You are invited to a (virtual) fresh produce food safety workshop hosted by participants from USDA-NIFA project (#2016-51181-25403) entitled “Food Safety Innovations and Preventive Controls during Fresh-cut Produce Washing and Retail Display”.
Project team members from the USDA-ARS identified key factors, including sanitizer concentrations and operational conditions, that affect bacteria survival and transference during produce washing. Their findings were used by an industry and multi-agency taskforce to develop “Guidelines to Validate Control of Cross-Contamination during Washing of Fresh-Cut Leafy Vegetables,” which was published in the Journal of Food Protection in 2017. These guidelines can help the produce industry to implement science- and risk-based food safety practices in their operations.
Co-PI Nou and project team members (Luo, Millner) recently received $360,199 from the Center for Produce Safety to support their research on “Assessing growth potential and kinetics of L.
PD Luo and Co-PDs Millner and Pearlstein recently collaborated with Dr. Boce Zhang from University of Massachusetts on research to prevent biofilm and surface-mediated cross-contamination.
Project team members from the USDA-ARS and the University of Florida teamed up with Florida tomato growers and packers to address critical food safety data gaps identified by the industry.
PD Luo and Co-PI Brecht coordinated a session at the American Society for Horticultural Science, 2018 Annual Conference entitled “Minimizing Food Safety Risks While Maintaining Quality of Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce,” which included expert speaker
Co-PI Bourouiba’s work was featured in an MIT News article highlighting a new theory that describes the intricacies of a splashing droplet. These findings may help track the movement of biological contaminants.
Co-PIs Millner and Hashem organized the 2nd 1890 ARD and USDA-ARS Food Safety Symposium in Belstville, MD. The purpose of the symposium was to highlight current 1890 research, education, and extension efforts and impacts related to food safety and agricultural water quality, and to provide networking opportunities to develop collaborations among 1890 Universities’ Food Safety Consortium participants and USDA-ARS scientists in future activities.
Project team members from the USDA-ARS gave tours to visitors during the 2nd 1890 ARD and USDA-ARS Food Safety Symposium, and the Food Safety and Technology Council Meeting, United Fresh Produce Association.
A new web page on fda.gov lists compliance dates for rules that form the foundation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. There is also a graphic timeline on the page that lists key compliance dates by year.
The FDA announced the availability of a Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG) to help small businesses understand the requirements of the Final Rule on the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (Sanitary Transportation Rule). Small businesses have until April 6, 2018, to comply with the rule.
