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Food Safety Magazine

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February/March 2024

In the February/March ‘24 issue of Food Safety Magazine, our cover story discusses the importance of root cause analysis (RCA) in the event of a food safety incident and how to effectively execute RCA to prevent issues from recurring. Additional features examine food safety and quality considerations in the production of plant-based meat alternatives, and how young food safety professionals can start their career on the right path through mentorship, authentic storytelling, and more.

Cover Story

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Root Cause Analysis: Putting It to Work for You

Investing the time and effort to clearly define the problem that needs to be solved is a critical step in getting to the true root cause
Deb Kane M.S. John Butts Ph.D. Natalie Dyenson Brendan A. Niemira Ph.D. Tim King M.S., M.A. Tim Jackson Ph.D.
February 9, 2024

At the 2023 Food Safety Summit, a dynamic workshop brought together leading experts to introduce the concepts, methods, and different tools of root cause analysis (RCA). Participants learned how to dig into systems and find meaningful data to identify the root causes of issues develop impactful solutions that prevent problems from recurring. An RCA session at the 2024 Summit will further explore these concepts. This article discusses applied RCA and the Food Safety Summit associated education offered on this topic.


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Features

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grilling sausages

Food Safety and Quality Considerations in the Production of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives

Each step during manufacturing and distribution introduces potential challenges and opportunities for maintaining food safety and quality of plant-based meat products
Stephen F. Grove Ph.D.
February 13, 2024

The rapid rise of plant-based meat alternatives means that knowledge of the food safety risks of these products is still limited. In particular, microbial growth and inactivation kinetics is not well understood. Additionally, consumers face a learning curve in understanding how to safely handle plant-based meat alternatives. 


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Developing Food Safety Leadership Skills: Building the Workforce of Tomorrow

What does it take to be a great food safety leader?
Gillian Kelleher Spir Marinakis Chitsanzo (Chiko) Kachaje M.Sc. Kim Rice Linda Manning M.A.
February 13, 2024

This article, authored by speakers summarizing their workshop at the 2023 Food Safety Summit, explores components for food safety professional development and business management to help empower food safety leaders throughout their careers and in their day-to-day work.


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Columns

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From Benchtop to Scale-Up: Food Safety Considerations for New Product Development

A robust product development process builds control into the process so that food safety variables are properly considered
Kory Anderson M.S. Wendy White M.Sc.
February 13, 2024

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.


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woman washing hands

Building a Culture of Hygiene in the Food Processing Plant

One of the crucial building blocks for a successful food safety or quality culture is basic food hygiene
Richard F. Stier
Richard F. Stier, M.S.
February 13, 2024

Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to know and adhere to a set of rules that address food safety, basic sanitation, and safety. Plant rules for staff and visitors comprise elements of good hygiene culture and exist to minimize the potential for cross-contamination of foods, equipment, or utensils. Some of these elements have other roles, such as personal safety.


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The Evolution of FDA CORE: Adaptive Response to Outbreak-Related Challenges

Since the CORE Network was established in 2011, its dedicated staff has worked to adapt to an ever-changing foodborne illness outbreak investigation landscape
Stelios Viazis Ph.D. Christina K. Carstens Ph.D., M.S. Lindsay Walerstein, M.P.H. Marie Armstrong M.P.H. Angela Fields M.P.H. Tyann Blessington Ph.D., M.S., M.P.H. Cerisé Hardy M.P.H. Sharon Seelman M.S., M.B.A. Brett Weed M.P.H., M.S.
February 13, 2024

The primary role of FDA's Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Network is to conduct outbreak surveillance, manage the response efforts, and initiate post-outbreak activities for incidents involving FDA-regulated products. This article explores the evolution, work, and perpetual improvement of the CORE Network.


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food manufacturing workers

Strategies for Managing Temporary Workforce in Food Manufacturing

Temporary employees can be a cost-effective staffing resource for a food manufacturing facility; however, they can also bring some challenges
Janna Hamlett, Ph.D.
February 13, 2024

Temporary employees are defined as "at-will" workers who can work on a part-time, full-time, or seasonal basis. Many food manufacturers utilize temporary employees in their facility, for a wide variety of reasons, which can pose some challenges. This article discusses the possible challenges and strategies for managing them to avoid problems in your food manufacturing facility.


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How FDA's Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) Help Meet Food Safety Standards

The key to effective FSVP compliance is creating a culture of food safety within an importing firm
Selina Mata Bob Bauer
February 13, 2024

FDA's Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) require importers to verify that their suppliers are producing food in a way that meets domestic food safety standards. Through continuous monitoring, FDA targets high-risk products and supply chains to ensure the most impactful FSVP inspections. 


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Rapid Testing Methods—Processor Preferences

Which rapid microbiological test methods are preferred by food processors, and what attributes of rapid tests are most important to them?
Bob Ferguson
February 13, 2024

Ongoing debates about the use of rapid microbiological test methods in food safety have led to the rise of many questions about the future of this type of testing. This column will explore which methods are being used, food processors' views on what attributes of the tests are most important, how fast is fast enough, and what even faster tests would enable them to accomplish. It also explores where the growth may continue and whether rapid methods used in commercial labs will continue to drive growth, or if a plateau is likely. Growth in regions outside of the U.S. and Europe will also be examined, along with whether rapid testing technology is evolving to the point where it may be acceptable to bring back the analysis to an in-plant lab.


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Food Safety Culture and the Local Food Movement

To what extent do established food safety culture cornerstones apply to the local foods segment of the food industry?
Morrine Omolo Ph.D.
February 13, 2024

The highly regulated food industry has recently reached major milestones in its food safety culture journey. In addition to general acceptance of the key concepts, a unified language and framework has been developed. The local food movement is characterized by short supply chains, typically involving direct sales to consumers. The majority of businesses in this category have a handful of employees and include small-scale farmers and processors, as well as cottage food producers. The concepts of food safety culture are at the infancy stage, gaining traction as the rest of the food industry settles into the new normal of behavior-based food safety practice. This article explores the question: To what extent do the established food safety culture cornerstones apply to the local food segment of the food industry?


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Beneficial AI: Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Food Safety

AI can help ensure food safety by analyzing patterns and trends that might not be readily apparent to human analysts
Robert A. Norton Ph.D. Marcus (Marc) Sachs P.E. Cris A. Young D.V.M., M.P.H., Diplomate A.C.V.P.M.
February 13, 2024

This article explores the benefits offered by "beneficial" artificial intelligence (AI) as applied to the food and beverage industry and specifically to food safety practices. It discusses relevant elements of President Biden's October 2023 Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, as well as the Department of Defense's June 2023 Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Adoption Strategy, and what these documents mean to AI applications in food safety.


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