Chipotle

Chipotle Retraining Workers Following Illnesses that Shut Down Ohio Location

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Chipotle

Last month Chipotle Mexican Grill closed a location in Powell, Ohio after nearly 650 reported illnesses were tied to the location. The outbreak was caused by Clostridium perfringens, a type of bacteria that thrives at room temperature—in other words, food at this particular Chipotle location may have been kept at unsafe temperatures.

Following this latest incident, the company has decided it will retrain all of its estimated 70,000 employees on food safety and wellness protocols. Currently a source of the outbreak has not been found.

“Chipotle has a zero-tolerance policy for any violations of our stringent food safety standards. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure it does not happen again.” – Brian Niccol, Chipotle

In line with the company’ zero-tolerance policy, some employees who worked at the Powell location were reportedly let go after the outbreak.

Chipotle has had several outbreaks that have made headlines over the last three years.

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Return of FSMA IQ Test: Part V

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Two years ago, Food Safety Tech published a series of six FSMA IQ tests to “test” industry’s knowledge about FSMA. It seemed appropriate, as at that point in time, folks still had a lot of unanswered questions. Now that we have a couple of years under our belt, how much to we know? We will publish each section of the test every week for the next six weeks. Then at this year’s Food Safety Consortium, the creators of the test–Bill Bremer, principal of food safety compliance at Kestrel Management, LLC and his team–will compare 2016 vs. 2018 during an interactive session. And if you have questions or comments on any of the elements brought up in the IQ test, please include them comments section below the test, so Bremer’s team can address them either live on our site or during the Consortium session.

Take Part IV here.

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Tyson Foods

Report: Tyson to Buy Keystone Foods for $2.5 Billion

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Tyson Foods

This morning Reuters is reporting that Tyson Foods is acquiring Keystone Foods, a U.S.-based chicken processor, from Marfrig Global Foods SA for $2.5 billion. Neither Tyson Foods nor the Brazilian meatpacker commented on the report.
According to Reuters, Marfrig’s controlling shareholder Marcos Molina signed the deal Thursday evening.

In June, Tyson acquired organic chicken producer Tecumseh Poultry, LLC, but the terms of this deal were not disclosed.

McDonalds, golden arches

FDA Investigation of Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Salads Continues

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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McDonalds, golden arches

Yesterday FDA provided an update on the multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections “likely” linked to people who consumed salads from McDonald’s. The outbreak spans across 15 states and has infected 476 people, 21 of whom have been hospitalized. According to FDA’s latest release, the agency is reviewing distribution and supplier information for romaine lettuce and carrots.

Last month, USDA’s FSIS issued a public health alert on beef, pork and poultry salads and wraps, distributed by Caito Foods, LLC, that were potentially contaminated with Cyclospora. Fresh Express, Caito Foods’ supplier, had notified the company that the products with romaine lettuce were being recalled. However, no products related to this particular outbreak have been recalled, according to FDA. In addition, McDonald’s has reportedly ceased using the Fresh Express salad mix at restaurants impacted by the outbreak.

FDA stated that it currently does not have evidence suggesting that this Cyclospora outbreak is connected to the Cyclospora outbreak linked to Del Monte vegetable trays.

Karen Everstine, Decernis

Food Fraud: FSMA Rules, GFSI Compliance

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Karen Everstine, Decernis

Question 1: Is food fraud addressed in the FDA’s Intentional Adulteration rule (“Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration”)?

Karen Everstine: Food fraud, or what the FDA calls “economically motivated adulteration” (EMA), is certainly an intentional act. However, recent U.S. regulations for food fraud/EMA are outlined in the Preventive Controls (PC) rules (“Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food” and “Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals”) and not in the Intentional Adulteration (IA) Rule. FDA indicated that the IA rule was intended to “prevent acts intended to cause wide-scale harm.” Therefore, new requirements related to food fraud/EMA are included in the hazard analysis requirements in the PC rules. FDA indicated they anticipate EMA preventive controls to be needed only in rare circumstances and “usually in cases where there has been a pattern of EMA in the past.” It is important to note that these requirements are specific to hazards that may be introduced for the purposes of economic gain. EMA that only affects product quality is outside the scope of the PC rules. However, there are misbranding and adulteration provisions of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act that apply to EMA more broadly (whether or not the substance used may be a hazard).

Question 2: If my facility includes food fraud/EMA in our hazard analysis, will we be compliant with global food fraud requirements?

Everstine: Addressing food fraud/EMA only in your hazard analysis is not sufficient for GFSI compliance. Therefore, if your facility needs to be GFSI compliant, you will need to implement a food fraud vulnerability assessment and mitigation plan that covers all types of fraud. This includes fraud that only affects quality and it includes counterfeiting, theft, diversion, and gray market production. While FDA has indicated they are primarily focused on food fraud/EMA that has a known pattern of occurrence and could be a hazard, GFSI requires that industry evaluate vulnerability more broadly. This includes identifying fraud opportunities (such as complex supply chains), individual capability, and “weak signals” of fraud that could include indicators such as price changes for commodities.

