Food Safety Top Stories

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In this Food Safety Insights column, we continue to explore processors' near-term priorities for food safety programs, as well as the regulations and issues they are watching that will have the most impact on their programs in the future. Food safety culture, microbiological control (including environmental monitoring), and sanitation and hygiene are three of processors' indicated top priorities for the near term.

Consumers desire safe, high-quality eggs that meet expectations of cleanliness, taste, appearance, and function. Egg handling and storage plays an integral role in meeting these consumer demands.

Non-cultivable foodborne pathogens, such as enteric viruses and protozoan parasites like Cyclospora, present unique challenges in our food system due to significant limitations in sampling and detection. This article covers the methodological drawbacks of current methods related to interpretation of results and public health risk, while offering alternative food safety management principles to address the prevalence of these pathogens in food.

This article explores the intricate relationship between food safety culture and EU regulation while shedding light on its enforcement, the legislative framework, and implementation within the industry. It also explores how technology and data-driven approaches can play a vital role in promoting a positive food safety culture, and how industry best practices complement EU regulation.

It is up to each and every food processor, handler, and warehouser to develop, document, and implement a policy regarding photography of their operations. This is a much greater challenge today compared to 20 years ago because nearly every cellphone has a high-quality camera with the ability to capture both pictures and video. Operations that are regulated by FDA must also factor the agency into their camera policy.

How would work be different if, instead of focusing on the challenges of working in silos, we built stronger leaders to effectively navigate crowd-sourcing opportunities?

Food safety culture is about people. Food companies that do this well empower all employees across the entire business to take appropriate action to ensure that the final product is safe. The ultimate goal is to ensure that all employees do the right things all the time—even when no one is looking.

For the third year in a row, IAFNS is hosting a Science Innovation Showcase, where everyone is invited to participate in an exchange of science related to innovative ingredients, products, and processes.

The scientific program at the 2023 IFT FIRST featured several food safety discussions around new challenges and key topics like chemical contaminants, consumer trust, standardization, FDA's traceability rule, and the co-management of food safety and sustainability. The theme of the event was "Innovation in a Time of Crisis: Can We Future-Proof the Food System?"

The August/September Food Safety Insights column continues with our survey asking food processors about their top issues and priorities. In this issue, we explore processors' "to-do" lists of projects for the next 1–2 years and the regulations or requirements that will have the biggest impacts on their programs in the near future.