for picking bags and bins

Research funded by the Center for Produce Safety is seeking to validate sanitation methods for both harvest and picking bags.

Purdue Ag-Celerator fund invests $100,000 in pathogen detection company
Purdue Ag-Celerator fund invests $100,000 in pathogen detection company

The funding will allow OmniVis to establish a field pilot for the iSpyDx, a hand-held device that rapidly detects pathogens in food, agriculture and water samples.

FDA proposes redesign of Human Foods Program to enhance coordinated prevention and response activities
FDA proposes redesign of Human Foods Program to enhance coordinated prevention and response activities

Backed by produce industry leaders, the FDA is creating what the agency is calling a “transformative vision” for the FDA Human Foods Program, says Robert Califf, commissioner of food and drugs for the agency.

Eurofins Scientific breaks into produce, opening labs in Salinas Valley
Eurofins Scientific breaks into produce, opening labs in Salinas Valley

The global lab testing company is partnering with the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California to expand technical services and build lab testing facilities to serve the produce industry.

Fullei Fresh issues correction on alfalfa sprout recall because of possible health risk
Fullei Fresh issues correction on alfalfa sprout recall because of possible health risk

Miami, Fla.-based  Fullei Fresh is voluntarily recalling alfalfa sprouts due to the detection of Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC), according to a news release.

Food safety remains top of mind in 2023
Food safety remains top of mind in 2023

Organizations that work with fresh fruits and vegetables plan to strive to ensure that only healthful, wholesome products end up on supermarket shelves and in restaurants and foodservice establishments.

Wegmans voluntarily recalls microgreens, sweet pea leaves, cat grass
Wegmans voluntarily recalls microgreens, sweet pea leaves, cat grass

Wegmans Food Markets issued a voluntarily recall on its products containing microgreens, sweet pea leaves and cat grass because of potential salmonella contamination, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

New toolkit from USDA launched to improve support to underserved growers
New toolkit from USDA launched to improve support to underserved growers

GroupGAP was set up by the USDA and other federal agriculture agencies to support specialty crop growers, minimize food safety risk and connect with new and existing markets.

Utopia Foods recalls Chinese enoki mushrooms because of possible health risk
Utopia Foods recalls Chinese enoki mushrooms because of possible health risk

The recalled mushrooms were distributed nationwide in produce wholesale companies.

Expert panel recommends major reforms to FDA
Expert panel recommends major reforms to FDA

A groundbreaking report from the Regan-Udall Foundation has evaluated the current FDA Human Foods Program and has shared recommendations to reform the agency to ensure food safety.

2022 New York Produce Show opens with memories, health and consumption focus
2022 New York Produce Show opens with memories, health and consumption focus

The 2022 New York Produce Show & Conference greeted attendees with a warm and welcoming atmosphere including breakfast, panel discussions and condolences about the show’s founder, Jim Prevor, who died Nov. 8.

Steve Strub
How Wegmans has built a 'strong food safety culture'

The manager of produce food safety for Wegmans Food Markets discusses produce safety and research efforts.

Enoki mushrooms recalled for possible health risk
Enoki mushrooms recalled for possible health risk

Green Day Produce has recalled packages of enoki mushrooms from Korea sold between September 2022 and October 2022 due to potential listeria contamination.

FDA unveils Food Traceability Final Rule
FDA unveils Food Traceability Final Rule

Officials have outlined record-keeping requirements of Section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act, which goes into effect January 2023.

Kalera recalls lettuce, spurred by concerns of salmonella contamination
Kalera recalls lettuce, spurred by concerns of salmonella contamination

The vertical farm lettuce grower has recalled more than 600 cases of lettuce, but no cases of illness have been reported.

Steve Patricio
For food safety talent, Westside Produce looks inward, outward

A Center for Produce Safety program aims to develop professionals who have the well-rounded skill set it takes to advance fresh produce food safety, says Steve Patricio, CPS board director.

Study looks at reducing salmonella risks for bulb onions 
Study looks at reducing salmonella risks for bulb onions 

Researchers leading two projects hope to identify production practices that may contribute to salmonella contamination and steps growers can take to reduce potential food safety risks.

GLOBALG.A.P. becomes third-party certification for new Walmart U.S. pollinator health commitments
GLOBALG.A.P. becomes third-party certification for new Walmart U.S. pollinator health commitments

GLOBALG.A.P. North America has announced its GLOBALG.A.P. IFA (Integrated Farm Assurance) Standard is a recognized third-party certification for Walmart U.S. pollinator health commitments.

Industry leaders advocate for the Center for Produce Safety
Industry leaders advocate for the Center for Produce Safety

Almost two dozen organizations have contributed from $100,000 up to $250,000 so far to the Center for Produce Safety’s (CPS) latest campaign to fund fresh produce food-safety research, CPS reports in a news release.

New Jersey focuses on food safety
New Jersey focuses on food safety

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has implemented a number of programs and created working groups designed to ensure that New Jersey remains at the forefront of food safety.

Equitable Food Initiative certification receives GFSI recognition 
Equitable Food Initiative certification receives GFSI recognition 

With recognition from the Global Food Safety Initiative, EFI now offers a fresh produce certification that satisfies multiple retail requirements in a single audit.

To avoid a recall, FDA spot-checks lettuce growers
To avoid a recall, FDA spot-checks lettuce growers

After a recent food safety report, FDA targets California’s central coast region leafy green farms and ranches for additional tests.

More than Hangry: What’s Really at Stake in Global Food Insecurity?
More than Hangry: What’s Really at Stake in Global Food Insecurity?

Empty dinner plates can quickly translate to lack of world peace. Just ask Sen. Ernst, who gave a political rundown of food security as national security at Iowa State University last week.

Onion industry introduces updated food safety best practices document
Onion industry introduces updated food safety best practices document

The National Onion Association and the International Fresh Produce Association have released the second edition of Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Dry Bulb Onion Supply Chain.

How National Grocers Association is preparing for November’s food safety rule
How National Grocers Association is preparing for November’s food safety rule

This November, the Food Safety Modernization Act’s latest law will go into effect, meaning food retailers will have to make big technical, financial and operational changes.

Produce Traceability Initiative launches new technology working group
Produce Traceability Initiative launches new technology working group

The Produce Traceability Initiative has launched a new working group focused on technology.