Latest News From Food safety

Washington Conference looks at critical food safety issues
Washington Conference looks at critical food safety issues

WASHINGTON D.C. - Traceability regulations, agricultural water rules and Cyclospora research were a few of the issues explored during a Sept. 21 food safety session at the United Fresh Washington Conference.

Best Sanitizers, Inc. announces Alpet D2 Quat-Free Surface Sanitizer is now OMRI listed
Best Sanitizers, Inc. announces Alpet D2 Quat-Free Surface Sanitizer is now OMRI listed

Organic food processors and food handlers in need of a surface sanitizer without quaternary ammonium (quat), now have an effective product for cleaning and sanitizing food contact and non-food contact surfaces.

Health and nutrition writers and bloggers join AFF’s “Facts Not Fear” Produce Safety Tour
Health and nutrition writers and bloggers join AFF’s “Facts Not Fear” Produce Safety Tour

The Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) hosted its fourth “Facts, Not Fear” Produce Safety Media Tour for registered dietitians, health and nutrition writers and bloggers featuring crops in the Pacific Northwest.

CFIA: Recall for Jongilpoom brand enoki Mushroom
CFIA: Recall for Jongilpoom brand enoki Mushroom

Covic International Trading Inc. is recalling Jongilpoom brand Enoki Mushroom from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency announces preharvest testing option for romaine imports
Canadian Food Inspection Agency announces preharvest testing option for romaine imports

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced it will accept either pre-harvest or finished product testing as part of its requirements for importing romaine lettuce into Canada between September 30 and December 31.

FDA selects winners for low- or no-cost food traceability challenge
FDA selects winners for low- or no-cost food traceability challenge

The Food and Drug Administration has announced the 12 winners of the FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety Low- or No-Cost Tech-Enabled Traceability Challenge. 

Updated food recall warning - Eat Smart brand Chopped Salad Kits recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes
Updated food recall warning - Eat Smart brand Chopped Salad Kits recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

The food recall warning issued on August 26 has been updated to include additional product information.

Soo brand enoki mushrooms recalled due to possible listeria contamination
Soo brand enoki mushrooms recalled due to possible listeria contamination

T-Brother Food & Trading Ltd. has recalled Soo brand enoki mushrooms in Canada due to a possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

What Taylor Farms’ Pure Green investment means
What Taylor Farms’ Pure Green investment means

When one of the nation’s largest fresh-cut produce companies decides to invest in the innovative, startup-filled agtech sector, the industry notices.

Resources for food producers in areas flooded from tropical storm Ida
Resources for food producers in areas flooded from tropical storm Ida

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has several resources to help growers who may be affected by the impacts to their crops from severe weather conditions.

Tim York
Where were you when ...?

I remember vividly where I was on Sept. 15, 2006, when the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory warning consumers not to eat spinach.

CFIA posts recall notice for Eat Smart brand Asian Sesame Chopped Salad Kit
CFIA posts recall notice for Eat Smart brand Asian Sesame Chopped Salad Kit

Ottawa-based Curation Foods is recalling Eat Smart brand Asian Sesame Chopped Salad Kit from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Buyer, seller, grower groups join forces to fund CPS produce safety research
Buyer, seller, grower groups join forces to fund CPS produce safety research

Investing in the food safety of fresh produce comes down to pride, potential, partnership and priorities, say the latest major contributors to Center for Produce Safety’s (CPS) research program.

Freshline Foods recalls batch of Veggie Foodle zucchini noodles
Freshline Foods recalls batch of Veggie Foodle zucchini noodles

Freshline Foods Ltd. is recalling Veggie Foodle brand green zucchini whole vegetable noodles from the marketplace due to Listeria monocytogenes.

EPA takes action to address risk from chlorpyrifos and protect children’s health
EPA takes action to address risk from chlorpyrifos and protect children’s health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will stop the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all food to better protect human health, particularly that of children and farmworkers.

Arizona LGMA members will use updated food safety practices for 2021-22 season
Arizona LGMA members will use updated food safety practices for 2021-22 season

The Arizona LGMA Food Safety Committee has approved changes to the adjacent land use and soil amendments sections of the food safety best practices (also known as metrics) that all members must adhere to.  

