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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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, … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more