Wendy White M.Sc.

This article discusses the unique challenges faced by food scientists and manufactures in product development, touching on the food safety and quality challenges during upscaling from initial concept to full production, how risks are managed, and how decisions are made for new ingredient selection, formulation, and new processes.

This article will focus on why third-shift food and beverage sanitation work can be so challenging and dangerous, why it receives so much attention from OSHA, and what resources and control strategies are available for employers. The authors discuss the physical and chemical challenges with food processing equipment design and sanitation requirements as they relate to the safe performance of cleaning tasks. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to pivot to virtual food safety audits and inspections, but there has been reluctance to sustain this model of remote evaluations. Recently, advances have emerged in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and development of novel approaches to auditing that have worked to bridge the gap and help virtual audits and inspections move closer to gaining equivalency to traditional onsite formats.

This article gives a comparison of food safety/quality needs with employee safety during production, using the chemical application of peracetic acid to control environmental biological contamination as the example. It also examines how to better encourage collaboration between food safety and employee safety, using the hierarchy of controls as the guide.

Virtual education and training sessions have become imperative to maintaining and ensuring business continuity. Learn how this format can work for your food business.