"Awareness about quality food consumption poses a challenge for Indian horticulture"

“When the pandemic has passed, we do not want to go back to normal,” says Kunal Kasera. “We definitely think we could go to some better place.” Kunal is the founder of Trufarm Co., an agtech company that has recently begun operations in the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, India. They currently own a…

Primaflor and Kimitec sign a pioneering agreement in Europe to grow leafy products with zero residue

Primaflor -the Almeria-based company that is dedicated to the production and distribution of fresh products, salads, and healthy convenience foods- has signed a pioneering…

Taiwanese bananas likely contaminated by insecticide residues from neighboring fields

Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday issued a statement saying the shipment of bananas that was rejected by Japan early this month might have been contaminated by…

“Washing is not enough to mitigate E.coli when processing leafy greens”

Recently, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in the United States disclosed the founding of a multistate outbreak of E. coli 0151:H7 investigation: the outbreak was linked to leafy greens. However, this is not the first time an outbreak involving…

Project seeks science-based interventions to persistent Listeria strains

Martin Wiedmann likes to compare produce facilities’ attempts to identify and manage resident strains of the foodborne pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes, as “seek and destroy”…

FDA: ‘Foreseeable hazard’ if leafy greens are still grown near cattle or dairy farms

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would take ‘two important steps to advance the safety of leafy greens’. These steps will impact the way leafy…

EFSA presents data on pesticide residues detected in food

According to the latest report published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the non-compliance rate for pesticides in foods decreased in 2019. For 2019, 96.1…

More than 4.28 mln boxes of blueberries destined for US inspected as of March 31

At the SAG / USDA - APHIS / ASOEX Phytosanitary Inspection Site in Cabrero, more than 4.28 mln boxes of fresh blueberries destined for the United States were inspected as of…

FDA warns all California Central Coast entities involved in leafy green production

On April 6, the Food and Drug Administration fired an unmistakable warning shot at the leafy greens industry. Hopefully, this will be a call to action that gets to the root of…

iFoodDS closes $15 mln in growth funding led by ScaleUp Investor Insight Partners

iFoodDS, a platform provider of food safety, traceability, and quality management solutions for the fresh food supply chain, today announced the close of a $15 million Series…

Department of Agriculture waives fees on pesticide residue tests

In an effort to help lift agriculture exports and support economic recovery, the Department of Agriculture has ordered the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and its laboratories…

"Consumer demand for a safer alternative"

Expanding what is already one of the most diverse greenhouse baby leaf and head lettuce portfolios on the market, Revol Greens is adding a large-scale chopped romaine program with three new retail varieties available at select retailers throughout the Midwest. There also will be channel-specific…

Maqis seizes maggot-infested vegetables

The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) has confiscated over 40 tonnes of imported cocoa fruit and vegetables at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas.…

GraceKennedy Foods LLC

GK Foods USA announces voluntary recall of batch of La Fe Peppers and Onions

GraceKennedy Foods (USA) LLC (GK Foods USA) has announced a voluntary recall of a batch of its La Fe Peppers and Onions, due to the probable presence of extraneous material. Derrick Reckord, President and CEO of GK Foods USA, owner of the La Fe brand, explained that the Voluntary Class 2 Recall has been…

Taiwan’s FDA seizes imported produce due to pesticides and other contaminants

Yesterday, we reported Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration having detected traces of pesticides in 800 boxes of US apples. Today there came in reports that large shipments…

Coriander suspected as origin of 2018 UK Shigella outbreak

New research indicates that an outbreak of Shigella in England in 2018 was likely caused by contaminated coriander. The national food poisoning outbreak highlights the…

Swedish Yersinia outbreak linked to imported iceberg lettuce

After an outbreak of Yersinia in Sweden, imported iceberg lettuce has ended up as the suspected source of infection. From January until the beginning of February this year,…

Taiwan detects pesticide in 800 boxes of US apples

Excess levels of pesticide residue have been found in a shipment of 800 boxes of US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday. The FDA stated said that 11,975…

FDA partnership with Mexico’s regulators strengthens Food Safety Protections

As the food supply becomes increasingly global, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s partnerships with our regulatory counterparts and food producers in other nations are more important than ever. The work that the FDA has done in collaboration with the government and food industry in Mexico shows how…

