Foodborne illness is a common occurrence. It is estimated that one in six Americans get sick from contaminated food or beverages annually and 3,000 die from it. The USDA estimates that foodborne illnesses cost the United States more than $15.6 billion each year and the irony is that such illnesses are preventable. The CDC (Center …
China is now the largest grower of blueberries and strawberries worldwide
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and all processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields suffered the most. …
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No More GMO Labels – It’s Bioengineered Food Now
Bioengineered Foods are those “that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) techniques and for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature.” You may have seen the terms GMO (genetically modified organism) or Genetic Engineering used for marketing reasons …
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MORE OF THE SAME – More Expensive Products, More Supply Chain Problems, More on OMICRON
Are you as tired of rising prices and shortages as we are? What are you willing to pay for a container? A trucker? Unfortunately, it’s not going to end soon. Our food systems – suppliers, manufacturers, workers, and consumers continue to suffer as transport and supply issues remain unresolved and prices continue rise on almost …
Flooded Fields Could Take A Toll On British Columbia’s 2022 Berry Crop
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and all processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields suffered the most. …
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As Listeria Outbreaks Continue AFFI Offers Listeria Control Certification
What you need to know about Listeria Monocytogenes Foods that are contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes often look perfectly good to eat. In other words, they may not be spoiled or have an “off” smell, yet those who eat such foods could be at high risk of serious infection. If you feel you have eaten any …
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Amazon’s Grab & Go Technology Takes a Global Leap
Just when we thought Jeff Bezos had taken the grocery and incidental shopping experience to a new level with his “Amazon Go” convenience and grocery stores in the U.S.A., it appears he is still on the move…and this time, globally. For those readers who are not familiar with the “grab and go “concept, these are …
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Most Vegetables and Fruits In Short Supply
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and all processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields suffered the most. …
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Taco Bell Going Digital & Wendy’s Using Ghost Kitchens
Taco Bell will open its first “Defy” restaurant in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in 2022. The artist rendering of this fabulous new restaurant is shown below. It looks a little like a bank with drive through windows, doesn’t it? It’s very high tech and you won’t interact with anyone, even as you receive your food. The …
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Increase in Online Food Ordering Prompts FDA Food Safety Review
There’s no doubt about it. Over the past five years the food delivery market has experienced significant growth. Door Dash and Uber Eats are now household names here in America. China, the U.S., and the U.K are the three largest users of food delivery and in Europe it is primarily popular in Germany, Italy, and …
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Japan Introduces SICILIAN ROUGE HIGH GABA the World’s First Genome-Edited Tomato
Japan’s Sanatech Seed has begun selling “Sicilian Rouge High GABA” tomato to consumers. This is the first genome-edited tomato to be sold on the Japanese market. The product was developed using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to edit the tomato’s genome and remove the autoinhibitory domain that prevents tomatoes from increasing their GABA content. The tomato …
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Local Grocery & Restaurant Deliveries Food Safety Protocol
It’s so easy these days to have our food delivered from a local grocery store or restaurant. During the recent covid pandemic, more and more consumers have began to rely on home-delivery services like Doordash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats rather than eating out or shopping for their weekly food supplies. Yet, 18% of consumers still …
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A Dissapointing Northwest Potato Harvest
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and most processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Extreme heat with temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields …
Front-of-Package (FOP) Food Labelling Study – What Works and What Doesn’t
A recent report on Front-of-Package (FOP) Food Labelling, from the Global Food Research Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is well-worth the study of anyone involved in the food industry today. Here are a few highlights of the report: Unhealthy changes in the foods we eat: An estimated 650 million adults worldwide live …
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Global Potato Yields Down This Season
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and most processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Extreme heat with temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields …
Civilians in Space, Weed Killing Robots & a Cargo Ship Without Humans
Some incredible things are happening these days. On September 18, 2021, the Crew Dragon16 spacecraft splashed safely down off the coast of Florida after 3 days in orbit. This was an amazing success with an all-civilian crew, preparing us for future private adventures in space and perhaps a new outpost on the moon. Back on …
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Surging Sweet Corn Prices
United States Green Pea market very short. The early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and most processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Extreme heat with temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in …
Listeria Control Specialist Certificate Program Adds New Freezer Management Online Course
The Listeria Control Specialist Certificate is designed for food safety management in food manufacturing facilities whose responsibilities include preparation, production, packing and warehousing. Once the 5-course certificate program is completed, you will be formally recognized as an “expert” designated to control Listeria Monocytogenes (Lm) within your facility. These five online courses are focused on review …
Expect Food Shortages to Continue as Delta Variant Fears Increase
Grocery stores in the U.S. continue to suffer supply problems. By now the reasons are clear – shortages of labor and raw materials added to the continuing logistical problems make getting back to normal relatively impossible – especially for the smaller stores and chains. Add stockpiling by consumers (when they can find the items they …
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AFFI Recommended Practices for Food Safety Labeling
The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) in July of 2020 approved new voluntary recommended practices for food safety labeling for not-ready-to eat (NRTE) frozen foods. AFFI urges all companies to update their packaging to reflect these changes. Many consumers consider frozen foods as RTE (ready-to-eat) and thus do not follow cooking instructions on the packaging …
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