We Offer Public and On-Site* Training Classes

Classes Available in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

WE OFFER PUBLIC AND ON-SITE TRAINING CLASSES:

• FSMA/PCQI Training for the Wine and Food Industry
• Basic HACCP Workshop for Manufacturers
• Retail and Food Service HACCP Workshop
• Implementing SQF Training - Version 8.1 - English and Spanish
• FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Foods
• FSPCA For Human Food Compliance
• PSA Produce Safety Rule Training Official Program
• SQF Quality Systems For Food Manufacturers
• Internal and External GFSI Audits
• Crisis Management
• Gluten-Free Certification Program
• SQF Advanced Practitioner Course
• Prerequisite Programs
• FSVP Foreign Supplier Verification Program

WE ALSO OFFER:

Food Safety Consulting Services

On-Site and ONLINE LIVE private classes in English and Spanish. Please email us for a quote: info@superiorfoodsafety.com

 *The safety of your staff and our consultants is our first priority, therefore we will not provide on-site services unless it is absolutely necessary.

Wineries and Food Safety

B-Cellars and Superior Food safety.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a happy New Year. May peace, love, and prosperity follow you always.

Consulting Services Are Now Offered Online!

https://www.superiorfoodsafety.com/

At Superior Food Safety we want to make sure that during and after this unfortunate crisis, your company has immediate access to our expertise to help your team make sound decisions on the changes and maintenance of your food safety program. We want to ensure that you do not lose sight of the basic food safety requirements to keep delivering safe quality food to the consumer. SFS-ONLINE can provide you with the following remote and/or on-site* services:

• Food Safety and Quality Consulting by the hour for Decision making on high risk or Critical issues
• COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies
• HACCP review
• Temporary retainers to fill in the absence of food safety key employees (HACCP coordinator, SQFP, PCQI, Sanitation Manager, etc.)
• Food Safety Plan (Preventive Controls) review
• Validation studies
• Verification Activities
• Virtual GMP Inspections
• Virtual Internal Audits
• Virtual records review and audits
• HACCP Team meeting participation
• Crisis Management and Recall Team Meetings participation
• Food Defense Intentional Adulteration Plan Development
• Emergency Approval of Non-Approve Suppliers to cover supply chain disruptions
• Emergency Approval of Coo-manufacturers to enhance manufacturing output due to increase on demand
• SQF, BRC, FSSC22K program Implementation and maintenance

*The safety of your staff and our consultants is our priority; therefore, we will not provide on-site services unless it is absolutely necessary.

Many Bad Apples Spoil the Bunch

Contaminated and spoiled fruit juice was sold to school lunch program.

Food fraud can have a substantial impact on a consumer’s health, like in this case of fruit juice that was sold (including to school lunch programs) in spite of contamination with arsenic and mycotoxins. The fruit used for the juice was decomposing, and also processed in a facility that unacceptably violated hygiene and food safety standards. The FDA filed a lawsuit against the company, which in the meantime has ceased operations.

Resource
Vigdor, N. (November 10, 2020) “School Lunch Program Supplier Sold Juice With High Arsenic Levels, U.S. Says in Lawsuit”. The New York Times.

Article Source: https://foodsafetytech.com/column/many-bad-apples-spoil-the-bunch/

We Offer Public and On-Site* Training Classes

Classes Available in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

WE OFFER PUBLIC AND ON-SITE TRAINING CLASSES:

• FSMA/PCQI Training for the Wine and Food Industry
• Basic HACCP Workshop for Manufacturers
• Retail and Food Service HACCP Workshop
• Implementing SQF Training - Version 8.1 - English and Spanish
• FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Foods
• FSPCA For Human Food Compliance
• PSA Produce Safety Rule Training Official Program
• SQF Quality Systems For Food Manufacturers
• Internal and External GFSI Audits
• Crisis Management
• Gluten-Free Certification Program
• SQF Advanced Practitioner Course
• Prerequisite Programs
• FSVP Foreign Supplier Verification Program

WE ALSO OFFER:

Food Safety Consulting Services

On-Site and ONLINE LIVE private classes in English and Spanish. Please email us for a quote: info@superiorfoodsafety.com

 *The safety of your staff and our consultants is our first priority, therefore we will not provide on-site services unless it is absolutely necessary.

‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind?’ Researchers Explore Produce Distribution Centers as Contamination Sources

The Center for Produce Safety is funding a study that examines the environmental microbial risks linked with vented produce in distribution centers. 

