A critical element of food safety is maintaining proper temperatures from the field to the fork. In practical terms, this means keeping produce cold enough to inhibit pathogen growth or spoilage from the time it leaves the farm or orchard until it’s in the customer’s possession. 
It also means cooking
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Letter From the Editor: They’re Not Thinking About It
Back from Portland, OR, where the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) annual meeting was held this year, it’s natural to be thinking about the big things. This time of year, one that comes to mind is the safety of all the fresh fruit and produce we are scooping up.
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Current Issues in Produce Safety: Growing Areas
(This is Part 2A of a five-part series on produce safety by Roy E. Costa, R.S., M.S., a registered professional sanitarian and founder/owner of Environ Health Associates Inc. Part 1B was posted here on March 18, 2015, Part 1A was posted here on Feb. 25, 2015, and the series introduction
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The Packinghouse: Safety and Uses of Process-Water
(This is Part 1B of a five-part series on produce safety by Roy E. Costa, R.S., M.S., a registered professional sanitarian and founder/owner of Environ Health Associates Inc. Part 1A was posted here on Feb. 25, 2015, and the series introduction was posted here on Feb. 10, 2015.) Packinghouse operations
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Current Issues in Produce Safety: The Packinghouse
(This is Part 1A of a five-part series on produce safety by Roy E. Costa, R.S., M.S., a registered professional sanitarian and founder/owner of Environ Health Associates Inc. The series introduction was posted here on Feb. 10, 2015.) The purpose of this series on produce safety is to explain the
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Introduction: Current Issues in Produce Safety
(This is the introduction to a five-part series on produce safety by Roy E. Costa, R.S., M.S., a registered professional sanitarian and founder/owner of Environ Health Associates Inc. ) Many nutritional experts consider fresh fruits and vegetables to be a vital part of a healthy diet, and the American
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U.S., Mexico Enter Formal Produce Safety Partnership
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Mexico’s National Service for Agro-Alimentary Public Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA) and Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) signed a statement of intent last week forming a partnership to promote the safety of fresh and minimally processed agricultural products.
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FDA to Issue Two Revised FSMA Rules Next Summer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will propose revised rule language and open another comment period on two of the proposed rules affecting farmers under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). FDA plans to issue revised language for the proposed rules on produce safety and preventive
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Understanding Small Farm Exemptions Under FSMA's Produce Safety Rule
With the comment period finally closed on the Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is one step closer to implementing FSMA. FDA must now review the comments as it considers final changes to the proposed rule, which sets standards for the
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Proposed Rule for Food Processors Alarms Some, Confuses Many
“Coming down like a ton of bricks.” “Complicated and interwoven.” “Costly.” “The end of many small- and mid-size farms and food processors.” “Never heard of it.” “A work in progress.” When asked about FDA’s new proposed rule for food processing facilities, that’s how a sustainable-agriculture advocate, a food-safety expert for
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