Bionano Laboratory

Biosensor Detects Norovirus on the Spot, in One Hour

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Bionano Laboratory

Norovirus has returned to the headlines following the latest outbreak at the PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea. Researchers at Bionano Laboratory in Guelph, Canada are trying to prevent such outbreaks with the development of a nanotechnology-based biosensor that can identify foodborne viruses at the point of care.

“Our nanotech biosensor boasts of a microfluidic platform duly integrated with graphene-gold nano-composite aptasensor that has shown to help with one-step norovirus detection. We have been able to detection the norovirus with in an hour with superior sensitivity with our state-of-the art device.” – Suresh Neethirajan, Bionano Lab

Designed for use in the field, the paper-based microfluidic device has a screen-printed carbon electrode that enables electrochemical virus detection within an hour. Its chip is packed with silica microbeads zones to filter and enrich a Norovirus-infected sample. The researchers also state that the biosensor is designed to be simple and cost effective. They have published two papers demonstrating the effectiveness of the device, one in Microchimica Acta (Apramer-based fluorometric determination of norovirus using paper-based microfluidic device) and the other in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

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USDA PDP Report: Farmers Doing a Good Job Complying with Regulations

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Fruit and vegetable farmers are doing an “impressive” job of complying with the laws and regulations related to pesticide use in production, according to the USDA’s annual Pesticide Data Program (PDP) report. Based on data from 2016, the report found that more than 99% of samples had pesticide residues that were “well below” the EPA’s established tolerances, and more than 23% had no detectable residues. Less than half-a-percent of samples (0.46%) had residues that exceeded the EPA established tolerance.

To compile the PDP report, surveys were conducted in 2016 on several foods, including eggs, milk, and fresh and processed fruit and vegetables. The report contains data from more than 10,000 samples collected throughout the United States.

A release from the Alliance for Food and Farming states that the U.S. food supply is one of the safest in the world, yet: “Activists groups often manipulate the findings from the USDA PDP report taking the very positive results and somehow turning them into something negative. This tactic has been used routinely for 20-plus years to create a so-called ‘dirty dozen’ list, which has been repeatedly discredited by scientists.”

Alert

Pathogenic Contamination Among Top Food Safety Hazards for Cannabis

By Steven Burton
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Alert

“As more people gain access to and ingest cannabis products, it’s only a matter of time before food safety becomes a primary concern for producers and regulators,” says Steven Burton, CEO and founder of Icicle Technologies, Inc. Without federal regulation, there are so many questions about the food safety hazards associated with the use of cannabis in food products. In an article published in Food Safety Tech’s sister publication, Cannabis Industry Journal, Burton discusses the Top Four Safety Hazards for the Cannabis Industry, which includes pathogenic contamination from pests and improper handling.

RJ Palmero, Innovative Publishing

RJ Palermo Joins Innovative Publishing Company Team

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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RJ Palmero, Innovative Publishing

RJ Palermo has joined Innovative Publishing Co. (IPC) as Director of Sales – Events. In this newly created position at IPC, RJ will be managing the business development activities of the company’s food safety medical device and cannabis industries, working on both conference sponsorships and booth sales.

RJ will work side by side with Marc Spector, Director of Sales – Publishing. Marc had been responsible for all events and publishing sales, as well as for the year-after-year growth in these areas. The addition of RJ to the IPC team will support the company’s growth in sponsorship and exhibit sales, and allows Marc to continue supporting growth in digital advertising sales across all three of IPC’s digital publications, Food Safety Tech, MedTech Intelligence and Cannabis Industry Journal.

For many of IPC’s customers who leverage IPC’s unique position of conference sponsorships and digital advertising, they will be serviced in tandem by Marc and RJ.

“We saw a 25% growth in total revenue in 2017 and see tremendous growth potential in the three industries that we serve. Bringing RJ onto the team provides us the bandwidth to capitalize on the opportunities facing us,” said Rick Biros, president and co-founder of IPC. “Plus, RJ’s years of B2B conference and trade show management experience complements the IPC team’s current skill sets.”

RJ has more than 20 years of media, conference and agency experience. He was most recently a biopharmaceutical equipment contributor for the Pharma’s Almanac publication, and delivered several branding and research projects for pharmaceutical and medical device contract manufacturers. For 17 years RJ served as vice president of Interphex, the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing event in North America and was a key contributor of a successful launch of Medical Device Puerto Rico, which created the largest life sciences event in the Caribbean. RJ is an avid NY sports fan, and enjoys working out and spending time with his family and friends. RJ is married to his wife Beth, has a daughter Nora and dog Beau, and resides in Norwalk, CT.

Jim Gorny, CFSAN

CFSAN Announces New Senior Science Advisor for Produce Safety

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Jim Gorny, CFSAN

FDA has created a new position for former FDA member Jim Gorny to serve as the senior science advisor for produce safety at CFSAN. Gorny worked at FDA from 2009 to 2013 as the senior advisor in the agency’s Office of Food Safety at which time he was involved in the development of FSMA. He was previously the vice president of food safety and technology at the Produce Marketing Association.

