Food safety and quality professionals attending the 2023 Food Safety Consortium can gain up to 20 NEHA-recognized continuing education (CE) credits, while taking advantage of two days of high-level panel discussions and professional networking, “boots on the ground” education on the mitigation, regulation and control of key Food Safety Hazards, and their choice from four pre-conference workshops. The Consortium will take place October 16-18 at the Hilton Parsippany in Parsippany, New Jersey, and feature leading industry professionals as well as high-level members of the FDA and USDA. Session h ..read more

The FDA is seeking to enhance its approach to post-market review of chemicals added to—as well as those that come in contact with—food products. Robert M. Califf, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and Susan Mayne, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, at the FDA, released a statement on May 26, outlining the agency’s intent to enhance surveillance and scrutiny and improve processes to identify potentially dangerous chemicals as new information comes to light. As part of its “more modernized, systematic reassessment of chemicals with a focus on post-market rev ..read more

In vitro diagnostics provider bioMérieux recently announced its plans to open a new, 32,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art molecular innovation center at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. The new site will house the company’s xPRO Program, as well as the company’s Predictive Diagnostics Innovation Center. The xPRO Program was created to speed development of advanced molecular diagnostics for food quality and safety departments in the food and beverage, nutraceutical and cannabis indsutries. We spoke with Ben Pascal, head of xPRO at bioMérieux, about the program as well as the challenges and recent ..read more

Biofilms, those slimy films of bacteria that cling to surfaces, can wreak havoc on your equipment and harbor dangerous pathogens that contaminate your products. And they are not easy to detect or remove. Charles Giambrone, Food Safety Manager, Rochester Midland, shared strategies for the detection, remediation, and control of biofilms at the Food Safety Tech Hazards Conference in April. “Biofilms are how microbes look to survive in nature and within your food plant,” said Giambrone, “and they can form quickly—within 13 hours.” Biofilms form on any equipment with a large surface area and, in ad ..read more

Does your company need to worry about regulations relating to foods designed for infants (considered to be anyone aged 0-12 months)? If you manufacture infant formula, then of course the answer is yes. But what if you manufacture baby food—those cute little jars of liquified goodness? Traditionally, those types of food haven’t been subject to any special FDA regulations. Manufacturers simply need to follow the regulations that govern all foods designed for consumption by humans of any age. That, however, is changing. There is a growing push to limit, and ultimately eliminate, heavy metals, suc ..read more

The FDA has released a Small Entity Compliance Guide for the FSMA Food Traceability Rule. This guidance document is intended to help small entities, including farms and small businesses, comply with the requirements of the Food Traceability Rule. It offers recommendations—unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited—on how small entities can comply with the new regulations, which were issued in November 2022. The compliance date for recordkeeping requirements is Jan. 20, 2026. The guidance document covers: Who is subject to the traceability rule Who is exempt What records mu ..read more

 ISO compliance is essential to maintaining high levels of food safety and quality. Trying to manage the ISO compliance process manually—with paper files or Excel spreadsheets—is an expensive, time-consuming, error-prone process. Manual systems make it difficult to spot noncompliance issues, track certification paperwork, and get real-time visibility across an enterprise. Technology can be a game-changer when it comes to achieving and maintaining ISO compliance. SaaS-based quality and audit software can automate ISO compliance-related tasks, making it easier as well as more efficient and ..read more

In recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising field of study that could revolutionize how we package and preserve food. Scientists and engineers are leveraging the technology’s unique properties to develop smart packaging solutions that could help reduce food waste, improve shelf life and enhance food safety. Reducing Food Waste with Nanotechnology One of the most significant challenges facing the food industry today is food waste. According to the World Economic Forum, about one-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted, leading to an estimated $1 trillion in econ ..read more

Step into the lawyer’s kitchen with food attorney Jennifer Allen, Partner at Zwillinger Wulkan, as she breaks down new food labeling requirements for bio-engineered ingredients. The post [Video] Food Labeling: Bio-engineered Ingredients appeared first on FoodSafetyTech ..read more

Those who work in the food safety and quality industry may know Tami Dumond, microbiologist and Director of Quality Assurance at Omeat, by her oft-changing vibrant hair color. Her career has been equally varied. Dumond has worked as a scrub nurse, QA lab manager and owner, motorcycling instructor and food quality manager and director. Tami spoke at a recent meeting of the Women in Food Safety about the path that brought her to her current leadership position at Omeat, a tissue engineering company scaling cellular ground beef, and the value of varied work experiences. I Like To Party After grad ..read more