Food Safety Tech Survey: Are You Ready to Return to Corporate Travel?

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments

Business travel took a significant hit last year and 2021 has yet to see a rebound. Over the past two years, Food Safety Tech has strived to continue to educate the food safety community without missing a beat—in both 2020 and 2021 we converted our annual Food Safety Consortium into a virtual event series, and we ramped up our other web seminars.

As we look ahead to 2022, we are planning a great lineup of virtual events. However, we also want to get a feel for our audience’s comfort level in getting back to traveling for business—and even if you’re comfortable traveling, is there money in the budget for it?

As a valued member of the food safety community, we invite you to participate in the following brief survey. As a show of appreciation, you will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a free registration for the 2022 Food Safety Consortium.

Create your own user feedback survey

Robert Califf, FDA

President Biden to Make Nomination for FDA Commissioner and USDA Food Safety Head

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Robert Califf, FDA

President Biden plans to nominate former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, M.D. to lead the agency once again—in an announcement mainly focused on clinical trials, vaccine approvals, and ending the coronavirus pandemic. Califf briefly served as FDA commissioner in 2016. His tenure was less than a year.

Perhaps more significant news for the food industry is the President’s intent to nominate Jose Emilio Esteban, Ph.D. to the post of undersecretary for food safety at the USDA. Esteban is currently the chief scientist for FSIS and has been in this role since 2018; he has served in the USDA’s FSIS since 2006. Before his time at the agency, he worked for the CDC.

The Senate must confirm both positions.

FDA

Online Food Shopping Becomes New Normal for Consumers, FDA to Ramp Up Food Safety Efforts

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
FDA

Online grocery shopping became essential during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many consumers have returned to the brick and mortar stores, many others have completely changed how they shop for food, opting for online shopping, whether out of convenience or for safety. The FDA has seen and recognizes this shift and even held a three-day virtual summit last month, “The FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety Summit on E-Commerce: Ensuring the Safety of Foods Ordered Online and Delivered Directly to Consumers”, to discuss and gain insights into the world of business to consumer e-commerce involving food.

“It is now clear that this is not a trend that will be completely reversed in time but one likely to lead to a new normal in how consumers shop for food, whether it’s from restaurants, grocery stores, or companies providing meal kits and other products,” state Frank Yiannas, deputy commissioner for food policy and response at FDA and Andreas Keller, director, multi-commodity foods, Office of Food Safety at CFSAN on the FDA Voices blog. “Thus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is actively working with partners in federal, state, and local government and industry in the U.S. and other nations, as well as with consumer advocates, to help ensure that consumers aren’t ever unwittingly trading food safety for convenience.”

During last month’s meeting, many challenges and questions came up, from how to further prevent food tampering to labeling issues, especially related to allergens, to ensuring that food safety values are shared across all parties involved in producing, transporting and selling food in the e-commerce setting.

FDA announced that it will be reviewing and assessing the information it received during the meeting and is inviting industry to submit public comments now through November 20, 2021 (Docket FDA-2021-N-0929). From there, the agency will determine the critical issues that need to be addressed first.

The daily recordings of the virtual summit are available on FDA’s website.

CIJ

Infused Products Virtual Conference to Tackle Safety and Quality

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
CIJ

State regulations shouldn’t be the reason why infused products manufacturers have robust safety and quality standards—consumer safety is. Join Cannabis Industry Journal for a complimentary event, “Infused Products Virtual Conference”, on November 16 at 12 pm ET.

The following are some agenda highlights:

  • Where to Begin: Leveraging Quality Systems to Improve Operations & Growth, with David Vaillencourt, The GMP Collective and Kathleen Mays, Triskele Quality Solutions
  • 3 Steps to Create a Compliance Culture with Operational Excellence, with Dede Perkins, ProCanna
  • Innovation from an Outside Perspective – For the Purpose of Building Infused & CBD Product Success, with Jerod Martin, CannGoods
  • Implementing Food Safety Management Systems in Infused Products Production Facilities, with Dr. Laurie Post, Deibel Labs
  • ICP-MS Analysis of Heavy Metals in Cannabis Containing Food and Cosmetics Using CRM Mixes, A TechTalk sponsored by MilliporeSigma

Register for the Infused Products Virtual Conference by Cannabis Industry Journal.

Dole Garden Salad

Possible Listeria Contamination, Dole Recalls Garden Salads

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Dole Garden Salad

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. issued a voluntary recall of certain cases of its garden salad over concern of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Although no illnesses have been reported, the company is pulling select lots of its garden salads marketed under the Dole, Marketside, Kroger and Salad Classics names.

The recall was taken as a precaution after a single sample of garden salad tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes in random sampling conducted by the Department of Agriculture in Georgia.

The company announcement states that the product is beyond its “best if used by” date and should no longer be on store shelves. The products were distributed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.

Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

2021 FSC Episode 9 Preview: Professional Development, Training and Mentorship

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

This week the final episode of the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series takes place, and appropriately closes out with an afternoon of insights about navigating a career in food safety. The following is the agenda for Thursday’s episode, which begins at 12 pm ET.

  • A Modern, Multi-Layered Approach to Professional Development in Food Safety, with Darin Detwiler, Northeastern University
  • What I Wish I Had Known Early in My FSQ Career, with Jill Stuber, The Food Safety Coach and Tia Glave, Tia Glave Consulting
  • Mentorship Minute and Career Development Journey: From QA Technician to SVP, a conversation between Deborah Coviello, Illumination Partners and Brian Perry, TreeHouse Foods
Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

2021 FSC Episode 8 Preview: Food Defense: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

You don’t want to miss this week’s episode of the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series. The session, Food Defense: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, will discuss pre-FSMA IA Rule voluntary food defense programs, compliance timelines, and regulatory compliance vs. enterprise risk based approaches to food defense. Presenters will address the status of Food Defense plan quick checks and share insights on Food Defense Plan reanalysis. Participants will gain insights on threat intelligence sources and food defense-based research updates. Other topics to be covered include a brief overview of recently released insider risk mitigation reference material, cyber/IT “vulnerabilities”, critical infrastructure protection and how an all-hazards mindset to “all of the above” can help to contribute to a Food Protection Culture.

