The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has recognized the Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) grain safety certification programs, noting the programs demonstrate “rigor and credibility.” The GFSI is a food safety certification program benchmarking system operated by the Consumer Goods Forum, which represents nearly 400 food retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders from over 70 countries. As part of its… Read more »
Facility in Dublin, Ohio, features microbiology lab, renovated chemistry lab
The food safety professionals from around Europe will be gathering to present and discuss topics that are challenging the production of safe food at a major European Symposium taking place in Cardiff in April, 20-22. The event is being organized in collaboration with ILSI Europe and with the technical cooperation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations…. Read more »
More than 1,500 food safety professionals gathered at BNP Media’s 16th Annual Food Safety Summit (FSS) last month in Baltimore, MD to learn about the latest FSMA updates and how they will affect their companies’ businesses. They also heard the latest on food fraud and learned about traceability, prerequisite programs to manage food safety and quality, agricultural water issues, ways of preparing and responding to natural disasters, regulatory affairs and more. On the exhibit floor, where 178 vendors displayed their products and services, attendees found tools for functions such as managing food safety and track-and-trace systems, rapidly analyzing products for contamination and providing sanitation.
As production systems change and the food chain lengthens to meet the needs of a globalized industry, the potential for contamination at different points along that chain also changes. To address this, the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 2009 began updating its guidelines for establishing and implementing criteria to help ensure the microbiological safety of foods. These efforts quickly reached an impasse, however. Many countries, especially developing ones, felt unsure about the technical aspects and questioned how the guidelines would affect their food and trade sectors. In response, and with the support of FAO staff, Codex established a novel mentoring programme, setting up teams through which experienced country mentors worked with less-experienced mentees to simplify the setting of safety criteria. As a result, new guidelines were finalized by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene in November 2012.
When we think of terrorist targets, skyscrapers and monuments probably come to mind before the national food supply. But researchers at Georgia Tech’s School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) warn that the food supply is vulnerable and have urged the government and industry stakeholders to develop a plan to protect against biological, chemical, physical or radioactive contamination of the food supply.
The number of recalls in Canada, the US and the rest of the world point to the need for a robust system of traceability to protect the safety and quality of the food supply. In a new publication for its Centre for Food in Canada, The Conference Board of Canada recommends that all players in the food supply chain be able to trace where they got a product or ingredient, and where they sent or sold that product or a product containing that ingredient. In other words, each producer or processor in the food supply chain needs to be able to accurately trace its products or ingredients one step forward and one step backward in the supply chain, according to the publication, Forging Stronger Links: Traceability and the Canadian Food Supply Chain.
By now, food processors around the US—and the world—are familiar with the basic principles behind FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) signed into law in January 2011. Though new requirements mandated by FSMA are still being shaped, this piece of legislation represents the most extensive update to American food safety laws for more than 70 years, and expands FDA’s ability to access records during inspections and food emergencies. Put simply, food processors must have thorough plans in place for tracking their production process and distribution—and then effectively implement them, according to Tom Egan, vice president, industry services, PMMI.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly run by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), on July 4 announced new food-safety regulations, including the maximum level of melamine in liquid milk formula for babies, and new food-safety standards on seafood, melons, dried figs and food labeling.
The 5th International Congress on Self-Control and Food Safety – KAUSAL 2012 will be held from 17 – 19 October in Barcelona with the theme All together, safer food. This conference is the leading scientific meeting on the present and future of self-control and food safety throughout the food chain as well as a meeting point for professionals working in food safety.
