New color-coded placards informing diners about food-safety violations are about to appear in Hawaii restaurants. The rule was implemented in February, but the Hawaii Department of Health wanted to spend a few months educating restaurant workers before requiring them to comply. The placards are now expected to be posted by the end of July. Green placards are for when no more than one major violation is observed during a routine inspection. The violation must be corrected at the time of inspection. Yellow placards will be posted when a major violation remains uncorrected or when two or more major violations are observed, if corrected at the time of inspection. A follow-up inspection will be conducted within two business days to ensure compliance. If no major violations exist, a green placard will be posted. Red placards are posted when there’s an imminent health hazard observed or when a permit is suspended. Examples include sewage overflow, no hot water, rodent/vermin infestation, or severe unsanitary conditions. The red placard has to remain posted and the restaurant closed until a follow-up inspection confirms that the hazard no longer exists. The goals of the program are to reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness, increase compliance with the food code, and inform the public of the most recent inspection results. Along with posting the placards, restaurants in Hawaii have other new rules to follow such as renewing their permits every year instead of every two years, not allowing bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods, and posting warnings for diners that consuming raw or undercooked foods can increase the risk of illness.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
A federal Grand Jury indictment has been filed against multiple suspects, including four defendants, with names redacted, who were formerly employed with Fayette Industrial Services. They are being charged with
An assessment has revealed what is going well and which bits need work regarding the food safety systems of five potential European Union countries.
The reports cover progress in the
A record number of issues were discussed at the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on food safety.
Attendees at the November meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and
Emergency funding legislation for the federal government approved by the Senate includes provisions that will hamper food safety efforts already in motion — industry lobbyists have been working to halt those
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
Prairie Farms is announcing a recall of select Prairie Farms Gallon Fat Free Milk produced at its Dubuque, IA, facility and distributed to Woodman’s stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Aoun brand tahineh is under recall in Canada because of contamination with Salmonella.
The recall was triggered by test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The recalled tahineh was
Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends and feasting. Once the holiday meal ends, the spotlight turns to enjoying the leftovers in the days ahead. To keep those leftovers safe
