It’s hard to believe that it’s been eleven years since the Chinese milk scandal took place…and some families and young teenagers (who survived) are still suffering today. Ren Che, a thirteen-year-old boy who lives in southern Hunan province is on three sessions of kidney dialysis a week. Doctors found his kidneys full of stones when …
Plant Explosions & Selling Dead Pigs Food Safety and Worker Safety Continues to be a Problem in China
I was recently traveling in China and South East Asia and noticed a small article in the Global edition of CHINA DAILY dated Dec 4, 2019 and a similar one in the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) of the same date. The headlines read: “Blast at Food Factory Kills Four, Injures 10” and “Four …
Regenerative Agriculture Makes Whole Foods Top 10 Food Trends for 2020
Whole Foods Market, headquartered in Austin, Texas, annually reveals what it considers to be the “Top 10 Food Trends” for upcoming year. The top food trend predictions for 2020 are as follows: regenerative agriculture, flour power, food from West Africa, out-of-the-box-into-the-fridge snacking, plant-based beyond soy, everything butters and spreads, rethinking the kids’ menu, not-so-simple sugars, …
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Peak Asparagus Season Continues In South America
United States Diced Carrots are being processed and to date the yields and quality are normal. Our overall vegetable season in the Pacific Northwest was good with no major hiccups to report, however the market is farily tight due to demand from the Midwest region and Europe. Potatoes in the Northwest began about a week …
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How Do I Develop My FSMA HARPC Plan?
In Chapter 1 of Nancy Scharlach’s new online food safety course, How to Convert HACCP Plans to FSMA Food Safety Plans (AKA HARPC Plans), she gets right to the core of how to do this with her step-by-step process. While there are many companies that already have a HACCP plan with many internal resources in …
Taking A Closer Look
The New US-Japanese Trade Agreement And Japan Tariff Schedule
On September 25, 2019, the U.S. and Japan signed a limited trade deal that will eliminate certain tariffs and allow market access to specific agricultural products, as well as industrial and digital products. Japan is America’s third largest export market and imported more than 14.1 billion dollars in U.S. products in 2018. From a trade …
DON’T MISS THIS!
NEW FOOD SAFETY COURSE OPENED OCTOBER 28, 2019
BY NANCY SCHARLACH, FSMA INTERNATIONAL
We are proud to offer this exciting NEW course created by Nancy Scharlach, Chief Technical Director, FSMA International. Noon International has been working with Nancy for the past several months and her latest course, How to Convert Your HACCP Plans to HARPC to Meet FSMA Requirements is now available! Many of you may already know …
Berry Season Begins in Chile
United States Sweet corn harvest is now completed in the Pacific Northwest. The weather cooled off with day time temperatures in the mid 60-degree F range. The nights were much cooler and the last few weeks of the harvest the yields and quality dropped off significantly. Diced Carrots are being processed and to date the …
Are You FSMA Ready? Understanding the Similarities & Differences Between HACCP and HARPC
Codex HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It was developed by private industry rather than regulatory and has evolved into a standard for which food safety programs and hazards controls are measured and documented for prevention. So, it actually started out private industry and then evolved into a regulatory requirement for specific …
Can U.S. Crops Beat The Frost?!
United States Sweet corn harvest is approximately 85% completed in the Pacific Northwest. The weather has cooled off with day time temperatures in the mid 60-degree F range. Nights are certainly cooler and the last few nights have been in the range of 32 – 35 Degrees F. There has been no frost reported yet, …
How Millennials Are Changing the Food Industry
How Millennials Are Changing the Food Industry Yes, it’s the largest living generation and there are an estimated 80 – 95 million millennials living in the United States today. While opinions vary concerning the age span of millennials, most agree it includes those born between 1980 and 2000 making them between 19 -39 years old …
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U.S. and Japan reach initial trade agreement
The United States and Japan announced that the two countries have agreed to an initial trade agreement. The agreement will provide U.S. manufacturers with additional market access to America’s third-largest export market. As a result of AFFI’s proactive efforts during the negotiation process, a number of frozen products will be favorably impacted in the Japanese tariff …
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Inside Erewhon Where the Food is Healthy and Crazy Expensive But Shoppers Love it
If you think Whole Foods is expensive…how about four dollars for an avocado? Or $24 for Macadamia nut cheese? You won’t find as many of these items at Whole Foods today as Amazon continues to cut prices and offer deals to its Prime members. Gone are the days when people referred to Whole Foods as …
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Northwest Corn Season In Full Swing!
United States Northwest green pea harvest is completed. Some are reporting lower yields while others say they are on budget. However with a shortage in the Midwest and in Europe we can expect green pea prices to be rising as demand for green peas is falling on Northwest processors. Sweet corn harvest is in full …
CONVERTING FROM HACCP TO HARPC GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
A NEW ONLINE TRAINING COURSE FROM FSMA INTERNATIONAL If you are a U.S. food manufacturer or a global supplier processing food for export the United States, you must convert you existing HACCP plan to FSMA HARPC to comply with U.S. Regulation 21 CFR, Part 117 for human food or Part 507 for animal food. Noon …
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The Impossible Burger or a Beyond Burger? The Popularity of Plant -Based Proteins is Growing
Nothing is impossible. Well, almost nothing…but have you tasted an Impossible Burger yet? If not, you’re in for a treat. They recently changed and improved their product formulation and it’s even better than before! As of April 2019, all restaurant partners should now be selling the new,updated recipe. Their aim with the new formulation is …
Europe Struck Again With Severe Heat!
United States Northwest green pea harvest is completed. Some are reporting lower yields while others say they are on budget. However with a shortage in the Midwest and in Europe we can expect green pea prices to be rising as demand for green peas is falling on Northwest processors. Sweet corn harvest began in most …
GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT FSMA?
With the implementation of new Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA, come many questions. Here are just a few of the most frequently asked questions today that may be of interest to you and the FDA response to those questions. For additional information, please be sure to visit www.fda.gov/fsma What are the major requirements under …
Raspberry Season Begins in PNW
United States Northewest green pea harvest is underway. To date harvest seems to be going well with no major issues to report. The season began later than usual and some were worried about bunching. Quality is reported as good, although some are expecting a decline in yields by about 10%. Future weather conditions along with …
FSMA Compliance Even More Important As Frozen Berries Come Under Scrutiny For Norovirus & Hepatitis A
Norovirus is a contagious virus causing vomiting and diarrhea nausea and stomach pains and outbreaks are quite common. It spreads easily and quickly through contaminated food products as well as from other people and contaminated surfaces. Since one in six Americans gets sick from eating contaminated food each year, it is in everyone’s best interest …