Food transporters have food safety guidance

Guidance for Industry – Sanitary Transportation of Food This guidance document sets forth FDA’s current thoughts on guidance for food transporters.   I have highlighted a few areas and the whole document is linked above.  NC MarketReady Fresh Produce Safety Curriculum – Tier 2 training include this guidance in ongoing trainings across NC ( to [...]

Webinar:Food Safety Modernization Act

January 26, 2010 – NC Fresh Produce Safety Task Force presents a recorded webinar to learn more about the recent Food Safety Modernization Act. The webinar will be moderated by Diane Ducharme, a co-chair of the N.C. Fresh Produce Safety Task Force, with N.C. MarketReady at N.C. State University and presented by Debbie Hamrick with [...]

HACCP Information

The more meetings I attend this year, along with the wording of the New Food Safety Modernization Act, I think HACCP information is going to become more important.   As well as food defense information.  Here are some links to HACCP information sheets. HACCP: An Overview Packing House food safety and security FDA HACCP Resources

GAPS Harmonization

Tired of looking at different 3rd Party Auditors’ questions to pass your Audit?  Recognizing this as a true  and costly issue for growers,  United Fresh has tried to tackle these issues to “harmonize” the audit matrices.  Take a look – might give you some good ideas as you develop your own food safety plan Draft [...]

Food Safety Enhancement Act Update

Yesterday (12/8/10), The House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released a statement after the House passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act ( HR 3082) From News Release by House Majority Leader Hoyer web page : http://www.majorityleader.gov/content/hoyer-statement-food-safety-enhancement-act-0 “This bill provides the FDA expanded authority to inspect records relating to our food supply and to increase [...]

Fresh Produce Safety Symposium 2010- September 9th

Fresh Produce Safety Symposium 2010 September 9, 2010 from 9-2:30 PM at the NC State Fair Grounds, Martin Building Outbreaks of food-borne illness related to contamination of fresh produce by human pathogens continue to occur. Federal legislation has been proposed that will result in new rules and regulation for farmers in North Carolina and nationally. [...]

NC Fresh Produce Safety Task Force Efforts for Farmers Toted in National Magazine

In a recently published article in the Food Safety Magazine entitled ” REGULATORY REPORT Produce Safety: FDA Reaches Out to Producers and Packers” , the NC Fresh Produce Task Force’s efforts were highlighted.  The high level of involvement from this task force was recognized – from facilitating NC as one of the designated F DA’s listening [...]

2010-2011 N.C. MarketReady Fresh Produce Curriculum Trainings

In order to help agents as they present the N.C. MarketReady Fresh Produce Safety Curriculum trainings, I have created a cumulative summary of classes.    Please let me know if I have missed any or need to add any trainings. Latest updates can be found on NC MarketReady Website, under Trainings & Events

NC Produce Traceability Seminar hosted on July, 2010

On July 20, 2010, NC Farm Bureau hosted an  intensive 5-hour seminar on Produce Traceability that  included the Produce Traceability Initiative, North Carolina Traceability Benchmark Study and a look at on-the-ground Traceability Pilot programs.  Sponsorship included the NC Blueberry Council, NC Farm Bureau Federation, NC Sweet Potato Commission, NC Vegetable Growers Association in conjunction with the [...]

Association of Food & Drug Officials Model Code for Produce Safety

A good general resource for  understanding the entire flow of produce safety …. The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) developed this Model Code for Produce Safety in response to a growing number of outbreaks associated with consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. The Code represents the culmination of a two- year effort by [...]