Kosher food is big business. There are more than ten thousand kosher-producing companies in the United States alone, making more than 135,000 kosher products for over twelve million American consumers who purchase kosher food because it is kosher. Only 8 percent of kosher consumers, however, are religious Jews. Most kosher consumers choose kosher for reasons …
Hawaii Focuses on Food Safety and Local Ag
More locally grown food and safer growing methods are the goals of a couple of bills close to passing the final hurdle in the Hawaii Legislature.
Small farmers appear split on the bills. They like House Bill 2703, which sets out to double the locally grown food supply by 2020. They have doubts about …
Marketing Gone Wild: Use and Abuse of Food Safety ‘Certifications’
The produce industry has come to work so hard on food safety. This is seen collectively through institutions such as the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement and the Center for Produce Safety.
It is also true on an individual company level. Anyone who has been involved in the produce trade for an extended period has …
Improving the Effectiveness of Third-Party Food Safety Audits
The controversy continues over the value of third-party audits in food safety at the fresh produce level, as pointed out by Professor Doug Powell at Kansas State University in his BITES blog.
Jim Prevor, produce industry analyst, says changes are needed, while the law firm Marler-Clark is suing a food safety auditor and a …
USDA Caution on Organic Fraud from China
Although there’s no evidence that certain extracts falsely labeled as organic were sold in the U.S., the Department of Agriculture is nonetheless warning organic distributors and processors to be aware of a fraudulent organic certificate being circulated by an uncertified operation in China.
The certificate falsely represents hibiscus, jasmine and beet root extract powders as…