Food Safety & Environmental Health Blog

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By: Environ Health Associates, Inc.

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Roy Costa

Latest from Food Safety & Environmental Health Blog

To better understand my piece on Rose Acre Farms, let me further clarify a few things. I am a sanitarian by training, I am not per se an expert in all aspects of poultry or egg production. I have a bias toward sanitation (the maintenance of healthful conditions) as a primary, or even the most fundamental disease control practice. As an environmental health professional, I am focused on preventing routes of disease transmission through the…
The Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) under FDA, was enacted in 2015 to require that foreign suppliers of food provide the same level of food protection for their food as provided by our public health system. This is needed, as outbreaks of foodborne illness continue to occur both in foreign and domestically sourced foods. Under this law, importers (also known as “FSVP importers” for the purpose of the FSVP law, as explained below) must perform…
In today’s world of food safety requirements, food producers large and small and at all levels of the supply chain are subject to increasingly rigorous industry-driven food safety standards and audits. Third party audit standards have been revitalized by the all too apparent ineffectiveness of the way external parties verify food safety programs as brought to light in several foodborne illness outbreaks. Following the Jensen Farms incident, auditing firms have tightened the process for certification,…
Widespread allergen exposures and the extent of the problem A recent spat of food product recalls due to undeclared allergenic agents illustrates the problem the food industry has in preventing allergen exposures. Paleteria La Jalpita Issues Allergy Alert On Undeclared Milk And Sulfite In Ice Cream Bars And Popsicles The Popcorn Factory, Inc. Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Milk in Product Bedessee Imports Inc., Voluntarily Recalls Brown Betty Coconut Milk Powder Due to Presence of …
In Response to: “Blue Bell and the Very Real Impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act” at Food Safety news I appreciate Michael Taylor’s comments in the above article posted on Food Safety News and also believe that FSMA is a step in the right direction. The fact, however, is that companies around the globe have already adopted food safety systems! This article makes it sound like preventative controls are something new and that such…
Listeria monocytogenes bacteria are very hardy infectious bacteria and widely distributed in nature, and very difficult to control. Listeria monocytogenes previously known to veterinary science as a pathogen of sheep, first came to light as a major foodborne agent when the largest and most deadly outbreaks in US history occurred in queso fresco cheese manufactured in Los Angeles, California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outbreaks_by_death_toll…
As the result of numerous national and international outbreaks of foodborne illness, food industries worldwide have come under increasing pressure to ensure that their products are safe, wholesome, and meet government standards. FDA and USDA have the primary authority for our food supply nationally, while individual states typically regulate local food operations through state and county departments of agriculture and health.…