In his position at CFSAN Gorny will work with a team of produce safety professionals on implementing new science and risk-based requirements that aim to prevent illnesses from contaminated produce. He will serve as the chief advisor to CFSAN Director Susan Mayne on policies and programs associated with produce safety. His responsibilities include stakeholder outreach and engagement, investigations and recalls, research and training.

“I will be working with state regulatory partners and other government agencies at home and abroad to build support for implementation of the produce rule, as well as with industry to help further compliance… I’ll be working to make sure that the people in senior-level management and the field staff, including those conducting foreign inspections, are speaking the same language. – Jim Gorny, FDA

In an interview published on FDA’s website, Gorny discusses his role at FDA, the produce safety rule and how he will be working with industry and key stakeholders, including the farming community.

Cargill, facial recognition technology

Facial Recognition for Cows? The Future Is Here

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Cargill, facial recognition technology

Facial recognition technology could be the next step in improving efficiency on dairy farms. Cargill is investing in Dublin-based Cainthus, a company that uses machine vision technology and predictive imaging to monitor livestock. In just seconds, Cainthus’ proprietary software’s imaging technology identifies cows by their features and captures their identity by recording specific patterns and movements. In addition to monitoring behavior patterns, the software can track data such as food and water intake, and heat detection.

“Our shared vision is to disrupt and transform how we bring insights and analytics to dairy producers worldwide. Our customers’ ability to make proactive and predictive decisions to improve their farm’s efficiency, enhance animal health and wellbeing, reduce animal loss, and ultimately increase farm profitability are significantly enhanced with this technology.” – SriRaj Kantamneni, managing director for Cargill’s digital insights business

An artificial intelligence driven mathematical algorithm generates analytics that can send farmers an alert to help them make on-site decisions that impact milk production, reproduction management and overall animal health, according to a Cargill press release.

The companies are concentrating on the dairy industry first and plan to expand to swine, poultry and aqua over the coming months.

FSMA

Need Help with Produce Safety and FSMA? FDA Launches New Page

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FSMA

FDA has launched a FSMA landing page on its website in an effort to provide more information about FSMA and assist in compliance. Links include information about the rules, guidance documents, training and technical assistance, compliance and implementation tools and general background about FSMA.

As the first major compliance date for large farms recently went into effect, the agency also recently updated the Produce Safety page. In an agency news update, it noted that in September 2017, FDA announced that routine inspections would be postponed until Spring 2019 to provide more time for education, outreach and training in 2018.

FDA

FDA Recognizes ANAB as First Accreditation Body

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA

In an effort to improve oversight of imported food, today FDA announced its recognition of the first accreditation body under FSMA’s voluntary accredited third body certification program. ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) has been recognized by FDA after meeting agency requirements, which were validated via an application review and on-site assessment.

“Accreditation bodies recognized by FDA will have the authority to accredit third-party certification bodies, also known as third-party auditors. These certification bodies, once accredited, can conduct food safety audits and issue certifications of foreign food facilities (including farms) and the foods – both human and animal – that they produce.” – FDA

Today FDA also launched the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP), which provides expedited review and entry of human and animal food into the United States. Importers that want to participate in the program must meet certain requirements, including making sure that the facilities of their foreign suppliers are certified under the Accredited Third-Party Certification Program.

Recall

Panera Bread Recalls Cream Cheese Out of Caution

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Recall

No one has reported falling ill, but Panera Bread Company isn’t taking any chances. After sampling one type of two-ounce cream cheese showed a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes from a single production day, the company decided to recall all varieties of its two-and eight-ounce cream cheese.

“The safety of our guests and associates is paramount, therefore we are recalling all cream cheese products sold in the U.S. with an active shelf life. We have likewise ceased all manufacturing in the associated cream cheese facility. Only one variety of 2-oz cream cheese from a single day yielded the positive result. Our intent is to go above and beyond for our guests. You should expect nothing less from Panera.” –Blaine Hurst, Panera’s President and CEO

The recall only affects cream cheese sold in Panera Bread United States locations, not those in Canada or other Panera food products.

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Thousands of Pounds of Meatballs Recalled Over Listeria Worry

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Rich Products Corp. recalled 3.420 pounds of ready-to-eat beef meatball products over concerns that they may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products, which were produced on December 17, 2017, include 36-lb cases that contain six bags of “Member’s Mark Casa Di Bertacchi Italian Style Beef Meatballs with a “best by” date of December 17, 2018. The meatballs were shipped to distributors in the South, including Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. The issue was discovered on January 24 when FSIS was notified by Rich Products that it shipped adulterated products into commerce. More information about the meatball recall is available on USDA’s website.