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Food Safety Five Newsreel
Logo design by Christopher Pirrone/Food Safety Magazine
Twice monthly reports from the Food Safety Magazine editorial desk provide a high-level video overview of top news stories and current events impacting the food safety sector.
COVID-19
The COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic that began in 2019 has impacted food safety, primarily in relation to facility sanitation, worker hygiene, personnel shortages and turnover, and ongoing supply chain disruptions.
Culture
Food safety culture is an essential, measurable, and sometimes regulated tool for managing food safety in an organizational context. It encompasses accepted behaviors, habits, values, norms, history, and expectations for the myriad ways in which food companies ensure safe food production for consumers.
Best Practices
Best practices in food safety include practices and processes that are followed, recommended, and shared by industry as safe, sustainable, recommended steps to ensure food safety, worker safety, consumer safety, and successful continuity of business operations.
Case Studies
Case studies examine real-life examples or scenarios involving regulatory enforcement or industry best practices in action, analysis of crisis management, technology being used to address contamination of food, or research studies of past events and data.
Food Defense
Food defense is concerned with the safeguarding of the food infrastructure and supply chain from acts of intentional adulteration or tampering, as well as the security of food businesses.
International
International food safety covers strategies, regulations, initiatives, and challenges to food safety and quality on global, regional, national, and other scales.
Recall/Crisis Management
Crisis management encompasses government and industry management of food safety crises such as foodborne illness outbreaks and associated recalls. Food and beverage recalls by food companies or retail outlets may be due to contamination or adulteration.
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment involves strategies, practices, and protocols for assessing, analyzing, and mitigating risks to food safety and quality in business operations.
Training
Voluntary and compulsory trainings for food safety and quality professionals are offered through government, industry, academic, and corporate programs, classes, internships, certification courses, conferences, and other learning modes.
Chemical Control
Chemical contamination of food, beverages, and water include chemicals used in the growing or production of food, such as pesticides or veterinary drugs, as well as chemicals present in sanitizers, cleaning solutions, coatings, and packaging.
Physical
Physical contamination of food and beverages encompasses foreign material that makes its way into product at some point during growing, harvesting, storage, manufacturing, processing, or distribution.
Microbiological Control
Microbiological contamination of food encompasses bacterial pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli (E.coli), Salmonella, Cronobacter, and many other pathogens that can contaminate food at any point during the supply chain, causing foodborne illness. This category also includes foodborne parasites.
Allergen Control
Allergens in food include the Big 9 (formerly the Big 8): milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat (gluten), soybeans, and sesame as of January 2023. Big 9 food allergens and residues in food are grounds for a Class 1 recall.
Cross-Contamination
Cross-contamination occurs when pathogenic bacteria or virus particles are transferred from one food product or surface to another.
Intervention Controls
Intervention controls involve the addition of control measures into a process to reduce and, ultimately, prevent or eliminate food safety risks.
Packaging
Packaging food safety concerns include the materials of construction for packaging and all food contact surfaces, as well as the labeling information on the packaging.
Processing Technologies
Processing technologies cover processes used in the commercial production and processing of food and beverages.
Process Validation
An important part of a food safety plan, process validation is the process of gathering information on how to produce food products safely and applying that knowledge to food manufacturing procedures.
Biofilm Control
Biofilm is a colonial structure formed by microorganisms in order to survive and adapt in adverse environmental conditions. Biofilms formed by bacteria in food processing facilities can lead to transmission of disease, food contamination, spoilage of food products, and/or damage to food production surfaces.
CIP/COP
Clean-in-place (CIP) describes systems and equipment used in food processing that can be cleaned and sanitized without being disassembled or moved. Clean-out-of-place (COP) denotes systems and equipment that must be disassembled, relocated, or specialty treated in order to clean and sanitize them.
Cleaners/Sanitizers
Cleaners and sanitizers are chemicals used to disinfect and sanitize food processing facilities, equipment, tools, and personnel.
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental monitoring is a process used in food processing facilities that assesses how effectively the plant is being cleaned. This typically means swabbing various surfaces for pathogens and performing a lab analysis of these samples.
Food Prep/Handling
Food workers are tasked with ensuring the safety and quality of food during handling and preparation activities at food processing facilities and retail foodservice operations.
Personal Hygiene/Handwashing
Food workers, especially those who prepare and/or serve food in commercial processing or retail foodservice operations, must be vigilant about personal hygiene and handwashing protocols.
Pest Control
Pest control focuses on preventing insects and animals from entering agricultural areas, food processing facilities, storage facilities, or food shipments in transit so that harborage points are minimized and food safety and quality are not compromised.
SSOPs
Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) are written procedures or programs used to maintain equipment and the facility environment in a sanitary condition for food processing, and are a fundamental part of a food safety plan.
Air/Water Monitoring
Air and water monitoring involves the monitoring and testing of air and water quality in the processing line of a facility. Test results help determine if acceptable standards are being met for a range of parameters that influence food safety and quality.
Allergen Testing
Allergen testing seeks to determine the presence of foods or food residues that are classified as allergens in foods or beverages that are not labeled as containing those foods. Class 1 allergens, which encompass the Big 9, are of the greatest concern in allergen testing.
Chemical Testing & Analysis
Chemical testing and analysis examine the artificial or undesired chemicals that may make their way into food and water, including those from agricultural practices, food processing, or packaging.
Environmental Testing & Analysis
Environmental testing involves the microbiological sampling of food contact surfaces or nearby areas to test for the presence of pathogens or indicator organisms. An environmental monitoring program (EMP) includes pathogen swabbing to detect risk in the sanitary conditions of the processing environment and is a verification of the effectiveness of pathogen controls in place at a facility.
