Proactive Food Safety: Moving the Industry Forward

Proactive Food Safety: Moving the Industry Forward

An almost constant spate of food recalls should require us to think about proactive food safety. According to the Food and Drug Administration, there were 1,958 food and cosmetic recalls in 2018 and already 1,163 in 2019. Since 2012, there were 18,134 recalls. (This includes recalls for contamination, foreign particles, unreported allergens and other sources.) When it comes to fresh produce, we most commonly see issues related to E. coli, salmonella and listeria. And, while we may often identify the problem, too often we can’t...Continue Reading...
Food Safety Tips: Three Things to Consider

Food Safety Tips: Three Things to Consider

It’s always good to think about food safety tips as we approach one of the biggest food and barbecue weekends of the year. Food safety continues to be a challenge as last week saw yet another food safety outbreak, this one related to salmonella associated with papayas from Mexico. Recent Food Safety Challenges The last two years has seen three E. coli food safety issues related to romaine lettuce alone. In 2018, according to Food Safety Magazine, we had 382 food product recalls. Some relate to undeclared allergens or some sort of...Continue Reading...
The “Best If Used By” Date Label: Will It Reduce Food Waste?

The “Best If Used By” Date Label: Will It Reduce Food Waste?

On May 23, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a letter urging industry-wide adoption of a “Best If Used By” date. The letter seeks to simplify what has for years been a somewhat random system of various dates printed on foods that generally confused consumers and led to waste because consumers – often incorrectly – threw out food because of a printed date, even if the food was still safe to eat. It’s interesting to note that there is only one category of foods that require date labeling: infant formula. For...Continue Reading...
Rethinking Food Safety and the Supply Chain

Rethinking Food Safety and the Supply Chain

Recently, I saw the Produce Marketing Association’s Dr. Bob Whitaker present on food safety and the supply chain. Dr. Bob, as he’s affectionately known, was the opening keynote speaker at the Salinas AgTech Summit in March and also the closing keynote speaker at this month’s PMA TechKnowledge conference. At both events, his message was about the need to rethink how we, as an industry, address food safety challenges and the supply chain. For me to summarize his presentations would be challenging as they were quite comprehensive and...Continue Reading...
Romaine Lettuce Labeling – Zest Fresh Can Help

Romaine Lettuce Labeling – Zest Fresh Can Help

On November 27, the FDA recommended a voluntary romaine lettuce labeling program for suppliers of processed and bulk romaine grown throughout the United States. This is in response to the recent E. coli issues that led to the FDA’s November 20 directive to remove and destroy all romaine lettuce in the fresh food supply chain. The FDA is requesting that all romaine lettuce be labeled, whether in bulk, processed or mixed, with the harvest date and location information. This label should be visible on all packaged produce and included...Continue Reading...
New Verizon Ad Sheds Light on Important Food Safety Issues

New Verizon Ad Sheds Light on Important Food Safety Issues

Verizon Enterprise last week launched a marketing campaign highlighting how its 4G LTE technology can be used in the cold supply chain. At Zest Labs, we applaud Verizon’s initiative to bring light to the issue of food safety, as well as the current technical and process challenges that continue to impact humans and our fresh food supply. The issue is so large, that to put it in pure economic terms, the USDA estimates the amount of food loss in the U.S. alone each year totals more than $161B.  And the industry simply accepts these...Continue Reading...