Food Safety

Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Several companies were involved in a warehouse operation that was relabeling expired meat or manipulating its best before dates, re-selling the meat to restaurants and other distribution points. Spanish officials seized 122 tons of meat and arrested more than a dozen people. Food fraud on that level endangers the health and, in some cases, even the lives of consumers and urgently needs to be uncovered and prosecuted.

Over the past 9 years, the Food Safety Consortium Conference & Expo has built a reputation for delivering perspectives and insights from the most knowledgeable and influential experts in food safety. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s event was converted from an in-person event into a 14-week series of virtual themed-episodes during the fall. Continuing the momentum from 2020, the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series will take place as a four-week Spring and five-week Fall program. Both the Spring and Fall programs will feature critical thinking topics that are for industry veterans and knowledgeable newcomers.

“As you know, the online experience is very different than in-person, so last year we deconstructed our in-person program and re-engineered it for virtual. Instead of having a virtual conference for three straight days, we set up our program in short 2.5-hour themed episodes that ran every Thursday in the fall. We received great feedback from attendees, speakers and sponsors. I think we were one of the few conferences that successfully pulled off the pivot to virtual,” says Rick Biros, president of Innovative Publishing and director of the Food Safety Consortium.

Some Food Contamination Starts In The SoilRead More...farms.com/news/some-food… pic.twitter.com/mM8qrn95mn

B.C. businesses are strengthening food security and food safety by adopting new traceability technology with funding from the governments of Canada and B.C.

FDA has completed its investigation of the multistate outbreak of E. coli 0151:H7 that occurred last fall and was linked to leafy greens. The FDA and CDC found the outbreak was caused by an E. coli strain that was genetically related to the strain found in the fall 2019 outbreak involving romaine lettuce (Salinas, California). Despite conducting environmental sampling at dozens of ranches in the area, the FDA was unable to identify a single site as the source of the outbreak. However, the analysis did confirm “a positive match to the outbreak strain in a sample of cattle feces,” which was located uphill from where the leafy greens identified in the agency’s traceback investigation were grown, according to an FDA release.

Mary Beth Kirkham hadn’t studied microplastics when she was invited to co-edit a new book about microplastics in the environment—but something stood out to her about the existing research.

“I had read in the literature that . . . cadmium and other toxic trace elements [are] increased when we have these particulate plastics in the soil. So, that was of concern to me,” said Kirkham, a plant physiologist and distinguished professor of agronomy at Kansas State University.

Kirkham’s expertise is in water and plant relations and heavy metal uptake, so she decided to conduct her own research in which she cultivated wheat plants exposed to microplastics, cadmium, and both microplastics and cadmium. Then she compared these plants to those grown without either additive. She chose cadmium because it’s poisonous, carcinogenic, and ubiquitous in the environment due to human activity—it’s shed from batteries and car tires, and is naturally found in the phosphate rock used to make agricultural fertilizers.

Food fraud has been estimated to cost our industry over $50 billion per year. Performing a comprehensive fraud vulnerability assessment is now a key requirement of all GFSI standards. Do you know which of your ingredients are the most susceptible to intentional adulteration?

Hazard Question #3 – Which food commodity category has had the most fraud incident reports over the past 20 years?

Hint: If you have access to HorizonScan it takes less than 10 seconds to select a commodity, click the fraud filter and be viewing up to 20 years of food fraud reports. HorizonScan is widely recognized by GFSI auditors as an excellent foundation for performing thorough and compliant vulnerability assessments.

Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Organic produce is a lucrative and growing market and an easy target for food fraud. Mislabeled organically certified pistachios were bringing in up to 80% more revenue than conventional nuts, resulting in a €6 million profit. European officials including Europol uncovered the illegal operation and made 14 arrests in Spain. Forensic analysis showed that the pistachios contained illegal pesticides.

Food fraud is a global problem, the size of which cannot be fully quantified. A new book edited and authored by experts on the topic seeks to comprehensively address food fraud, covering everything from its history and mitigation strategies, to tools and analytical detection methods, to diving into fraud in specific products such as ingredients, meat, poultry and seafood.

The article talks about whether genetically modified foods are safe to eat. Based on evidence and research so far, and understanding genes of GM foods, they prove to be safe to eat.

As we work toward our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and begin to build back better, it is more important than ever that the Government of Canada invests in services that are essential to the security and growth of Canadian agriculture and agri-food businesses.

It is safe to say that 2020 was a year unlike any other. The COVID-19 pandemic brought on significant changes to everyday life across the world. It also brought some significant challenges to businesses from retail, to restaurants and manufacturing. The supply chain industry faced a challenge like no other when shutdowns began and manufacturers were left scrambling to come up with a backup plan. Although these challenges were tough to handle, it gave the industry a much-needed eye opening to make the changes needed in order to avoid this from happening again.