Arugula clearly still contaminated with nitrates

Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety BVL ensures a high level of consumer protection and food safety in Germany, even in times of the pandemic. On the occasion of World Consumer Day, the President of the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) Friedel Cramer states:…

Concerns about recurring 'Dirty Dozen' lists

Peer reviewed research and a survey of registered dietitians has shown the potential negative impact on fruit and vegetable consumption among consumers caused by the so-called “dirty dozen” list. Further, the “dirty dozen” list has been repeatedly discredited by the scientific community as well as peer…

Fruit and vegetable film designed to detect pesticide residues

A technology, intended to detect pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables is currently being developed by researchers from ITMO University (Russia), the National University…

Japan finds fungicides on Taiwanese bananas

As Taiwan is increasing its export of pineapples to Japan due to China's ban, due to high levels of fungicides, the Japanese ordered the removal of 750 boxes of Taiwanese…

Chinese Customs intercept 172 types of quarantine pests

According to recent data, Chinese Customs officers intercepted 172 species of quarantine pests in the first two months this year. The number of interceptions rose by 40.41…

Agriculture.gov.au

Australia: Stopping Giant Snail risks at the border

Biosecurity has helped ensure Australia remains free of one of the world’s worst invasive pests, with a number of Giant African Snail interceptions made at the border last year. Australian Chief Plant Protection Officer, Dr Gabrielle Vivian-Smith, said the Giant African Snail is one of Australia’s…

Cambodia: Phytosanitary evaluation of mango farms & treatment plants complete

An evaluation process, aimed at determining whether fresh mango exports can meet China’s rigorous health standards, has been completed, says Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon.…

Cambodia: Progress update on fresh mango exports to China

Yesterday, a virtual meeting took place between a working group of relevant Cambodian and Chinese officials. The goal was to discuss and assess Cambodian exports of fresh…

Ukrainian phytosanitary inspectors find pests in batch of Turkish tomatoes

During a phytosanitary inspection of some 8.39 tons of imported tomatoes from Turkey, officials found the regulated quarantine organism that is known as the South American…

Ultrasound cleaning of salad could reduce instances of food poisoning

A study published in the magazine Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology reveals that cleaning salad with an ultrasound system would be the best way to reduce the microbial load…

Ultrasonic cleaning of salad could reduce instances of food poisoning

A new study has shown that gentle streams of water carrying sound and microscopic air bubbles can clean bacteria from salad leaves more effectively than current washing…

Europe: Foodborne outbreak illnesses and deaths increasing

According to data from the annual report on zoonotic diseases, the number of foodborne disease outbreaks and deaths in Europe has increased in 2019. Data released by the…

"Produce is wasted here because many people don't really respect the value of food any more"

The COVID-19 pandemic and labour shortages have had a "massive" impact on the already high levels of fruit and vegetable wastage, according to Australia's leading research centre on the issue. Dr Steve Lapidge is the inaugural CEO of Fight Food Waste Ltd, which incorporates the Fight Food Waste…

High Court asks Indian government for rules on regulating supply of fruit ripener

The Gauhati High Court has asked the Indian government to ‘frame appropriate rules’ for regulating the easy availability of artificial fruit ripener calcium carbide in the…

Modified atmosphere packaging essential when shipping to far off markets

In the past few days, the Guangzhou Jiangnan wholesale market has gradually recovered but is still moving very slowly. Despite this, more than 3,000 containers full of cherries arrived in China before the Chinese New Year. Felipe Acosta is the operational manager of a Chilean modified atmosphere…

Israeli CEO wants imported blueberries treated with methyl bromide to be labelled

Shlomi Fogel is the chairman of Carmel Agrexco, an agricultural export company that operates a Golan Heights blueberry farm. On Monday, he addressed the ministers of Health…

Produce checks largely compliant in Czech Republic

According to data published by the Ministry of Health in the Czech Republic, just 10 of almost 800 samples taken during food safety inspections were non-compliant. From August…

Traceable rockmelons on a roll

FreshChain Systems has successfully piloted innovative blockchain technology exporting end to end traceable whole rockmelons from the Sunraysia region supported by the Australian Government…

