Food Safety
Gordon Food Service, Grand Rapids, Mich., has formed an exclusive partnership with indoor farming company Square Roots, expanding the greenhouse company’s reach from its New York base.
Vegetable growers of red and green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, cauliflower and broccolini, among other crops, is feeling a ripple effect from last year’s multistate E. coli outbreaks and subsequent recalls.
Fullei Fresh, Miami, is recalling organic bean sprouts from Whole Foods Markets in Florida because of a possible Listeria Monocytogenes contamination.
United Fresh Produce Association said that the Harmonized Standard Audit is now available from numerous organizations.
(UPDATED, March 19) The Food and Drug Administration has finalized new compliance dates for the agricultural water requirements in the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule.
Taylor Farms Texas Inc., Dallas, is recalling Caesar salads with chicken due to an undeclared allergen — anchovies — an ingredient in the dressing.
Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI), Kieler, Wis., has appointed Monty Christenberry as senior vice president of the central region.
A dozen Haggen grocery stores in Washington are recalling deli products that contained diced yellow onions from Taylor Farms.
MONTEREY, Calif. — Enhanced record-keeping regulations for fresh produce may be a compelling option for the Food and Drug Administration after the E. coli/romaine lettuce outbreak this year, one former official says.
Growers, marketers, buyers, researchers and others will be taking a comprehensive look at production practices as part of the new Leafy Greens Food Safety Task Force.
What do the thousands of folks in the produce industry share?
The Produce Traceability Initiative is a worthwhile investment, especially in the event of outbreaks, according to key industry stakeholders.
Four more deaths have been reported in connection with the E. coli outbreak linked to Arizona romaine.
Of course, it’s not just consumer groups that are frustrated with the lack of traceback success with the Yuma-E. coli-romaine lettuce connection.
The Food and Drug Administration is urging the produce industry and various organizations studying how E. coli came into contact with romaine grown in Yuma, Ariz., to continue working with the agency on the issue.
Perception is reality and a new survey from food and marketing agency Charleston Orwig found that more than a quarter of consumers said they do not trust the vigilance of the food industry’s safety efforts.
Registration is closing for four Food and Drug Administration meetings on proposals for the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule.
National health authorities are telling consumers, retailers and restaurants to avoid romaine lettuce in yet another E. coli outbreak with cases in 11 states and Canada.
Federal agencies are asking romaine lettuce shippers to stop packing and selling their product as a second E. coli outbreak traced to the lettuce is under investigation.
With a post on their website at 2:30 p.m. Eastern today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped a bombshell.
Industry associations have responded to an E. coli outbreak linked to romaine, asking growers and shippers to “make a hard, convincing and clean break” until the outbreak is declared over.
At the Center for Produce Safety’s annual Research Symposium in Charlotte N.C., the topics ranged from Listeria and Salmonella validation tools, sanitation methods, water testing and more.
Eurofins has acquired Cascade Analytical Inc., an environmental and agricultural testing firm with labs in Wenatchee and Yakima, Wash.
The Center for Produce Safety, which recently announced an Innovation Challenge award with a total possible payout of $500,000, is having an informational web seminar about the event.
Two leading personalities shaping U.S. food culture will share top billing at Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Expo.
Growers in the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement will soon be sanitizing “open-source” water used on their crops, which has been the focus of at least two recent E. coli outbreaks traced to leafy greens.
The FDA is ushering in what it calls a New Era of Smarter Food Safety, with a focus on technology to trace the origin of fresh produce.
Investigators continue to search for the source of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 172 people in 32 states, but a straightforward solution has not been forthcoming.
The FDA is still working to find answers to the fundamental questions about the outbreak tied to Arizona romaine, more than one month after the initial alert was issued by the CDC.
In the wake of an E. coli outbreak tied to romaine, numerous consumer groups are calling for the FDA to mandate more stringent traceability measures for companies that handle leafy greens and other “high-risk” food.