Our #foodsafety expert talks #traceability and privacy concerns in the effort to limit #foodborne outbreaks via @NikoMcCarty with @TheCounter. hubs.ly/H0FcSBR0

Investigations into foodborne illness are often slow and in most cases, the source of an outbreak is never found.

This week’s question deals with pepper. Did you know that for centuries pepper has been considered the “King of Spices?” It was one of the very first items of commerce between India and Europe. It was so valuable that entire expeditions were made in hopes of transporting more back to Europe as quickly as possible.

Hazard Question #2 – Which country of origin has been cited by global inspection agencies the most times in the past year for adulteration issues in pepper?

Hint: With HorizonScan you could find the answer to today’s quiz in less than ten seconds by doing a search on “pepper – black, pink or white” and then selecting the one-year country of origin bar chart on the results page.

Food risks for a particular ingredient can vary greatly from country to country. HorizonScan can show you the most likely risks to your products based on where each of its ingredients are sourced. To request updated pricing information or a free demo fill out this contact form.

Packaging manufacturers are ensuring that their products protect against viruses like COVID-19, as well as other forms of contamination

As the population continues to grow and the effects of climate change, global warming, pollution and other factors impact humanity’s ability to grow and provide enough food for itself, the concern that the world could run out of food is increasing.. The COVID-19 pandemic has put more focus on how fragile the food supply chain is and how easy it is to disrupt the process of feeding the world. For years, it has been mostly a topic of discussion. But with so many disruptions, it is now an issue that needs to be acted on. Social groups, civic associations, government bodies and food manufacturers have taken notice of the problem and are attempting to get their hands around the issues. One of the key points in this discussion revolves around the amount of food and food sources that will be needed in the future. It always starts with the same question: “Will there be enough food?” Most people immediately say no. But is that 100% true? This is where the debate between food insecurity and food waste begins.

“Food safety plan” is a term often used in the food industry to define an operation’s plan to prevent or reduce potential food safety issues that can lead to a serious adverse health consequence or death to humans and animals to an acceptable level. However, depending on the facility, their customers, and or regulatory requirements, the definition and specific requirements for food safety plans can be very different. To ensure food safety, it’s important that the industry finds consensus in a plan that is vetted and has worked for decades.

This week’s PMA virtual town hall took a look at how food safety problems and possible solutions might continue to evolve in the new year. The panel was led by Max Teplitski, PMA’s Chief Science Officer. Panelists were Wendelyn Jones, Ph.D., Executive Director of ILSI North America, William D. Marler,…

A team of researchers from India and the UK develop two devices that can detect adulteration in the prized long-grained rice

It’s been a complicated year for many businesses in the fruit and vegetable sector. One of the big trends that became even more obvious during this pandemic was automation. We spoke Daniel Ghadiri (CTO & president) and Nick Maglio (marketing director) of ProEx Food, LLC about the challenges and chances…

“This year hasn’t been great but considering the circumstances, we were quite lucky”, says Rick Briston, business development manager for UK-based machinery manufacturer Redpack. A common sentiment at the end of this year. The COVID-pandemic has brought a number of challenges for the fruit and vegetable…

Reliable sensors ensure food safety on a growing food logistics market. Despite major changes to global business and travel movements, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the global food logistics market is growing - and sensors play a vital role to ensure food safety for food on the move. Prior to a bundle of…

A government report found about 9 million people get sick and more than 1,300 people die every year from eating contaminated food. The report gathered data from the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Agriculture on foodborne illness…

A survey of small farmers in Texas, focusing on food safety protocols and resources, has revealed significant gaps in these, increasing the risk of product contamination and foodborne illness. According to the study led by the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant…

The request for packaged fruit and vegetables is increasing, and there is a greater demand for citrus fruits and brassicas. These are just a few observations made by Giampaolo Ferri, fruit and vegetable purchasing manager at Coop Alleanza, as explained in the latest video of the Ortofrutta Smart series.…

“Within two weeks I was back home.” Gerrit Staal, who since March 1st is Export Manager Horticulture Sector at Elpress, can laugh about it, but it took some getting used to. He had imagined his first steps in the world of hygiene in greenhouse horticulture differently. For business the coronavirus, the 'culprit' of working from home, is not bad. “Elpress is doing well, also in green…

Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Food forgery cases keep raising great concerns about consumers’ health and safety all over the world. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply in Brazil prohibited sales of nine brands of fake olive oil. A criminal organization sold soybean oil as extra virgin olive oil under fictitious labels. All oils sold under these brands are being pulled from the market and destroyed. Several Brazilian agencies were working together on this case, including the Consumer Protection Police (Decon).

TELUS, a Canadian communication and information technology company, has expanded into agriculture and food. In addition to telecommunications, the company is also Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider under the name TELUS Health. “We’ve always had a sense of social purpose. With food and beverage…

"At the end of what we can all agree is an unusually challenging year in every aspect of life, food hygiene has been especially important," the team with the UK greenhouse growers Flavourfresh says. Earlier this month, the company achieved the AA+ BRCGS Food Safety Certification, the highest possible…