The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering extending the May 16 comment deadline on the produce safety rule in response to multiple requests by stakeholders, an agency official said Monday. “That’s seriously being considered,” said James Gorny, the agency’s Senior Adviser for Produce Safety, when asked about the possibility of an extension during a… Continue Reading
Last week, Food Safety News acknowledged leaders in government, education, non-government organizations, consumer groups and the media who help keep our food supply safe. Today we end our series focusing on food safety leaders by naming names in the food industry. Of course, no list is ever complete so if you think we’ve forgotten someone, please leave us… Continue Reading
United Fresh announced this week the association has submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend the comment period on certain provisions in the proposed Produce and Preventive Controls Rules, the drafts of which were released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for comment last month. Several provisions currently… Continue Reading
According to produce industry experts, there are no real surprises in the lengthy proposed rule for produce safety, which has been widely hailed as a big step toward a preventive food safety system. For the most part, the proposal, which would for the first time mandate preventative practices across the industry, follows well known best… Continue Reading
After months of uncertainty over the future of the program, the Agricultural Marketing Service’s Microbiological Data Program, which tests produce for disease-causing pathogens like E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria, has officially gone into shutdown mode, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official confirmed Tuesday. Department officials told states that participate in the $4.5 million program… Continue Reading
While food and agriculture policy often take a back seat during presidential elections, the United Fresh Produce Association got both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on the record regarding some key food issues this week. The association on Thursday released both campaigns’ responses to its policy questionnaire, which focused on immigration, taxes, environmental regulations and… Continue Reading
Big Fresh has the blood on its hands. The big fruit and vegetable lobby managed to kill a little food safety program that cost this $3 trillion government a grand total of $5 million annually. Chump change. Big Fresh meanwhile has its snout so far up the 2012 Farm Bill trough that it’s going to… Continue Reading
Their first harvest of organic blueberries behind them, Karen and Spencer Fuentes, who farm north of Seattle, are eager “to absorb all the information they can get” about growing and selling their berries. With that in mind, they attended a February 21 Town Hall meeting in Burlington, WA — one of 10 Town Halls hosted… Continue Reading
The United Fresh Produce Association Foundation will offer its popular course, “Training for a Recall, Communicating Under Fire” as a six-part online webinar. The course, presented through the trade group’s Center for Food Safety and Quality, consists of six hour-long weekly sessions beginning March 11. Representatives from FDA and legal professionals, as well as crisis… Continue Reading
The United Fresh Produce Association has released a new white paper that explores the likely effects of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Available at www.unitedfresh.org, the white paper examines new requirements and regulations under the new law faced by businesses within the fresh produce supply chain. Included in the report are breakdowns on the… Continue Reading
The 2011 United Fresh Produce Association Show will take place in New Orleans May 2-5. Registration for the produce association’s annual conference has opened online. The event, themed BIG Easy and held at the Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center and the Hilton Riverside Hotel in the New Orleans Central Business District, will offer “big solutions big networking… Continue Reading