Florida Citrus Industry welcomes appeals court decision to block harmful pesticide

Florida citrus growers and farmers were pleased when they received the news that an appeals court ruled in the farmers’ favor to protect the crops against a potentially…

The Port of Algeciras rejects Costa Rican products treated with unregistered wax

Last month, authorities at the Spanish port of Algeciras began rejecting products from Costa Rica because they were treated with waxes that are not registered as preservatives…

Record rejections of Turkish and Egyptian fruit and vegetable shipments containing pesticide residues

La Unio de Llauradors said that the rejections of Turkish and Egyptian fruit and vegetable shipments, due to pesticide residues or banned substances in the EU, continued on…

Switzerland might become first European nation to ban synthetic pesticides

Via the upcoming - June 13 – referendum, Switzerland could become the first European country to ban artificial pesticides. Supporters of the initiative hope a ‘yes’ vote will…

Large Salmonella outbreak linked to whole honeydew, cantaloupe and galia melons

Melons have been linked to a Salmonella Braenderup outbreak that has been affecting 200 people in more than 10 different countries. Cases have been reported in Denmark,…

FDA

FDA releases results of FY20-FY21 romaine lettuce sampling assignment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is releasing the findings of a sampling assignment that tested raw agricultural commodity romaine lettuce mostly at facilities and on farms in the Salinas, California, and Yuma, Arizona, growing regions for the presence of pathogens that have been linked to outbreaks…

State monitoring confirms low or no pesticide residues in most fruits and vegetables

A newly released Department of Pesticide Regulation report should ease concerns of California consumers unsure about pesticide residues in fresh fruits and vegetables. The…

New food traceability tools provide instant contamination notification

Speed is critical when removing unsafe food from the supply chain to prevent illness and save lives. Since the beginning of May alone, there have been eight food safety recall…

Japan: More radiation checks on food conducted than required

Nearly all of the 17 prefectures required to test food products for radiation after the March 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima are also testing items not listed in the…

Certain Enoki Mushrooms may be unsafe due to Listeria monocytogenes

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the Enoki Mushrooms described below due to Listeria monocytogenes. The following product has been sold in Quebec and may have been distributed in other provinces. All units sold up to and including May 14, 2021 What you should…

How mitigating food safety risks helps protect both reputation and bottom line

Keeping products free from contamination and at the proper temperatures throughout the cold chain is critical to maximizing food safety and quality. “Retailers rely on suppliers to keep their frozen aisles and perishable sections stocked with high quality products that continue to result in repeat…

FDA releases investigation report following 2020 salmonella outbreak linked to red onions

“The FDA has been working with the CDC, state partners and Canadian officials to investigate the largest Salmonella Newport outbreak in over a decade, which was linked to red…

How technology can help resolve the food waste problem

While most sustainability practices focus on eradicating the negative effects of plastic on the environment, they fail to realize that food waste, while biodegradable in many cases, is also just as harmful. This has been a growing problem worldwide. Harmful Effects of food wasteA 2018 study by the Boston…

44% of fruits and vegetables have pesticide residues

33.7% of the Spanish foods analyzed in 2019 had pesticide residues; a percentage that increases to 44.4% in fruits and vegetables. Researchers have detected residues of up to…

Golden Mushroom brand Enoki Mushroom recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

Goldenway International Trade Co., Ltd. is recalling Golden Mushroom brand Enoki Mushroom from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below. The following product has been sold in Ontario and Quebec and may have…

US investigators identify organic produce as possible E. coli outbreak source

Organic produce could possibly be behind an E. coli O157 outbreak that has affected children in Washington’s Seattle-King County area. Seven patients were reported between…

Guan’s Mushroom Co recalls Enoki Mushroom

Guan’s Mushroom Co of Commerce, CA is recalling all cases of its 100g/3.5- ounce & 200g/7-ounce packages of Enoki Mushroom (Product of China) because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children,…

CanadaGAP obtains recognition against GFSI benchmarking requirements

CanadaGAP®, an internationally recognized food safety program for fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers, and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), The Consumer Goods Forum’s…

Dole gives $750K to Center for Produce Safety, citing stakes, gains

Dole Food Company Vice President Food Safety and Quality Natalie Dyenson is frank about the two-sided coin that motivated her company to contribute $750,000 to Center for…

Azerbaijan and Russia discuss lifting ban on tomato and apple exports

Azerbaijan’s Food Safety Agency and Russia’s phytosanitary agency Rosselkhoznadzor have discussed further measures to remove restrictions on the export of Azerbaijani tomatoes…

FDA

Taiwan: US avocados and grapefruits seized at border due to contaminants

Several large shipments of avocados, grapefruit and apples from the US were recently seized at Taiwan's border after being found to contain excessive levels of pesticides and other contaminants. The American fruits were among 20 products listed in this week's FDA report on imported shipments confiscated…

Dutch cucumbers possibly involved in UK E. coli outbreak

An outbreak of E. coli O157 in the United Kingdom - that affected 36 people - has been linked to a fast food product containing imported cucumbers. After investigations into…

FDA

Golden Medal Mushroom Inc. recalls Enoki mushrooms

Golden Medal Mushroom Inc. of Los Angeles, CA is recalling all cases of its 200g/7.05-ounce packages of Enoki Mushrooms (Product of Korea) because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children,…

German authorities discover high levels of pesticides on imported Moroccan beans

The German authorities have issued an warning to German consumers over imported Moroccan green beans that contain high concentrations of pesticide residue. According to…

Guan’s Mushroom Co recalls Enoki Mushrooms due to possible health risks

Guan’s Mushroom Co of Commerce, CA is recalling all cases of its 200g/7.05-ounce packages of Enoki Mushroom (Product of China) because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or…

Tesco fined £7 million for selling out of date food

Supermarket chain Tesco was fined £7.56 mln by a judge for selling out of date food at three of its Birmingham stores. The chain was handed the penalty by the Birmingham…

"Viral pressure puts safety and hygiene high on the horticulture agenda"

Johan Leeffers started his cleaning company LETS, 40 years ago. Back then, he focused mainly on using high-pressure pumps in the Dutch agricultural sector. Since then, the company has grown into one of the larger cleaning technology players in the food industry sector. It doesn't only cater to fruit and…

"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…

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…

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…

“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…