Laboratory Management
Laboratory management is concerned with the management of testing procedures, control measures for sampling, reporting of pathogen findings, and laboratory accreditation.
Methods
Testing and analysis methods include processes and procedures in use or under development for performing microbiological testing, product sampling, environmental monitoring, etc.
Microbiological Testing & Analysis
Microbiological testing seeks to identify the presence of bacterial pathogens, viruses, and parasites on food contact surfaces, in agricultural water and soil, and in food products. Frequent swabbing to determine if pathogens are present on food processing equipment is an important part of a sound environmental monitoring program (EMP) at a facility.
Sampling/Sample Prep
Sampling programs for food examine a certain portion or product units of a particular lot of the same food as a representative of the quality and safety of the food. Sample prep for laboratory testing involves the preparation of samples for testing.
Alternative Proteins
Alternative proteins encompass lab-cultivated, cell-based meat, dairy, and seafood, as well as novel methods of producing proteins (e.g., upcycling carbon dioxide).
Plant-Based
Plant-based foods include foods derived from plants that are typically produced and consumed as meat and dairy substitutes.
Beverages
This food category encompasses waters, juices, non-alcoholic, and non-dairy beverages, as well as alcoholic beverages.
Dairy/Eggs
Dairy and eggs include pasteurized and raw animal milk and milk products, as well as shell eggs and egg products.
Ingredients
Ingredients encompass food components, as well as additions to food products such as spices, additives, flavorings, and artificial colorings.
Meat/Poultry
Meat and poultry safety focuses on the slaughter and processing hygiene of cattle, pork, ruminants, and other mammals used as food, as well as chicken, turkey, duck, and other avian species.
Produce
The safety of fresh-cut produce is of special concern because there is no cooking killstep involved in consumption.
Ready-to-eat
The ready-to-eat (RTE) category includes foods that are assembled from ingredients into fully prepared meals that do not require cooking, chilling, or other preparation prior to consumption.
Refrigerated/Frozen
Refrigerated foods are temperature control dependent and remain fresh between 35 °F and 38°F (1.7 °C and 3.3 °C) for a specified length of time. Frozen foods are prepared or processed fresh and then frozen for future consumption.
Seafood
Seafood includes all commercially captured or farmed freshwater and saltwater fish, molluscan shellfish, and crustaceans. Seafood and shellfish food safety is characterized by a special set of HACCP rules.
Audits/Certification/GFSI
Audits are an important tool for verifying the safety and quality of a company's or facility's food products. Audits are conducted both internally and by certified third-party certification entities. The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a private organization that benchmarks different auditing certification platforms as meeting its criteria to provide a harmonized umbrella certification.
FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating about 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, encompassing all foods and food ingredients introduced into or offered for sale in interstate commerce, except for meat, poultry, certain processed egg products, and catfish, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
FSMA
The 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) gave FDA new authority to regulate the way foods are grown, harvested, and processed. FSMA grants FDA the authority to impose mandatory recalls and has paved the way for the issuance of more than a dozen rulemakings and at least ten guidance documents. FDA's New Era of Smarter Food Safety builds on the work done to implement FSMA.
Guidelines
Guidelines for industry include draft guidance from regulatory agencies and recommended practices for industry to help ensure the production of safe food that is free from contamination.
HACCP
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of microbiological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement, and handling, to manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of finished products.
Inspection
Inspections cover many areas of food and beverage production, from farms and ranches to food processing facilities to restaurants. Inspectors are trained to ensure that facilities and equipment are in proper working order and properly sanitized, maintained, and permitted.
International Standards/Harmonization
Food safety standards vary by country and world region, and different aspects of food safety are regulated differently depending on the region. Harmonization and tightening of food safety standards around the world are important as emerging countries seek to improve quality of life by ensuring safer food for all people.
USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees meat, poultry, and egg products, accounting for 20 percent or less of the food supply. The majority of the food supply (80 percent or more) is regulated by FDA. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensures that the U.S. meat, poultry, and processed egg supply is safe and properly labeled.
Foodservice/Retail
Foodservice and retail encompasses restaurants, catering operations, supermarket chains and grocery stores, convenience stores, farmer's markets, and e-commerce and "meal kit" businesses.
Growers/GAPs
Growers include agricultural producers and fruit growers. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is a voluntary certification program that uses audits to verify that sound food safety practices are being used at agricultural operations.
Imports/Exports
Import and export operations describe the receipt or shipment of foods, ingredients, and beverages between the borders of different countries, territories, or world regions.
Temperature Control/Cold Chain
The cold chain describes the management of food-specific storage temperatures for perishable foods to maintain safety and quality from the point of origin through the distribution chain to the consumer.
Traceability/Recall
Traceability is one of FDA's main goals outlined in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety. Enhanced traceability of food products will help speed foodborne illness outbreak response and prevention, as well as increase the speed and efficiency of recalling contaminated or mislabeled food from the market.
Transportation
Transport of food must be sanitary, supervised, and efficient to ensure the safety and quality of food as it makes it way along the supply chain.
Products
Discover new products and technology developments from leading companies in food processing and food safety, and learn about business developments happening in the food safety and quality assurance sectors.
Food Safety Matters
Food Safety Matters is a podcast for food safety professionals, hosted by Food Safety Magazine – the leading media brand in food safety for over 20 years. Each episode features a conversation with a food safety professional sharing their experiences and insights on the important job of safeguarding the world’s food supply. New episodes are posted twice per month.
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