In the October/November 2016 edition of Food Safety Magazine, we explore environmental monitoring for cleanliness and pathogen detection, microbial tests, testing automation, lean manufacturing and much more!
As food safety philosophy shifts from reaction towards prevention, demand is increasing for rapid, accurate and cost-effective tools to monitor the efficacy of preventive control programs.
As the number of microbiology tests performed in the food industry increases due to companies meeting new regulatory requirements, fulfilling customer demands and with added emphasis on internal QA/QC programs, efforts are being made to streamline testing methods–both hands-on time to set up a test and time to final result.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), major outbreaks of foodborne illness due to Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli and Listeria affect an estimated 48 million people in the U.S. each year. Introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has shifted focus towards ongoing prevention through establishment of documented food safety plans, which include Hazard Analysis, preventive controls and recall plans.
To ensure that the food system continues to be effective and meet the HACCP principles and Preventive Control rule for HARPC, it needs to be continually reviewed.
The success of any sanitation program, whether you are just starting or retrofitting an existing program, begins and ends with the food safety culture of the company and of the plant.
There are many benefits for both the equipment fabricator and processor when they participate in the development and use of standards of hygienic design principles.
While clean labels may be associated with natural, organic and nongenetically modified organism claims, the term does not necessarily equate to natural or organic.
