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On January 4, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft Produce Safety Rule as required under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011. This proposed regulation would establish mandatory practices that farmers must take to prevent microbial contamination of fresh produce.
Violent storms with flashing lightning remind us that we need to be prepared for power outages. The loss of power could jeopardize the safety of frozen food. To keep food safe, keep the door closed and control the temperature.
The Penn State Food Safety and Sanitation for Food Manufacturers Short Course is a comprehensive 2 1/2-day program being held on October 9, 10 and 11, 2012 on the essentials of sanitation in food processing plants. This educational opportunity is offered for those who are developing in-house food safety programs and want to upgrade their knowledge of the science and technology of cleaning, sanitizing, and pest control.
Pennsylvania health authorities said Tuesday that the number of confirmed cases in an outbreak of Campylobacter infection has risen to 20 - 16 from that state and 4 from Maryland.
You eagerly rip open the shiny, gift-wrapped box you received in the mail. As you peer into the present, you gasp! The sticker says, "Keep Refrigerated" -- but the delicacy inside feels like it’s at room temperature! Oh, no! How can you be sure that food survives holiday shipping? Follow these handy tips from FightBac.org to make sure what you send and receive is handled properly.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that certain foods exposed to flood waters, and perishable foods that are not adequately refrigerated, are adulterated and should not enter the human food supply. In addition, crops and other food commodities exposed to flood waters would not be acceptable for use in animal feed. FDA is also providing guidance in determining when food products can be reconditioned for future use.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has a booklet called "A Consumer’s Guide to Food Safety – Severe Storms & Hurricanes." This booklet helps people prepare ahead of time to keep food and water safe and provides charts for what to keep and what to discard after the storm.
via meatblogger.org - We’ve received many questions in regard to some changes Pennsylvania has made for licensing Farmers’ Market vendors. Below is an article that appeared on Lancaster Farming’s website last Saturday. It’s a good summary of the situation and what individuals interested in selling food items at Farmers’ Markets, including meat, need to do.
University Park, Pa. -- A new law recently adopted by the state Legislature will have some immediate and important impacts on eating establishments in Pennsylvania, according to a food-safety expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
“Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to Table,” is based on a colloquium convened by the American Academy of Microbiology on April 24-26, 2009, in San Francisco, California. This report reviews the current state of affairs in microbiological food safety around the world, which foods are at fault, which pathogens are most widespread or dangerous, and where those pathogens entered the food production system. Dr. Stephanie Doores of the Penn State Food Science Department served as co-chair of the colloquium committee responsible for the report.
University Park, Pa. — As scientists with the federal government search for the source of the salmonella that made thousands of people sick this summer and trace how it spread, researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are developing a new and more accurate method of acquiring the bacteria's identity.
This month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee will review the petition to allow production of genetically engineered salmon for human consumption. If approved it will be the first GE animal allowed in the US food system. Learn more about this GE salmon in this Penn State publication (PDF).
University Park, Pa. -- As investigators track a Salmonella outbreak that has forced the recall of more than 500 million eggs, a specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences says consumers have a simple means of protecting themselves from food-borne illness.
Penn State offers ServSafe for Spanish speaking employees.
The Penn State Department of Food Science is offering Fundamentals of HACCP to be held from August 31 to September 2.
While these meals served at outdoor events are a wonderful way for volunteer groups to raise money and socialize, there are a few organizations that may not be using the most sanitary food practices, according to a food-safety expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
As the debate about the health attributes and risks of raw milk spills into capitols and courts across the country, a food-safety expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is urging people to think carefully about the risks before consuming unpasteurized dairy products.
Food-safety experts in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences recently conducted a week-long training workshop for nearly 100 food inspectors with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
A team of food scientists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has shown that an edible film can be used for wrapping ready-to-eat meat products to deliver a slow release of a naturally occurring antimicrobial agent capable of killing a foodborne pathogen.
Pennsylvania food inspectors have taken some heat for enforcing state laws that limit church and fire hall bake sales, but the unpopular laws actually make good food safety sense, according to a food inspection expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