Cgtn

China: More cold-chain products required to present trace records

Recently, Beijing implemented a regulation determining that all imported frozen food at or below zero degrees Celsius must have full logistic information. It went into full effect last Friday. The city had already requested that imported cold-chain meat and seafood be trace, but now all imported…

German govt approves legislation to ban glyphosate starting 2024

German growers will have to gradually reduce their use of glyphosate and stop using it completely, starting 2024 in order to preserve clean habitats for insects. Growers have…

Spanish oranges with high pesticide residues withdrawn from the market in Germany

The German customs authorities have withdrawn Spanish oranges from the market, as they reportedly contained an excessive amount of pesticide residues, as reported on February…

Turkey increases pepper exports by 35% in 2020, despite accumulating 111 pesticide alerts

Turkish pepper exports in 2020 increased by 35.38% over the previous year, totaling 150.71 million kilos, and by 54.87% over the last five years, according to Hortoinfo based…

Limited voluntary recall of Dole™ Sunflower Crunch Chopped Salad Kit due to undeclared allergens

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. is voluntarily recalling two lot codes of Dole™ Sunflower Crunch Chopped Salad Kit. This recall is due to possible undeclared allergens (wheat and…

Applying root cause strategies to the produce industry

This week’s PMA virtual town hall discussed putting root-cause strategies into the hands of the produce industry when it comes to investigating, but ultimately preventing, events such as mass recalls of produce. The town hall was moderated by Trevor Suslow, produce safety consultant with the PMA and…

PMA comments on FSMA traceability rule

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) submitted comments on the proposed U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule ‘Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for…

New plastic film "deactivates Coronavirus in just 15 minutes"

A scientific collaboration including the companies Nanox, AplFilm, Braskem and the UFSCar (Brazil) and Jaume I of Castellón (Spain) universities has presented a plastic film…

Swedish public health officials investigate rise in Yersinia infections

According to Swedish public health officials, there has been an increase in Yersinia infections in recent weeks. Since the second week of January, more than twice as many…

Shenandoah Growers issues limited, voluntary recall of specific imported organic basil

Shenandoah Growers, Inc (Harrisonburg, VA) out of an abundance of caution, has issued a limited, voluntary recall of approximately 3240 units of branded fresh cut, packaged…

"When we build unique fingerprints, we see information that most people don't see"

A global scientific provenance verification and supply chain integrity company is hoping to grow and offer more of its services in the fruit and vegetable industry. Source Certain International (SCI), based in Perth, brings scientific technology to verify product provenance, authenticity and associated…

Brussels to extrapolate citrus MRLs to avocados

The European Commission is going to extrapolate the MRLs (maximum residue limits) from citrus to avocado to facilitate the fight against avocado pests and diseases and to…

FDA announces new sampling plan for Romaine from the Yuma, Arizona growing region

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is launching an assignment to collect romaine lettuce samples from commercial coolers in the Yuma County, Arizona growing region during…

Chile launches intensive PR campaign in China for cherries

The Chilean government and agricultural exporters have recently launched an intensive PR campaign using social platforms and influencers, trying to reverse the damage caused…

The Spanish CGC demands that the EU stop the import of Turkish citrus fruits with phytosanitary problems

The Spanish Citrus Management Committee (CGC) has asked the European Commission (EC) to act urgently to curb the wave of Turkish citrus imports with pesticide residue…

"It is important to restore Chinese consumer trust in imported fruit"

Chinese consumers were recently shocked by the "cherry incident". Even though 199 samples from the environment, products, and personnel all tested negative, the single positive test from the cherry sample destroyed consumer trust in the food safety of imported cherries. Furthermore, on the 25th of…

Fruit and vegetable safety in Kyrgyzstan

A new FAO project involves Kyrgyzstan and improving food safety management in the country’s fruit and vegetable sector. The work is funded by a $570,000 contribution from the…

Azerbaijan: Food Safety Agency declares onions from Kazakhstan unfit for consumption

Azerbaijan’s Food Safety Agency employees inspected 650 tons of onions produced by the TIMUR private enterprise of Kazakhstan and imported to Azerbaijan by the local company…

Egypt plans to cut pesticide use by half by 2030

Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation al-Sayed al-Quseir has announced plans to reduce Egypt’s consumption of chemical pesticides, replacing them with biopesticides.…