Kroger

Kroger to Sell Groceries in China Via Alibaba

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Kroger

The Cincinnati-based supermarket chain Kroger has entered into a pilot partnership with Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform to sell its “Our Brands” products online to consumers in China. This platform is China’s largest business-to-consumer marketplace, and helps retailers that don’t have physical operations in the country build virtual storefronts and send products to China.

The pilot will start with Kroger’s Simple Truth products, which are positioned as natural and organic, and are also the second-largest brand sold in Kroger stores. This year alone the brand generated more than $2 billion in sales, earning it the title of largest natural and organic brand in the United States, according to Kroger.

“Kroger is the world’s third largest retailer by revenue–$122.7 billion in sales in 2017,” said Yael Cosset, chief digital officer at Kroger in a news release. “We are creating the grocery retail model of the future by focusing on digital and technology.”

The partnership also supports the company’s “Restock Kroger” pillars of redefining the grocery customer experience by elevating “Our Brands” and creating customer and shareholder value through promoting top line growth via alternative revenue streams.

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Return of FSMA IQ Test: Part IV

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Two years ago, Food Safety Tech published a series of six FSMA IQ tests to “test” industry’s knowledge about FSMA. It seemed appropriate, as at that point in time, folks still had a lot of unanswered questions. Now that we have a couple of years under our belt, how much to we know? We will publish each section of the test every week for the next six weeks. Then at this year’s Food Safety Consortium, the creators of the test–Bill Bremer, principal of food safety compliance at Kestrel Management, LLC and his team–will compare 2016 vs. 2018 during an interactive session. And if you have questions or comments on any of the elements brought up in the IQ test, please include them comments section below the test, so Bremer’s team can address them either live on our site or during the Consortium session.

Take Part III here.

Create your own user feedback survey

Question mark

Return of FSMA IQ Test: Part III

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Question mark

Two years ago, Food Safety Tech published a series of six FSMA IQ tests to “test” industry’s knowledge about FSMA. It seemed appropriate, as at that point in time, folks still had a lot of unanswered questions. Now that we have a couple of years under our belt, how much to we know? We will publish each section of the test every week for the next six weeks. Then at this year’s Food Safety Consortium, the creators of the test–Bill Bremer, principal of food safety compliance at Kestrel Management, LLC and his team–will compare 2016 vs. 2018 during an interactive session. And if you have questions or comments on any of the elements brought up in the IQ test, please include them comments section below the test, so Bremer’s team can address them either live on our site or during the Consortium session.

Take Part II here.

Create your own user feedback survey

Intertek acquires Alchemy

Intertek to Acquire Alchemy

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Intertek acquires Alchemy

Today Intertek Group plc announced its intent to acquire Alchemy Investment Holdings, Inc. (more commonly known as Alchemy). The company points to Alchemy’s People Assurance solutions for the food industry as playing a role in promoting operational excellence and helping to identify critical skill gaps in frontline employees, especially as supply chains and distribution channels increase in complexity. Intertek provides assurance solutions that help companies identify and mitigate risk in operations, supply and distribution chains, and quality management systems. The company believes the addition of Alchemy will strengthen its global offerings.

“Alchemy’s unique focus on frontline workforce training is critical for safety and operational execution. Our combined solution will provide companies with a higher level of quality assurance and with greater peace of mind.” – André Lacroix, Intertek Group

Alchemy is owned by The Riverside Company, a private equity company, and will be bought for a cash consideration of $480 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis, according to Intertek. The company intends to maintain its current focus and its management team will stay. “Alchemy does not plan to change its brand, its focus on frontline workers or the food industry, or to scale down its operations — to the contrary, this purchase only fuels more growth,” an Alchemy spokesperson stated in an email to Food Safety Tech. “Intertek’s client list and market access will give Alchemy additional global reach.”

US Foods

$1.8 Billion Cash Deal: US Foods to Acquire SGA’s Food Group of Companies

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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US Foods

This week US Foods Holding Corp announced a deal to acquire the five operating companies, SGA’s Food Group of Companies, for $1.8 billion in cash. SGA’s food companies are Food Services of America, Inc., Systems Services of America, Inc., Amerifresh, Inc., Ameristar Meats, Inc., and GAMPAC Express, Inc. Collectively these companies provide services that include food service for casual and fast casual dining, distribution, produce sourcing and marketing, custom meats, and supply chain planning and logistics.

“This acquisition will significantly increase US Foods’ reach across key markets in the attractive and growing Northwest region of the U.S. and adds one of the most well-regarded regional distributors to our company,” said US Foods Chairman and CEO Pietro Satriano in a company release.

In addition to expanding US Foods’ footprint in the Northwest, the company will leverage the scale of SGA’s Food Group of Companies, which have nearly 33,000 customers, 12 distribution centers and more than 20 private brands. US Foods estimates it will achieve $55 million in annual run-rate cost synergies by the end of FY 2022 as a result of savings in administrative expenses, distribution and procurement.