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Recipe for pathogen destruction: A little air, a little electricity, a flip of a switch

By Guest Contributor on May 19, 2019

illustration electricity — *Illustration*

What if you could kill 99 percent of the potentially harmful bacteria on the surface of your fresh produce in one minute with just the flip of a switch? Consumers could have devices similar in size and operation to a microwave oven, while restaurants and food processors could have larger devices built into their production and processing lines – no water, no waste, no antimicrobial resistance, minimal chemical residues, and completely sustainable with only a…

Food Safety News

Anatomy of a food recall: The background and the bottom line

By Guest Contributor on May 15, 2019

illustration epidemiology investigation outbreak

Contributed Editor’s note: This article was published by the Penn State Extension Service and is reprinted here with permission. It seems we hear about food recalls more frequently. To understand what is happening let’s look at food recalls in terms of responsible government agencies, causes, classifications and regulations. Government agencies The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates about 80 percent of the food supply which includes domestic and imported food and pet food. The other…

Food Safety News

FDA refuses to reconsider decision on hazardous chemical in food packaging

By Guest Contributor on April 24, 2019

Opinion Today, the FDA doubled-down on its flawed 2005 and 2017 decisions to allow the hazardous chemical perchlorate to be added to dry food packaging. The FDA denied a request for a public hearing submitted by the Center for Food Safety, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, and other advocacy groups. The food safety and cancer groups were joined by the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Science in the Public Interest,…

Food Safety News

Why does AFDO collaborate with the Food Safety Summit? It works for all

By Guest Contributor on March 18, 2019

Opinion AFDO has been a long-term collaborator with the Food Safety Summit, participating as a member of the Educational Advisory Board, coordinating summit sessions, and providing technical specialists for sessions and a presenter for the Town Hall session. You may wonder the association representing state and local regulatory agencies is so interested in a meeting largely attended by industry? First, state and local agencies perform most of the food safety inspections across the United States. It’s…

Food Safety News

Latest food safety technology will boost your bottom line

By Guest Contributor on February 11, 2019

Advertiser Sponsored Content How much money have you lost in the past 24 hours? How much food has gone bad and how much time was wasted in your kitchen? We all understand the paramount importance of food safety when it comes to our brand’s image and our customers’ health, but do you really understand the danger of ignoring food safety as it pertains to your bottom line? Food contamination costs U.S. consumers around $55 …

Food Safety News

WGS surpasses FDA as top fear factor for food companies

By Guest Contributor on February 8, 2019

FEAR acronym concept of bravery choice in life

Opinion There are three letters that should strike fear into every food executive’s heart – and three steps those business people can take to protect their companies. No, the three letters are not F-D-A. Although the Food and Drug Administration is quite powerful, the agency can only wield that power against a particular food company when it has the evidence to do so. The three letters I am referring to are W-G-S – which stands…

Food Safety News

Can Silicon Valley save food safety? Maybe, but not with online reviews alone

By Guest Contributor on January 23, 2019

Opinion An emerging body of scholarship argues that machine learning and artificial intelligence can solve food safety enforcement. By mining tweets and Yelp reviews, health departments can target inspections more effectively. With much fanfare, health departments in Boston, New York City, Las Vegas and Chicago have experimented with using social media to send allocate enforcement resources to restaurants predicted to be non-compliant. As the Atlantic put it, predictive policing means “Yelp might clean up the restaurant industry.” Yelp’s…

Food Safety News

When is a potato washer not a potato washer? When it’s washing cantaloupes

By Guest Contributor on December 9, 2018

Opinion Food companies have been at the forefront of technological innovation and scientific research and development for decades upon decades. Cursory attention to the items we eat — how those items are grown, sourced, processed, and packaged – provides ample evidence of scientific research and development and technological innovation in the food industry. Simultaneously, food companies are justifiably concerned about protecting their brand names, market share, liability risks, and consumer relations. Over the most recent 30…

Food Safety News

When lettuce becomes unhealthy, it’s time to rethink food safety in the U.S.

By Guest Contributor on December 5, 2018

Editor’s note: This guest column was written by Senior Director of Health and Food Erik Olson and Interim Food Director Lena Brook of the Natural Resources Defense Council. (In an earlier version of this post, FSN incorrectly identified the NRDC. The acronym stands for Natural Resources Defense Council.) We live in partisan times, as anyone who had to sit through Thanksgiving dinner with distant relatives can probably attest. But even your crazy uncle would agree…

Food Safety News

The new holiday tradition: Searching for recalls and outbreak information

By Guest Contributor on November 30, 2018

Opinion Editor’s note on the author: Michéle Samarya-Timm, a health educator and Registered Environmental Health Specialist working for Somerset (NJ) County Department of Health, originally wrote this column for barfblog.com. It is reprinted here with permission of barfblog founder Doug Powell. Baking pumpkin pies with Aunt Kay’s secret recipe. Watching “Miracle on 34th Street.” Preparing the dining room with the good china. Diffusing political conversations at the dinner table. Some traditions give a sense of warmth, connection, and continuity, and…

Guest Contributor

Recipe for pathogen destruction: A little air, a little electricity, a flip of a switch

Anatomy of a food recall: The background and the bottom line

FDA refuses to reconsider decision on hazardous chemical in food packaging

Why does AFDO collaborate with the Food Safety Summit? It works for all

Latest food safety technology will boost your bottom line

WGS surpasses FDA as top fear factor for food companies

Can Silicon Valley save food safety? Maybe, but not with online reviews alone

When is a potato washer not a potato washer? When it’s washing cantaloupes

When lettuce becomes unhealthy, it’s time to rethink food safety in the U.S.

The new holiday tradition: Searching for recalls and outbreak information

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