The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its annual Food Safety Report to Congress this week. The report covers the duties of the FDA over the past year, and is mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010. The FDA works with many federal agencies, including the CDC, EPA, USDA, FSIS, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Defense, OSHA, the FTC, and Department of Homeland Security. According to the Report, the FDA spent $189.5 million to inspect food facilities. FDA inspection of domestic facilities cost $131.3 million, and inspection of foreign facilities cost $33.2 million. In addition, $25.1 million was provided to individual states to conduct inspections for the FDA. In FY 2011, high-risk food facility inspections cost an average of $21,100 , and … [Read more...]
Ottawa Proposes Mandatory Training for Employees at Cited Restaurants
The City of Ottawa, Canada may require food safety training for employees if restaurants and businesses violate food safety regulations. A proposal on this matter will be submitted next week to the Ottawa City Council. At this time, training is voluntary and the city offers certification programs to food service workers. Food facilities with more than four "critical" violations in one year would be required to participate in training. Critical violations include the presence of insect or rodent infestation, not following personal hygiene rules, improperly cooking food, storing food incorrectly, or improperly maintaining premises and equipment. Currently, the city posts restaurant inspection scores that the public can access. Inspectors visit food facilities and establishments on a … [Read more...]
Small Meat Processors Find Bigger Markets Through USDA Program
Up until now, small, state-inspected meat and poultry processors could only sell products within their state. But through a new program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) they are now allowed to ship their products across state lines. Ohio is the first state to participate in the USDA’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program which allows meat and poultry processors with fewer than 25 employees to sell their products in other states. The products will be subject to the same regulatory sampling programs as those established in the federal inspection program. "Expanding market opportunities for meat from local processors makes these small businesses more viable, while also ensuring that participating establishments have robust food safety systems in place to produce safe … [Read more...]
Georgia Department of Agriculture Food Safety Efforts Need Improvement
A new audit just released by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts has found that the Georgia Department of Agriculture's (DOA) increased efforts to oversee food safety are coming up short. Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, a former lobbyist for Georgia Agribusiness Council, was elected after the disastrous and deadly Salmonella outbreak caused by peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America. In that outbreak, more than 700 people were sickened and nine people died. The Justice Department launched an investigation into the outbreak that found PCA looked for a lab that would provide acceptable results after initial tests found their products were contaminated with Salmonella. After the outbreak, which depressed Georgia's peanut industry, the … [Read more...]
South Dakota Posts Food Facility Scores Online
The South Dakota Department of Health and Office of Health Protection Issues is posting the scores of food facilities, including food service, lodging, and campground establishments, online. That state is joinging Kansas and New York City in this endeavor. There are 5,900 establishments that sell food to people in that state. The new website gives consumers access to these scores. The government stresses that "it is important to remember that the score is one snapshot of an establishment's operation and any violations observed on the day of inspection. For a more complete and accurate representation, consumers should review a facility's scores over time and consider whether violations are critical or non-critical." The consumer website includes scores from the four most recent … [Read more...]
FDA Warns Gordon Foods: Clean Up
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a warning letter to Gordon Food Co. of Memphis Tenn. telling the company that it must take action to address insanitary conditions at its storage facility that were discovered during inspections in February and March. Gordon is a distributor of domestic and international foods including fish, cheese, pastries, chocolates and beverages, according to its website. During inspections in late February and early March, FDA inspectors found insanitary conditions, or conditions so unclean that they are likely to cause disease. Inspectors noted a failure to keep pests out of the food storage areas. "Three dead rodents were observed on glue traps along the wall, as well as, beside and behind pallets of chocolate products being stored in … [Read more...]
Before Salmonella Outbreak, Diamond Pet Foods Had History Of Trouble
Before it manufactured tainted dog food that caused a Salmonella outbreak this year that has so far sickened 15 people in the U.S. and one person in Canada, Diamond Pet Foods, had a history of trouble. The company is based in Meta, MO and has operations in Lathrop, CA and Gaston, SC where most of its problems, including 10 current recalls and the Salmonella outbreak, have originated. However, last week, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a sample of Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Lamb and Rice formula collected from the Meta facility yielded a positive for Salmonella Liverpool, a bacterial strain that is different than the one that caused the outbreak, Salmonella Infantis. FDA officials say further investigations are underway to determine if the outbreak … [Read more...]
FDA Warning Letters For 5/30/12
These FDA warning letters for the week of May 30, 2012 list food facilities with food safety violations that are of interest to consumers. These letters are sent after a facility is inspected, to give the owners guidance and time to fix violations. 1. Seco Spice Ltd. of Berino, New Mexico. Inspectors found Salmonella bacteria in this facility, in 21 subsamples. The bacteria was found in the grinding room and milling room, and in other areas. The letter states "this was not the first time FDA investigators collected environmental samples from your facility that were found to be positive for Salmonella anatum." The inspection also found "dead beetle-like insects too numerous to count" on totes containing green chile flakes. 2. Sushi Boy, Inc. of Gardena, California. This facility had … [Read more...]
FDA Warning Letter to Moon Fishery
On April 19, 2012 through April 24, 2012 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected Moon Fishery in India, the facility that produced the recalled Nakaochi Scrape raw tuna linked to the large Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga outbreak in the U.S. The same company issued a recall of raw Grade AA and AAA tuna strips, intended for sushi, last week. As a result of that inspection, the FDA issued a warning letter to the company detailing the violations of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan that every food facility is required to develop and follow. Parts of the letter were redacted. In the letter, the agency states that the facility's HACCP plan doesn't include the critical control points (CCP) necessary for the hazards identified for the … [Read more...]
