Positive release programs are designed to ensure that any food product that is produced meets all quality, safety, sanitation, microbiological, and legal requirements before it is shipped.

CRC Industries has made significant enhancements to its CRC Food Grade packaging and Food Safety Program, offering a comprehensive array of products for a wide range of food processing equipment within the framework of the CRC Food Safety Program.

Scientists from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are exploring how “transgenerational protection”—which is the ability of layer hens to pass along their resistance to Salmonella to their broiler chicks—can be encouraged, to ultimately reduce early colonization that introduces microbial contamination at the processing plant and poses a food safety risk to consumers.

The FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) convened to review the most recent scientific literature regarding the control of Campylobacter on chicken meat. The experts emphasized the importance of a multi-hurdle approach in production and processing.

A study aims to determine how irrigation water that is treated to control microbial activity may affect pathogens on crop surfaces or soil, with the end goal of developing a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for industry to gauge the reduction in microbial risk from treated water applied preharvest.

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.

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. 

A recent study evaluated the effect of brine pH, salt level, storage temperature, and use of hydrogen peroxide to kill Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, salt-tolerant pathogens known to contaminate cheese brine.

A recent study has shown the potential of a bacteriophage cocktail for controlling nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica on chicken, while also emphasizing that, because phage efficacy is dependent on many variables, validating treatments for relevant application conditions is key.

ColloidTek’s Collo Analyzer is a new method for real-time liquid process quality monitoring. Based on EMF sensors and machine learning, the technology detects various contaminants and identifies potential risks in liquid processing with a single real-time measurement and instant, inline analysis.