California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement hires Alyssa Licata as new compliance officer
California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement hires Alyssa Licata as new compliance officer

The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) has a new Compliance Officer.

Food safety company PSSI to acquire Safe Foods
Food safety company PSSI to acquire Safe Foods

Kieler, Wisc.-based PSSI, a food safety and contract sanitation provider, will acquire Safe Foods Corp., a food safety performance management company with expertise in antimicrobial technology.

Tim York
What’s behind LGMA’s preharvest testing requirement

At its last meeting, the LGMA board voted unanimously to require its members to conduct preharvest testing of product grown in fields where elevated risk factors may be present.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency issues food recall warning for Harvest Fresh products
Canadian Food Inspection Agency issues food recall warning for Harvest Fresh products

Veg Pak Produce is recalling Harvest Fresh brand Zucchini Spirals and Teriyaki Vegetable Spiral Stir Fry Kit from the marketplace due to Listeria monocytogenes.

BrightFarms announces voluntary recall expansion of packaged salad greens sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan
BrightFarms announces voluntary recall expansion of packaged salad greens sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan

BrightFarms today (July 28) initiated a voluntary recall expansion of additional packaged salad greens that are past expiration date and were produced in its Rochelle, Illinois (Ogle County) greenhouse farm.

Old Soul’s Farms LLC recalls leafy green products due to possible health Risk
Old Soul’s Farms LLC recalls leafy green products due to possible health Risk

Old Souls Farms, LLC, located at in St. Paris Ohio is initiating a voluntary recall of greenhouse leafy green products following a positive test of Listeria monocytogenes.

CFIA recall: Food recall warning - Harvest Fresh brand Zucchini Spirals recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes
CFIA recall: Food recall warning - Harvest Fresh brand Zucchini Spirals recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

Veg Pak Produce is recalling Harvest Fresh brand Zucchini Spirals from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

Grimmway recalls carrot products due to potential salmonella contamination
Grimmway recalls carrot products due to potential salmonella contamination

Bakersfield, Calif.-based Grimmway Farms has voluntarily recalled certain organic and conventional carrot products because they may have been contaminated with salmonella.

BrightFarms announces voluntary recall of packaged salad greens sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan
BrightFarms announces voluntary recall of packaged salad greens sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan

BrightFarms today initiated a voluntary recall of packaged salad greens produced in its Rochelle, Illinois (Ogle County) greenhouse farm sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan.

California LGMA votes to mandate risk-based pre-harvest testing
California LGMA votes to mandate risk-based pre-harvest testing

The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement board has voted to mandate pre-harvest testing for leafy greens grown in fields where elevated risk factors are present. 

Max Teplitski
Food safety lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic

While it is beyond doubt that SARS-CoV2 is not a foodborne pathogen, what can we learn from the measures that were put in place to control COVID-19 that also had a positive impact on food safety?

Consalo Family Farms launches electronic field traceability tech
Consalo Family Farms launches electronic field traceability tech

Consalo Family Farms, Egg Harbor City, N.J., will be updating and streamlining the electronic field traceability system on its blueberry farms.

Be prepared for the return of onsite FDA inspections
Be prepared for the return of onsite FDA inspections

The fresh produce industry should be prepared for the post-pandemic return of routine Food and Drug Administration inspections.

Dole brand fresh packed blueberries recalled due to Cyclospora
Dole brand fresh packed blueberries recalled due to Cyclospora

Save-On-Foods LP is recalling Dole brand Fresh Packed Blueberries from the marketplace due to possible Cyclospora contamination.

Looking at the merits of preharvest testing
Looking at the merits of preharvest testing

The “optics” and the science behind product testing were evaluated in a June 10 session at the United Fresh Produce Association’s Reimagine Conversations web seminar.

Tim York
Pathogen testing: A positive test can be a positive thing

Last month the USDA issued a report on findings of a sampling assignment that tested raw agricultural commodity romaine lettuce at facilities and on farms in the Salinas and Yuma growing regions.

