Food Safety

How a warehouse execution system assists with recalls

Don’t rely on an ERP system to manage all aspects of your warehouse—not if you need real-time connectivity.

Wayne Labs, Senior Contributing Technical Editor

January 8, 2018

A dedicated warehouse management system can not only manage recalls, but it can also manage a fully automated warehouse automation system.

FDA announces ‘enforcement discretion’ for specific FSMA regulations

Although FDA has temporarily relaxed some specific rules, processors are not necessarily off the hook, and may want to contact their food safety consultants.

Wayne Labs

January 8, 2018

The FDA intends to exercise enforcement discretion for certain provisions in four of the FSMA rules until it can work out issues presented in feedback from several entities or stakeholders, especially farms, packing facilities and importers.

E. Coli

E. coli outbreak hits U.S., Canada

Source of outbreak not yet identified in U.S.

Casey Laughman

January 5, 2018

An E. coli outbreak has led to 17 illnesses and one death so far in the United States.

Food recalls

Leading cause of recalls in 2017 undeclared allergens, mislabeling

Food Industry Counsel LLC says 438 total recalls were reported.

Debra Schug

January 3, 2018

There were 438 recalls in total and the leading cause of these recalls was the presence of undeclared allergens and products being mislabeled.

Dry Processing

Van der Graaf drives help Taylor Farms reduce failures

Plant achieves better sanitary results and more reliable production

Casey Laughman

December 22, 2017

After switching to Van der Graaf drives, Taylor Farms has seen decrease in failures and improved sanitation.

Unclear which agency should be inspecting catfish

GAO says the FDA and USDA’s FSIS need to get together on testing imported catfish for residual drugs.

December 20, 2017

The saga dates back to 2012 when the Government Accountability Office said that the responsibility for inspecting catfish should not be reassigned from FDA to the USDA. However, that’s not what happened.

FDA’s top 5 most commonly cited food safety violations

FY 2017 top violations are almost the same as those cited in FY 2016 and 2015.

Debra Schug

December 20, 2017

Among the top five violations during 2017 were lack of pest control and sanitation monitoring.

Food Safety

Comprehensive training is key to food safety efforts

By offering workers training and coaching, processors can ensure food safety goals are met

Casey Laughman

December 18, 2017

In-depth evaluation of training programs helps processors ensure that training is giving their operators the tools they need to succeed, while still meeting food safety requirements.

Food Safety

Safety alert issued on possible contaminated candy

Candy possibly distributed to Kansas food pantries

December 11, 2017

A food pantry in Kansas has reported potentially contaminated candy received through a distribution program.

Food fraud

Combatting the growth of fake food

Food is now the fourth most valuable counterfeit market, and foods such as olive oil, honey, fish, vinegar, vanilla and coffee top the list.

Maria Ferrante

November 29, 2017

As brand manufacturers continue to source from an ever-growing list of ingredients and suppliers, food is now the fourth most valuable counterfeit market, according to the 2016 Brand Protection and Product Traceability Market Research Report.