When looking at possible sources of contamination, far less attention has been put on produce distribution centers (DCs). “I think the DCs are a little out of sight, out of mind,” said Laurel Dunn, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of food science & technology at the University of Georgia in a release from the Center for Produce Safety (CPS). “We have been so focused on foodborne outbreaks and what’s happening at the field level or packinghouse wash water and employees and hand hygiene.” As such, in an announcement from CPS, Dunn discusses a project that seeks to understand the contamination issues happening at the DC level, namely vented produce in breathable containers or stored in coolers. Examples of the items being examined are berries, tomatoes, and onions in mesh bags.

Dunn, along with researchers Laura K. Strawn, Ph.D. of Virginia Tech and Ben Chapman, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University, are focusing on Listeria due to the fact that biofilms can thrive indoors and be difficult to eliminate. The research project, “Environmental microbial risks associated with vented produce in distribution centers”, began on January 1 but was slowed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus far the researchers have collected samples from 11 DCs (they initially had a goal of sampling from at least 25 DCs), most of which was conducted before the pandemic. Due to travel restrictions, the researchers may only be able to get samples from operations east of the Mississippi River.

Depending on the outcome of the study, the researchers may also formulate written risk-reduction guidance for DCs. Based on the samples collected, Dunn anticipates they will be able to devise useful information to help DCs.

Article Source: https://foodsafetytech.com/news_article/out-of-sight-out-of-mind-researchers-explore-produce-distribution-centers-as-contamination-sources/

Consulting Services Are Now Offered Online!

https://www.superiorfoodsafety.com/

At Superior Food Safety we want to make sure that during and after this unfortunate crisis, your company has immediate access to our expertise to help your team make sound decisions on the changes and maintenance of your food safety program. We want to ensure that you do not lose sight of the basic food safety requirements to keep delivering safe quality food to the consumer. SFS-ONLINE can provide you with the following remote and/or on-site* services:

• Food Safety and Quality Consulting by the hour for Decision making on high risk or Critical issues
• COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies
• HACCP review
• Temporary retainers to fill in the absence of food safety key employees (HACCP coordinator, SQFP, PCQI, Sanitation Manager, etc.)
• Food Safety Plan (Preventive Controls) review
• Validation studies
• Verification Activities
• Virtual GMP Inspections
• Virtual Internal Audits
• Virtual records review and audits
• HACCP Team meeting participation
• Crisis Management and Recall Team Meetings participation
• Food Defense Intentional Adulteration Plan Development
• Emergency Approval of Non-Approve Suppliers to cover supply chain disruptions
• Emergency Approval of Coo-manufacturers to enhance manufacturing output due to increase on demand
• SQF, BRC, FSSC22K program Implementation and maintenance

*The safety of your staff and our consultants is our priority; therefore, we will not provide on-site services unless it is absolutely necessary.

Q3 Food and Beverage FDA Recalls Up 34% Over Q2, USDA Recalls at Record Low

Although FDA recalls are up, these levels are considered normal and a result of the agency fully returning to regulatory activities in the face of the pandemic. 

It is being speculated that the short-term decline in the number of food and beverage recalls this year is due to less regulatory oversight as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During Q3, FDA food recall activity was up 34% compared to last quarter, but this increase is actually a sign of things returning to normal on the side of regulatory oversight activities, according to the latest Q3 Recall Index from Stericycle.

FDA Food Recalls: Notable Numbers (Q3 2020)

• Undeclared allergens: 56 recalls, accounting for nearly 53% of all recalls; the top cause of an FDA food recalls for the 13th consecutive quarter
• Bacterial contamination: Accounting for 62% of recalled units, this was the top cause of recalled units with Salmonella being the most common contaminant (the pathogen was responsible for 17 out of 24 recalls)
• Foreign materials, quality and mislabeling were the other reasons for recalls

USDA Recalls: Notable Numbers (Q3 2020)

• Undeclared allergens: Top cause of recalls; 6 recalls accounted of nearly 70% of all recalled pounds
• A single meat and poultry recall affected more than 242,000 pounds (63%) of all recalled pounds
• The average recall affected 38,000 pounds
• Over the last three quarters, recalls have been at record low levels
• Quarterly recall activity is averaging 8.3 recalls a quarter versus an average quarterly volume of more than 30 recalls over the last five years

Article Source: https://foodsafetytech.com/news_article/q3-food-and-beverage-fda-recalls-up-34-over-q2-usda-recalls-at-record-low/