Latest News From Food safety

Consumer watchdog groups say the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed delay in enforcing the water testing component of the produce safety rule will cause more foodborne illness and death.

United Fresh Produce Association is offering training for the Foreign Supplier Verification Program in early December.

Chile-based produce consulting firm Decofrut is offering a new service to help U.S. fresh produce importers implement the Foreign Supplier Verification Program.

The Food and Drug Administration is giving more time for certain co-manufacturers to meet supplier approval and verification requirements under food safety regulations.

After a consumer reported a fishy taste in a Taylor Farms pasta salad, the company recalled some of the salads because they contained anchovies, which weren’t listed on the label.

Earthbound Farm is recalling 1,755 cases of its Organic Chopped Asian Style Salad Kit because some of the bags may contain dressing that includes egg and milk — allergens that aren’t listed on that kit’s label.

BrightFarms is recalling fresh lettuces and herbs and herbs grown at its Chicago-area greenhouse for potentially being tainted with E. coli.

Mexican fruit and vegetable importer Divine Flavor has a new website touting sustainable growing practices and social responsibility.

(UPDATED Oct. 23) Mann Packing, citing a positive Listeria Monocytogenes test in one of its fresh-cut products in Canada, is recalling 34 products in the U.S. and 23 in Canada.

NEW ORLEANS — Produce shippers need to make compliance with the sanitary transportation rule a priority, and they need to work with their supply chain partners in the process, speakers said Oct. 19 at Fresh Summit.

The Equitable Food Initiative said that in January 2018 the group will begin accepting other current certificates benchmarked to the Global Food Safety Initiative.

Dynamic Systems Inc., Redmond, Wash., has updated its SIMBA production and inventory traceability system to allow for tracking lots to a specific case, including mixed or commingled product.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a searchable database of companies conforming to Good Agricultural Practice audits performed by the agency’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

Produce growers looking for qualified produce safety rule trainers can find it easily with a new web tool.

Answering consumer questions on social media about produce safety can pay immediate and long-term dividends.

San Francisco has become the first U.S. city to require grocers with 25 stores or more to report annually the use of antibiotics in the raw meat and poultry they sell. 

The United Fresh Produce Association is offering two workshops on the Foreign Supplier Verification Program in coming weeks.

The Center for Produce Safety is funding 14 research projects, focusing on everything from use of chlorine in wash water to using birds of prey to keep birds and rodents out of fields.

Both industry food safety leaders and Food and Drug Administration produce safety staff say more research is needed on the levels of Listeria monocytogenes found naturally occurring on ready to eat produce.

An outbreak — or outbreaks — of cyclosporiasis has grown to more than 1,000 cases in 40 states.

The Food and Drug Administration has too often failed to take needed action against food facilities with significant inspection violations, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.

The Food and Drug Administration has named a fourth farm in its investigation of contaminated maradol papayas that have sickened more than 220 people with salmonellosis.

Ten years ago in July, the Sacramento-based California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement conducted its first official on-farm food safety audit.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking retailers and restaurants to remove yellow maradol papayas from shelves and menus after dozens of people became infected with Salmonella Kiambu, including a patie

When it comes to food safety, California cantaloupe growers are ahead of the game.

See The Packer's March 27 Food Safety/Traceability Special Report here.

A new document designed to assist produce wholesalers and distributors develop food safety plans is available from the United Fresh Produce Association.

DANA POINT, Calif. - George Radanovich, president of California Fresh Fruit Association, aims to get agriculture back on offense in the state legislature. At the association's annual meeting March 19-21, m

Lawrence, Kan.-based ChloroFields has recalled 20 cases of its Asian Mix microgreens that may be contam-inated with salmonella.

DANA POINT, Calif. - The California Fresh Fruit Association elected officers at its annual meeting, where it kicked off a new fiscal year.

SALINAS, Calif. - Increasing automation in the field remains a priority for Taylor Farms.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Produce-related health scares can have the power to remove a whole category or variety from grocery retail shelves, as Mexico's once-thriving cantaloupe sector can attest.

Auditor training for the CanadaGAP produce safety program will be offered in a five-day event that begins May 29.

Packaging will play a central - and in some cases, active - role as the produce industry moves forward with its food safety efforts, said Jim Gorny, vice president of food safety and technology for the Newa

FreshPACKmoves 2017 is bringing together specialists to talk about e-packaging for fresh produce, safety and logistics.

Jeff Mitchell has been hired by IFCO North America as director of food safety and quality.

With the Food Safety Modernization Act adding new audits, procedures and practices with the enforcement power of the U.S. federal government, produce industry trade associations and other groups representing food, are as

Donald Trump the candidate promised to be a more business-friendly leader, and so far President Trump has begun to deliver, and he has promised even more red-tape slashing.

The 2017 Center for Produce Safety Research Symposium registration is now open.

The University of California-Davis is accepting applications for its 2017-18 Online Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Program. <p></p> In its 16th year, the online Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certificate Pr

The Environmental Working Group released the 2017 edition of the "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce," also known as the "Dirty Dozen," to more of a fizzle than fanfare.

The Environmental Working Group has again released a version of its Dirty Dozen list, prompting industry objections that the list has been discredited by scientists, is not based upon risk and has now been shown to poten

Rice Fruit Co. hired Alexandra (Lex) Roberts as facility food safety manager, to plan and monitors food safety protocols throughout the company's storage and packing facilities.

Steam can rid the outside of cantaloupes of E. coli, salmonella and listeria more effectively than existing washes and chlorine treatments, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Meijer has recalled a shipment of its pre-made Caesar salads because they were incorrectly labeled as Greek salads.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - Watermelon industry members learned the do's and don'ts of communication in the midst of a crisis at the National Watermelon Association's annual conference at Lake Tah

The Global Food Safety Initiative and the Mexican National Service of Health, Food Safety and Agro-Food Quality (SENASICA) have announced a public-private partnership that both groups say will boost consumer confidence i

Willette Crawford is joining SCS Global Services' food safety staff as a senior technical trainer.

Research looking at the rates of pathogen die-off in strawberry and cilantro growing fields is the focus of a study funded by the Center for Produce Safety.

The University of Queensland is conducting a study to determine if introducing friendly bacteria to bagged salad will ward off salmonella and listeria.