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 In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk to two industry experts from Fresh Express—John Gurrisi, Vice President of Food Safety and Quality, and German Rios, Senior Director of Food Safety and Quality—about the company’s rigorous approach to food safety at all stages of production. Specifically, John and German discuss Fresh Express’ high standards for growers, its tech-enabled traceability system, and how the company has refined its food safety approach over time, among other topics.

Livsmedelsverket, also known as the Swedish Food Agency, has published a handbook, titled, Food Control in Crisis and Heightened Preparedness.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) recently provided insight into how whole genome sequencing (WGS) and international data-sharing helped trace a 2020 multinational food safety outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes to enoki mushrooms, enabling countries to rapidly recall the affected products. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a new video series, titled, Into the Dataverse, which focuses on how the agency is modernizing its use of data, part of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint. The first video provides an overview of 21 Forward, a data analytics tool that monitors the food supply chain.

Researchers at Penn State University (PSU) have developed and piloted a food safety training program for farmers market vendors, in response to a need revealed by previous studies.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Wageningen University recently held a workshop about early warning tools and systems that can be used to manage imminent and emerging food safety issues. 

Food processing facilities experience many different changeovers. Rapid changeover, or Single-Minute Exchange of Die, can be beneficial to increasing efficiencies in a food processing facility. Reduction in downgrade or defects and an increase in employee communication and morale are several benefits of a well-oiled changeover process.

A recent China–Australia collaborative review examined similarities and differences in the food safety risk assessment systems of China, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S., with the aim of identifying areas that could support improvements to the Chinese system.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we review the top food safety stories of 2022 and their impacts, the lessons learned, and what the future may hold in 2023 and beyond. Specifically, we discuss COVID-19 and the supply chain, FDA’s Agricultural Water Proposed Rule, food safety culture, the infant formula crisis, USDA-FSIS’ proposed regulatory framework for reducing Salmonella in poultry, the FSMA Food Traceability Final Rule, and the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s review of FDA’s Human Foods Program.

The West appears to exhibit heightened awareness about food safety, with many countries claiming that they maintain high standards during the production, distribution, storage, and sale of food, and that they have mandatory legal requirements to protect people. However, there is less understanding of what makes human diets sustainable in a way that ensures global food security and sustainability.