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Running a little hot and cold? Avoid the food safety danger zone

By Guest Contributor on August 28, 2019

Industrial refrigerator for cafes and restaurants detached

Contributed Food businesses that invest in digital temperature sensors will experience important benefits: reducing food safety breaches, preventing food waste, and saving significant money. Digital temperature sensors are a smart and important investment for restaurants and other food businesses. Imagine this: Your restaurant’s walk-in cooler malfunctions overnight. When your manager arrives the next morning, the walk-in isn’t working, and she has no idea how long it’s been down. There’s no way to tell exactly how long the food…

Food Safety News

Paradise parasites — Challenges to controlling rat lungworm disease

By Guest Contributor on August 19, 2019

snail rat lung — Snails are just one link in the complicated chain of the transmission of the parasites behind rat lungworm disease to humans. *Hawaii Health Department Credit: Jaynee Kim, Bishop Museum*

Opinion “Tropical parasites in our food? No way!” most Americans think. It’s time to think again. In May Hawaii’s Department of Health announced three more cases of rat lungworm in recent visitors. Already endemic in Hawaii, Asia, Australia, Brazil and the Caribbean, the exotic foodborne menace is also emerging in Florida and other southeastern states. Rat lungworm survives using clever, earthy tactics. Adult worms live in rats—snails and slugs get infected by eating rat…

Food Safety News

The Blue Bell ice cream Listeria outbreak and its fallout

By Guest Contributor on August 1, 2019

Blue Bell plant Brenham Texas — This is the exterior of the Blue Bell plant in Brenham, TX. *Photo by Dreamstime*

Opinion Authors: Angela Spivey, Andrew Phillips , and Alan Pryor It may come off as a truism that food safety is the “most central consumer safety and legal compliance issue” facing a food and beverage company. Yet the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Marchand v. Barnhill—a shareholder derivative suit that catalogs the fallout from the 2015 Blue Bell listeria outbreak—serves as a reminder of the importance of food safety and reporting controls up to…

Food Safety News

E. coli from beef to romaine: Can the past be the prelude?

By Guest Contributor on July 2, 2019

JOpinion Editor’s note: Gary M. Weber, president of G.M. Weber Consulting LLC, submitted this column for original publication in Food Safety News. Numerous E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks linked to Romaine lettuce have been a tragedy for both consumers and the leafy greens industry. The leafy greens industry is aggressively addressing approaches to prevent future outbreaks. This analysis is intended to share observations and recommendations for consideration that may contribute to the prevention of E. coli…

Food Safety News

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…

Guest Contributor

Running a little hot and cold? Avoid the food safety danger zone

Paradise parasites — Challenges to controlling rat lungworm disease

The Blue Bell ice cream Listeria outbreak and its fallout

E. coli from beef to romaine: Can the past be the prelude?

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

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