FDA report looks at adjacent land use relative to 2020 salmonella outbreak in peaches
FDA report looks at adjacent land use relative to 2020 salmonella outbreak in peaches

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a report on its investigation of the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in peaches.

Thermo Scientific SureTect Salmonella Species PCR Assay receives approval
Thermo Scientific SureTect Salmonella Species PCR Assay receives approval

Thermo Fisher Scientific have announced that the Thermo Scientific SureTect Salmonella Species PCR Assay has been granted AOAC Official Method Analysis (OMA) status. 

CPS Research Symposium begins June 15
CPS Research Symposium begins June 15

The 12th Annual Center for Produce Safety Research Symposium starts and June 15, and programming will continue until mid-July.

Food safety issues draw focus at Reimagine Conversations event
Food safety issues draw focus at Reimagine Conversations event

Food safety issues are drawing a concentrated focus through a dedicated track at the United Fresh Produce Association’s virtual Reimagine Conversations event.

Concord Farms recalls enoki mushrooms due to possible health risk
Concord Farms recalls enoki mushrooms due to possible health risk

Concord Farms of Vernon, Calif. on June 1 recalled enoki mushrooms grown in Korea, because it has the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness.

United Fresh Produce Association supports produce safety pipeline
United Fresh Produce Association supports produce safety pipeline

The United Fresh Produce Association announced its continued commitment to the future of produce safety professionals with the addition of two part-time summer interns.

CEA Food Safety Coalition details first indoor-farming standards
CEA Food Safety Coalition details first indoor-farming standards

The CEA Food Safety Coalition reveals details on the first-ever food safety certification program specifically designed for indoor-grown leafy greens.

Carey Allen
It’s Time to Think Holistically About Food Safety

The way the world thinks about food safety is changing, and food companies must evolve in response.

Tim York
Fear of flying and building trust

A recent Wall Street Journal article titled The Airline Safety Revolution caught my eye and should be required reading for the leafy greens industry and our food safety regulators.

Voluntary Qualified Importer Program portal will close May 31
Voluntary Qualified Importer Program portal will close May 31

The Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP) application portal for fiscal year (FY) 2022 benefits will close on May 31, 2021. The portal opened on January 1, 2021. 

FDA to implement sampling effort for lettuce grown in California’s Salinas Valley
FDA to implement sampling effort for lettuce grown in California’s Salinas Valley

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said May 11 it will collect and test samples of lettuce grown in California’s Salinas Valley from local commercial coolers from May through November 2021. 

Center for Produce Safety continues fundraising campaign; $6M raised, $9M to go
Center for Produce Safety continues fundraising campaign; $6M raised, $9M to go

The Center for Produce Safety launched its latest fundraising campaign in January with a goal to raise $15 million to support its work for the next five years, and so far it has raised nearly $6 million.

GFSI Opens New Public Consultation on Securing the Future of Food Safety Auditors
GFSI Opens New Public Consultation on Securing the Future of Food Safety Auditors

New set of GFSI benchmarking requirements will look to help ensure trust in food safety auditors and increase recognition of this vital role in securing safe food to people everywhere.

Tim York
A food safety call to produce buyers

Updating LGMA’s required food safety practices is an involved process that seeks input from scientists, food safety experts and the public. No other entity is capable of making widespread change as quickly as we can.

United Fresh offers Cyclospora web seminar
United Fresh offers Cyclospora web seminar

United Fresh Produce Association is offering a web seminar on best management practices to preventing Cyclospora.

Guan’s Mushroom Co recalls Enoki  because of possible health risk
Guan’s Mushroom Co recalls Enoki  because of possible health risk

Guan’s Mushroom Co of Commerce, CA is recalling all cases of its 200g/7.05-ounce packages of Enoki Mushroom (Product of China) because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Auditing operations services now offering FDA third party certifications
Auditing operations services now offering FDA third party certifications

Auditing Operations Services is now accredited by the American National Standards Institute to certify foreign suppliers of food into the United States under the FDA’s Accredited Third Party Certification Program.

Tim York
President Biden, ask your FDA leadership to visit a lettuce farm!

Let’s face it, Bill Marler has made a lot of money telling a story in which young children are the victims, lettuce farmers are the villains and he plays the hero.