The following is the line up of speakers for Thursday’s episode, which begins at 12 pm ET.

  • Jason Bashura, PepsiCo (moderator)
  • Food Defense Yesterday with Raquel Maymir, General Mills
  • FBI HQ Perspectives of Food Defense with Helen S. Lawrence and Scott Mahloch, FBI
  • Food Defense Tomorrow with Frank Pisciotta, ASIS Food Defense & Ag Security Community and Cathy Baillie, Mars, Inc.
  • Risk-based Food Defense with Jessica Cox, Department of Homeland Security, Chemical Security Analysis Center
  • Food Defense & Supply Chain Perspectives: Regional Resilience Action Plan with Jose Dossantos, Department of Homeland Security/CISA

The Fall program runs every Thursday from October 7 through November 4. Haven’t registered? Follow this link to the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series, which provides access to all the episodes featuring critical industry insights from leading subject matter experts!

Recall

Onions Named as Source of Salmonella Outbreak, Distributors Agree to Recall

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Recall

— UPDATE October 22, 2021 — Keeler Family Farms, based in Deming, New Mexico, also issued a voluntary recall for red, yellow and white onions imported from Chihuahua, Mexico and shipped from July 1 through August 25. Thus far no onions from Keeler Family Farms have tested positive for Salmonella.

— END UPDATE —

The source of the fast-growing Salmonella outbreak reported late last month has been identified: Fresh whole red, white and yellow onions imported from Chihuahua, Mexico and distributed by Illinois-based ProSource Inc.

Since late last month, the outbreak has grown from 29 to 37 states (However, the products were distributed nationwide), and from 280 to 652 reported illnesses. According to the CDC, the last of the onions were imported into the United States on August 27 (note, the import date ran from July 1 until August 27). However, businesses and consumers keep onions in storage for up to three months.

Illness subclusters have been linked to restaurants and food service locations. FDA is currently working to determine if these onions have also been distributed to customers via grocery stores. The agency is also continuing to traceback investigations to determine whether more products or suppliers have been affected by the contamination.

“ProSource Inc. has agreed to voluntarily recall red, yellow, and white onions imported from the State of Chihuahua, MX, with import dates from July 1, 2021 through August 27, 2021. Descriptions of these onion types include, but are not limited to, jumbo, colossal, medium, and sweet onions. Additional recall information will be made public as soon as it is available from ProSource Inc.,” according to recall information posted on FDA’s website.

Currently no deaths have been reported, but 129 people have been hospitalized. The last illness onset recorded was September 30.

Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

2021 FSC Episode 7 Preview: Food Safety Supply Chain Management

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

This week’s episode of the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series will dive into the challenges of effectively managing your food supply chain. The following is the agenda for Thursday’s episode, which begins at 12 pm ET.

  • Enterprise Risk Management with Melanie Neumann, Matrix Sciences
  • The Role of Food Safety Certification in Supply Chain Management, a presentation by food safety experts Roy Kirby and Alec Kyriakides, followed by a panel discussion led by Erica Sheward, GFSI
  • Supplier Certification Management—Untangle the Chaos without Breaking the Bank, a panel discussion with David Black, RizePoint; Kari Neubauer, Ceres Certifications, Intl; and Karl Kolb, Ph.D, The High Sierra Group; moderated by Kari Hension, RizePoint
  • Accredited Third Party Certification Program, An FDA Update with Doriliz De Leon, FDA
  • Closing Remarks and Industry Commentary with Trish Wester, AFSAP
  • Tech Talk presented by David Black, Rizepoint

The Fall program runs every Thursday from October 7 through November 4. Haven’t registered? Follow this link to the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series, which provides access to all the episodes featuring critical industry insights from leading subject matter experts!

 

USDA Logo

USDA Makes Stronger Moves to Reduce Salmonella Illnesses from Poultry Products

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
USDA Logo

Today the USDA announced an initiative to help reduce the incidence of Salmonella illnesses linked to poultry products. In an effort to reach the national target of a 25% reduction in these illnesses, the agency will be looking for feedback on strategies related to Salmonella control and management in poultry slaughter and processing facilities. This includes pilot projects, the data from which the agency will use to determine whether different methods could be implemented to reduce Salmonella illnesses.

“The effort will leverage USDA’s strong research capabilities and strengthen FSIS’ partnership with the Research, Education and Economics (REE) mission area to address data gaps and develop new laboratory methods to guide future Salmonella policy. Meanwhile, the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria in Foods, an independent federal advisory committee, will be asked to advise on how FSIS can build on the latest science to improve its approach to Salmonella control. Since it is not just the presence or absence of Salmonella, but the quantity of bacteria that can impact the likelihood of illness, FSIS will examine how quantification can be incorporated into this approach. Moreover, with emerging science suggesting that not all Salmonella are equally likely to cause human illness, FSIS will focus on the Salmonella serotypes and the virulence factors that pose the greatest public health risk.” – USDA Press Release

Watch On Demand

Food Safety Hazards Series: Salmonella Detection, Mitigation, Control and Regulation
Food safety experts will discuss challenges and tangible best practices in Salmonella detection, mitigation and control, along with critical issues that the food industry faces with regards to the pathogen. This includes the journey and progress of petition to USDA on reforming and modernizing poultry inspections to reduce the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter; Salmonella detection, mitigation and control; and a case study on the pathogen involving crisis management.