Latest News From Food safety

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.

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

Finding generally strong compliance with federal standards for pesticide tolerances in food, the FDA has published its annual Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program Report for Fiscal Year 2020.

The Salinas, Calif.-based California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement has published its latest annual report.

We can’t let the bystander effect happen in fields, packinghouses or anywhere else in the supply chain — the results can be tragic.

Consumer confidence in fresh produce hinges on many factors, including food safety.

One key way packaging plays a food safety role is by preventing cross contamination.

The Orlando, Fla.-based company takes the fresh produce industry and consumers inside its food safety innovations and protocols.

A four-page executive summary of the June 21-22 Center for Produce Safety’s Research Symposium is now available.

The growth of the CEA industry has been driven by predictions that we will need 20% more land to feed the planet using current farming practices.

Joe Pezzini is the new chair of Center for Produce Safety’s board of directors. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released the agency’s Total Diet Study (TDS) Report.

A new survey conducted by the Alliance for Food and Farming reveals that 76% of consumers say they have confidence in farmers to protect produce safety.

North Little Rock, Ark.-based Safe Foods Corporation, a division of PSSI, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its latest expansion project in North Little Rock on June 2.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the USDA plans to provide up to $200 million in assistance for specialty crop producers for food safety expenses.

The creation of the International Fresh Produce Association from the merger of the United Fresh Produce Association and the Produce Marketing Association has allowed a reorganization of food safety priorities.

Helping growers implement food safety practices is one important goal of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

The FDA has released a new online resource page for human and animal food producers affected by flooding and severe weather incidents such as hurricanes or tropical storms.

The Food and Drug Administration, along with CDC and other partners, are investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A infections in the U.S. and Canada potentially linked to fresh organic strawberries.

The projects supported through the investment will work to ensure a safe, nutritious and abundant food supply, said the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Brookshire Grocery Company of Tyler, Texas has issued a voluntary recall of bulk Yellow Flesh Peaches available in stores between 4/15/22 and 5/17/22, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria.

The FDA has issued final guidance titled “Reducing Microbial Food Safety Hazards in the Production of Seed for Sprouting: Guidance for Industry.” 

Value-added salad leader Fresh Express has contributed $500,000 to Center for Produce Safety’s current capital campaign to fund fresh produce food-safety research, according to a news release.

St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Food Safety has been named a 2022 Edison Awards gold winner in the Commercial Technology category for its 3M Petrifilm Plate Reader Advanced. 

Kieler, Wis.-based food safety provider PSSI has announced the 2022 recipients of their newly established, annual scholarship program.

Alpine Fresh, Inc. of Doral, Florida is voluntarily recalling its 1 pound packages of "Hippie Organics" French Beans from lot# 313-626, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

T Fresh Company of City of Industry, CA is recalling its 7.5oz (200g) enoki mushrooms, Lot #6021053 grown in China.

Animal intrusion into produce fields has been an obvious food safety risk for some time.

Research funded by the Center for Produce Safety is aiming to develop a low-cost tool that can detect fecal contamination in fields.

USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists believe they have begun to unravel some of the mystery behind an underlying pattern of seasonal E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks linked to bagged romaine lettuce.

When Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine in 1953, he was feted in a New York ticker tape parade and hailed as the “great doctor-benefactor of his time.” Compare that to today.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Liberty Fruit Company, Inc. is recalling certain packages containing cantaloupe because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas and the Texas International Produce Association are helping to translate Spanish language comments on the FDA's agricultural water proposed guidelines.

WiseTrade Corporation of Irvine, Calif.,  is recalling all its cases of its 200g/7.05oz packages of ENOKI MUSHROOM (Product of Korea).

The USDA has announced the establishment of the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) audit service for produce distribution centers.  

Fruit Fresh Up is voluntarily recalling fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products, as well as ready-to-eat dips.

Calling 2021 a “transformational” year, Dublin-based Dole Plc reported its first quarterly and full-year results for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31 after its merger with Total Produce Plc last year.

The U.S. FDA will not conduct a broad sampling of leafy greens grown in the Salinas Valley region of California for the 2022 growing season, according to a news release from Western Growers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added data from its most recent population survey from 2018-2019 to its online toolbox, FoodNet Fast, according to a news release.

With final comments due by early April, the FDA’s ag water proposed rule is drawing big industry attention, said Jennifer McEntire, chief food safety officer for the International Fresh Produce Association.

Some might say you look a little green when you are sick. Leafy greens actually turn purple — although not obvious to the human eye, it can be seen through advanced hyperspectral imaging.

It’s no surprise pork products made the U.S. CBP's Top 10 Agriculture Seizures of 2021 list more than once. Protecting animal ag is a high priority, especially as deadly swine viruses like ASF move closer to the U.S.

The FDA has released a report on its investigation of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that caused 31 reported illnesses and four hospitalizations in the U.S. between June and August 2021. 

The California citrus industry has stepped up in a big way to fund produce safety research.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released three pale cyst nematode (PCN) associated fields, which have a combined area of approximately 513 acres, from regulation in Idaho.

The International Fresh Produce Association has added Gretchen Wall as director of food safety and quality and promoted Emily Griep to vice president of regulatory compliance and global food safety standards. 

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. is voluntarily recalling from the market all Dole-branded and private label packaged salads described below processed at its Springfield, OH and Soledad, CA.

Food recall warning: Certain Dole and President's Choice brand salad products recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

The FDA has published a new, interactive public data dashboard that allows anyone to view historical data from the Reportable Food Registry.

The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) ¬has funded 12 new research projects, valued at just over $3.9 million, to help answer the industry's most urgent produce food safety questions.