August/September 2023

In the August/September '23 issue of Food Safety Magazine, our cover story reviews the impacts of various organizational structures on the success of food safety teams. Additional features explore pilot-scale thermal treatments for the control of Salmonella in low-moisture foods, how reducing complexity across an organization’s processes can improve risk assessment and culture, and possible applications for genomic techniques in meat and poultry processing.

The Place of the Food Safety Team Within the Corporate Structure

What type of reporting structure provides the best opportunity for success of the food safety team?

Kurt E. Deibel Ph.D.

August 7, 2023

A simple review of organizational structures shows that food safety teams report to different functions across food companies, but what structure provides the best opportunity for success of the food safety team, and what are the measures of success? Identifying the structure that sets up the food safety team to drive daily compliance and upgrade existing programs is key. This article examines current organizational structures and evaluates the pros and cons of each.

Developing Thermal Control of Salmonella in Low-Moisture Foods Using Predictive Models

Salmonella is highly resistant to heat inactivation in low-moisture food systems, but pilot-scale thermal treatments show promise for combatting it

Ren Yang Ph.D. Juming Tang Ph.D.

August 7, 2023

This article discusses the latest research elucidating the main reason why foodborne pathogens like Salmonella are more resistant to heat inactivation in low-moisture food (LMF) systems, including quantitative data relating thermal treatment temperature and water activity/relative humidity to the log-reduction rate of bacterial pathogens in different LMF. Case studies on pilot-scale thermal treatments for the control of Salmonella in LMF are also presented.

Risk Culture: How Reducing Complexity Improves the Safety of Consumers, Team Members, and the Company

The way a company approaches its assessment and management of risks has a direct impact on its success

Lone Jespersen Ph.D. Randy Huffman Ph.D. Michael Eckhardt David McDonald

August 7, 2023

Risk culture is a construct in which the organization's values, beliefs, and behaviors influence actions relative to how it responds to risks. By reducing complexity across the organization's functions and processes, the different types of risk can be assessed and managed by a single, powerful approach so that the risk culture is more mature.

Beyond the Total Plate Count: Metagenomic Applications for Meat and Poultry Processors

Advances in next-generation sequencing have allowed for an understanding of the microbial inhabitants that make up the microbiome in ways that culture-based techniques are limited

Noelle Noyes Ph.D., D.V.M. Aaron Asmus M.Sc.

August 7, 2023

Advances in next-generation sequencing have allowed for an understanding of the microbial inhabitants that make up the microbiome in ways that culture-based techniques are limited. This article provides a broad overview of two genomic techniques and potential applications for their use by meat and poultry processors.

Keeping Listeria on the Run: Implementing an Effective Monitoring Program

A good Listeria monitoring program enables knowledge of where Listeria can enter, harbor, and move through the facility

Michael Cramer PCQI

August 7, 2023

Implementing an effective Listeria environmental monitoring program enables knowledge of where Listeria can enter, harbor, and move through a facility, which is the first step toward keeping the pathogen on the run and not allowing it to impact production surfaces or finished product.

Digital Transformation of Supply Chains to Meet Foreign Supplier Verification Program Requirements

A move toward digitalizing supply chains may offer solutions to some of the challenges of FSVP compliance management

Abhay Grover M.S. Geetanjali Menon Clare Narrod Ph.D.

August 7, 2023

Leveraging digital supply chain technologies—like blockchain, AI, and other solutions—can help importers comply with FDA's Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) more efficiently and effectively, while also improving supply chain transparency and reducing the risk of food safety incidents.

Packaging and Labeling Requirements for Cannabis-Infused Edibles

Many similarities exist between the packaging and labeling of cannabis-infused edibles and those of food and pharmaceuticals

Kathy Knutson Ph.D., PCQI

August 8, 2023

Packaging and labeling of cannabis-infused edibles are unregulated at the federal level due to Cannabis remaining a Schedule I drug, therefore industry must comply with individual state codes and use international standards for guidance. Cannabis-infused edibles are packaged and labeled with all the familiar requirements for a food and dietary supplement, and further requirements must be met.

Chemicals of Concern: The Social and Regulatory Evolution of the Baby Food Category

Changes in regulatory policy and guidance are on the horizon for heavy metals in baby food

Jaclyn Bowen M.P.H., M.Sc.

August 8, 2023

This article discusses the consumer and regulatory drivers of the current focus on heavy metals in foods for babies and young children, and also explores the congressional investigation and FDA's subsequent Closer to Zero effort. It also discusses the latest developments and what moves can be expected next from FDA.

Tips to Overcome Supply Chain Challenges for Food Manufacturers

Many facilities have moved from "just in time" to "just in case" inventory management, which translates into a need for additional storage capacity

Janna Hamlett, Ph.D.

August 7, 2023

Supply chain constraints are not a new challenge in the food industry. Food is a global market, and even the smallest food processor brings in food ingredients, packaging, and equipment from around the world. Included in this article are tips and tricks for managing inventory, supplier, and warehouse challenges for food manufacturing facilities.

A Review of Outbreak Investigations of Salmonella Infections Associated with Cashews and Cashew-Containing Food Products in the U.S.

Salmonella spp. have long been associated with low-moisture foods such as nuts and nut-derived products

Margaret Kirchner Ph.D. Gordon R. Davidson Ph.D. Julia Mangia M.P.H. Spencer Carran Ph.D. Andrea J. Krause Ph.D. Karunya Manikonda M.P.H. Zachary D. McCormic M.P.H. Laura Gieraltowski Ph.D. Katherine E. Marshall M.P.H. Stelios Viazis Ph.D.

August 8, 2023

Salmonella spp. have long been associated with low-moisture foods such as nuts and nut-derived products, with varying prevalence observed in tree nuts, including cashews, at retail. Virtually all cashews are imported to the U.S. Some nuts, including cashews, are imported as a "raw" product (i.e., one that has not been subjected to a process to adequately reduce pathogens, such as a kill step). Salmonella contamination of such products has resulted in several notable outbreaks in the U.S. in the past ten years, including those in which cashew-containing products have been implicated as a vehicle. This article presents a brief overview of outbreak investigations of Salmonella infections linked to the consumption of cashews and cashew-containing food products. It also presents challenges encountered, lessons learned, and relevant regulatory requirements for importers and manufacturers of cashews and cashew-containing products.

Top Food Safety Priorities—Where are We Post-Pandemic?

There is still evidence in the economy and in our food industry of a "hangover" from the pandemic that we have not yet fully cleared

Bob Ferguson

August 8, 2023

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.

Cyber Threats Impacting the Food and Agriculture Sector

While ransomware is the most common cyberattack vector for businesses, other cyber threats can be far more dangerous to the food supply system

Robert A. Norton Ph.D. Marcus (Marc) Sachs P.E.

August 8, 2023

While ransomware is the most common cyberattack vector for businesses, other cyber threats can be far more dangerous to the food supply system, as discussed in this article.

Live: December 12, 2024 at 2:00 pm EST: From this webinar, attendees will be able to identify the different requirements for ready-to-eat and not-ready-to-eat products.

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