Information and resources on food safety practices and research for all stakeholders in the fresh produce industry.
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Fresh Produce Safety Centre Newsletter

March 2015

In this newsletter:
Do you have a suggestion or want more information? Contact us at info@freshproducesafety-anz.com. We would appreciate your feedback.

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Outbreaks a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if': the Hep A crisis & tools to minimise risk, by Richard Bennett

New blog post at the FPSC website

"Australia’s food safety and quality assurance standards are widely recognised as being world-leading. We are fortunate that not many serious outbreaks have occurred in Australia, however as the frozen berries hepatitis crisis that has been unfolding over the last two weeks has shown, outbreaks of this nature do occur and the industry must be constantly vigilant and have crisis plans in place to respond when - not if - they happen."

"There is a lot of information on the internet and in the media regarding the Hep A frozen berry crisis - some of it not very reliable and accurate. To help both industry and consumers to understand the food safety issues and dispel some of the myths associated with the current frozen berries hepatitis crisis, the Fresh Produce Safety Centre has released a fact sheet, available here. I also suggest you look at these FAQs from the Chief Health Officer for Victoria, and these from Food Standards Australia New Zealand."

Read the full post and other recent pieces at the FPSC website

Other recent blog posts:

Have your say on the Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety

FPSC requesting comments on Guidelines discussion paper

The Fresh Produce Safety Centre is seeking comments on the content, presentation structure and format of the Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety. Please submit your comments by 27 March 2015.
Download the discussion paper and upload comments
The Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety has been sponsored by these organisations:

FPSC New Zealand Roundtable meeting

The potential for trans-Tasman research collaborations around fresh produce food safety was one of the outcomes of a roundtable workshop the FPSC convened in Auckland on 24 February 2015. Representatives of the fresh produce industry, experts and government from New Zealand and Australia attended the event, which was supported by Zespri International Limited.  A summary of the key outcomes and speakers’ presentations is available below.
 
Download the Outcomes Report
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FPSC Conference Save the Date

11-12 August 2015

The FPSC will be holding its annual conference in Sydney on 11 and 12 August 2015. Tuesday 11 August will be a welcome event in the afternoon, with the full conference program on Wednesday 12 August. Information on sponsorship opportunities, the conference program and registration will be available soon.

What's New on our Website

 

US: Genome Trakr is a food safety and traceability game changer

Food safety may have entered a new era with this new, exciting advancement guaranteed to elevate the safety of food and lead to bigger and better discoveries and technology. The Genome Trakr data base will make it possible to trace a foodborne pathogen back to its source more quickly and with more accuracy than the […]
[Full story]
 

AU: Onions imported from US suspected of bringing deadly strain of superbug to Australia

The highly virulent strain of Clostridium difficile (C-diff), a spore-forming bacterium which causes severe diarrhoea and is resistant to many antibiotics, swept through Europe and the US before arriving in Australia in 2009. Thomas Riley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Western Australia, said Australian hospitals experienced a dramatic increase in the C-diff strain known as 244 towards […]
[Full story]


AU: Food safety advice for young people leaving home

If you’re leaving home for the first time, you’re probably looking forward to eating your favourite food and experimenting in the kitchen. Who knows you could even be a budding Jamie Oliver. But remember, each year an estimated 4.1 million Australians get food poisoning. So do you know how to lessen the risk that the […]
[Full story]


US: Settlement reached for 66 victims of 2011 cantaloupe Listeria outbreak

The terms of the settlement are confidential, said William Marler of Seattle-based Marler Clark, a food-safety law firm. “The matter was resolved by mutual agreement of the parties,” Marler said. Marler represented the plaintiffs in their lawsuits against Kroger, which sold some of the cantaloupe at its retail stores, a cantaloupe broker, and a third-party […]
[Full story]
 

UK: McDonald’s and the challenges of a modern supply chain

Recently, McDonald’s, the world’s iconic largest food service provider, has been (forgive the cliché) through the grinder. Poor performance has led to the departure of its CEO and plenty of critical attention in the business pages. Part of this story relates to the provenance, or origins, of its products: Chains that provide more upmarket “fast […]
[Full story]
Visit the Fresh Produce Safety Centre website

Want more food safety blog posts?

Richard Bennett is the Technology Manager at PMA Australia-New Zealand and the FPSC. You can check out his Food Safety, Traceability and Technology blog on the PMA A-NZ website, here.
More about the Produce Marketing Association Australia-New Zealand
More about the University of Sydney Faculty of Agriculture & Environment
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kalte Himbeeren / Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0
DC Central Kitchen / Flickr, CC BY 2.0
U.S. Department of Agriculture / Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0

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Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand
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Establishment of the FPSC was funded by a Horticulture Innovation Australia project using voluntary contributions from industry and matched funds from the Australian Government. We also thank the founding supporters and partners, listed at our supporters page.