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Spanish oranges with high pesticide residues withdrawn from the market in Germany

The German customs authorities have withdrawn Spanish oranges from the market, as they reportedly contained an excessive amount of pesticide residues, as reported on February…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

Dole Fresh Vegetables announce limited voluntary recall of Dole™ Endless Summer Salad Kit

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. is voluntarily recalling a single lot code of Dole™ Endless Summer Salad Kit. This recall is due to possible undeclared allergens (fish and egg) in Dole™ Endless Summer Salad Kit. The dressing and topping kit (masterpack) designed for a different Dole product was…

PMA responds to FDA announcement of conclusion of E. coli outbreak investigation

On January 27, the FDA provided an updated release detailing the findings of their investigations into a composite assessment of the 2020 outbreaks involving E. coli O157:H7.…

Australian fruit and vegetable prices still volatile

While the prices of ginger are going up, the oversupply of tomatoes in Australia is seeing prices go down quickly. Melbourne wholesaler Michael Piccolo said he had never seen…

Study details UK investigations into outbreak of Listeria

Researchers have expanded knowledge of the UK’s involvement in a multi-country Listeria outbreak. Twelve patients were detected in the UK between 2015 and 2018; contaminated…

Mercadona launches a new disinfectant for fruits and vegetables

The Mercadona supermarket chain continues to work to incorporate new products to meet its customers' current needs and consumer demand. The Valencian company has launched a…

Belgian company submits first protein-based biocontrol registration package to the EPA

Biotalys NV, a food and crop protection company, announced that it has submitted its first protein-based biocontrol, Evoca™, to the Environmental Protection Agency in the…

Germany and Denmark: Pesticide residue findings on foodstuffs are low

German and Danish officials have reported low levels of pesticide residues in food. A report, published by the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety…

Sweden publishes foodborne illness data for 2008-2018

A new study has revealed that a high number of Campylobacter infections and more cases of Salmonella infection linked to produce have been identified in Sweden during a…

Lancaster Foods recalls conventional butternut squash items

Lancaster Foods LLC has initiated a voluntary product recall of its processed butternut squash items because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others…

PMA expands virtual learning course offerings

Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and Center for Growing Talent (CGT) are expanding their virtual learning opportunities. FreshEd Academy is a growing portfolio of…

United Fresh announces class two of produce safety immersion program

United Fresh Produce Association announced the class two fellows of the Produce Safety Immersion Program, sponsored by Renaissance Food Group at the gold level, and Ecolab as…

Switzerland: Aldi and Migros recall salads containing listeria

Aldi and Migros are recalling several ready-made salads due to the presence of listeria. The two distributors recommend Thursday not to consume these products. Aldi has recalled three salads across Switzerland as a precaution. The presence of listeria was detected during internal analyses of certain…

New year, old problems: A look at the state of food safety

This week’s PMA virtual town hall took a look at how food safety problems and possible solutions might continue to evolve in the new year. The panel was led by Max Teplitski, PMA’s Chief Science Officer. Panelists were Wendelyn Jones, Ph.D., Executive Director of ILSI North America, William D. Marler,…

Improved quality control to secure Egypt’s position as top orange exporter

Egypt aims to secure a second bumper crop of oranges this season in order to keep its spot as the world’s leading exporter of the citrus fruit. The nation has been rapidly…

Trial to track melons using QR codes

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries is placing QR codes on melons to trace the fruit from the farm, all the way to the consumers' fridges. According to…

CDC and FDA declare third E. coli outbreak over

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday that the third outbreak of pathogenic E. coli…

Russia allows export of products from several Azerbaijani enterprises

The Azerbaijani Food Safety Agency and a number of relevant structures are taking the necessary measures to remove restrictions on the export of certain products to Russia.…

Spain: Fraudulent organic pistachio sales - €6 million in illegal profits

The Spanish Guardia Civil, with support of the French Gendarmerie Nationale and Europol have dismantled an organised crime group involved in the production, distribution and…

NSW announces AU$45 million program to accelerate smart places development

The New South Wales government has announced a new AU$45 million initiative, under its Smart Place Strategy, aimed at accelerating the development of smart places across the…

University of Houston study evaluates food safety practices to reduce foodborne illnesses

A survey of small farmers in Texas, focusing on food safety protocols and resources, has revealed significant gaps in these, increasing the risk of product contamination and…

PMA comments on EPA proposed rule on exemptions of Plant Incorporated Protectants

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) submitted comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Proposed Rule for Pesticides; Exemptions of Certain Plant…

“Food waste reduction and increased food safety are key goals”

TELUS, a Canadian communication and information technology company, has expanded into agriculture and food. In addition to telecommunications, the company is also Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider under the name TELUS Health. “We’ve always had a sense of social purpose. With food and beverage…

Nepal: Ministry sets maximum residue limits for ten fruits and vegetables

On Wednesday, the Nepalese cabinet cleared the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to set maximum residue limits for ten fruits and vegetables. The maximum…

Compressed carbon dioxide for decontaminating almonds & other nuts

A process to kill germs on almonds and nuts by using compressed carbon dioxide to decontaminate food has been developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for…

Researchers use compressed carbon dioxide to decontaminate almonds and other nuts

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environment, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT have developed a process to kill germs on almonds and nuts by using compressed…

Food safety more of a focus for consumers than packaging sustainability in COVID-19 affected year

The COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily shifted consumers' views when it comes to the priority of sustainability in fruit and vegetable packaging, according to Produce Marketing Association Australia-New Zealand. Head of Food Safety, Deon Mahoney told a recent webinar that while there are overall goals to…

Researchers look at Listeria risks in food distribution centers

The Center for Produce Safety awarded more than $300,000 to a research project that is examining the risk of contamination in distribution center environments by surveying managers and collecting testing samples at their facilities, focusing on potentially high-risk areas, practices and equipment. The…

Government, academia and farmers join forces to improve food safety

On November 19, 2020 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the launch of a longitudinal study in partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), University of California Davis, Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS) and agricultural stakeholders in the Central Coast of…

Greenyard closes listeria chapter after settlement with the FSMA

Greenyard has reached an amicable settlement of EUR 500,000 with stock market watchdog FSMA for the dissemination of 'incorrect and misleading information' about the listeria…