Can Proper Handwashing Protect Children at Petting Zoos?

  In the last decade or so, petting zoos have been a major source for disease-causing bacteria including E. coli. However, the spread of the disease could be prevented if proper handwashing was practiced. In 2004, a 13-year-old girl named Katie Maness was taken to a State Fair in Raleigh, North Carolina. Katie and her… Continue reading Can Proper Handwashing Protect Children at Petting Zoos?

Modern Food Trends: Innovative or a Safety Concern?

  As the popularity of modern food trends continue to grow, so does the many food safety concerns associated with them; forcing food safety specialists to stay on their toes in the likelihood of an outbreak. Some of the most talked about food trends today involve some very controversial methods that have caused consumers to fall ill… Continue reading Modern Food Trends: Innovative or a Safety Concern?

Chocolate Milk Making a Comeback?

The low-fat 1% chocolate milk including the low-fat flavored milks are making a comeback in schools and are now being reintroduced through the National School Lunch program, School Breakfast program and Smart Snacks. Due in part to educators who have come to the idea that the health benefits of low-fat 1% chocolate milk, and the… Continue reading Chocolate Milk Making a Comeback?

Is Our Go-To Mac and Cheese Snack Unusually Toxic?

Plate of cooked spiral Italian pasta ready for the addition of a tasty savory sauce and parmesan cheese

From organic based to the blue box brand, mac and cheese is the go-to snack for most American consumers. But though America’s favorite processed cheese food is what every family serves, the food also serves up a hefty amount of phthalates. Phthalates are a class of chemicals that are considered to interfere with the body’s… Continue reading Is Our Go-To Mac and Cheese Snack Unusually Toxic?

Explore Travel Health with the CDC Yellow Book

Air Travel - Little Planes and Their Routes

CDC Health Information for International Travel (commonly called the Yellow Book) is published every two years as a reference for health professionals providing care to international travelers and is a useful resource for anyone interested in staying healthy abroad. The fully revised and updated CDC Yellow Book 2018 codifies the U.S. government’s most current travel… Continue reading Explore Travel Health with the CDC Yellow Book

CDC fowl warning: Hundreds sickened by backyard flocks

BY CORAL BEACH | FSN More than a third of the 372 people infected with Salmonella from backyard flocks so far this year are children younger than 5 years old, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting eight separate outbreaks across 47 states. …. From Jan. 4 through May 25, the CDC had… Continue reading CDC fowl warning: Hundreds sickened by backyard flocks

Study: Effective Handwashing Does Not Require Hot Water

Hand washing technique.

Handwashing is a hot topic in the world of food safety. Lack of proper handwashing procedures in food service and other sectors can lead to the spread of foodborne illness. Are current handwashing rules in need of updating? A new study suggests it may be time. According to research released by Rutgers University, cool water… Continue reading Study: Effective Handwashing Does Not Require Hot Water

How safe are those home-delivery meal kits?

Research shows food safety gaps in home-delivery meal kits Failure of cold-chain results in ready-to-cook meal kits with ‘microbial loads off the charts’ BY DAN FLYNN | MAY 12, 2017 CHICAGO — A Rutgers University professor Thursday poured some cold water on those trendy ready-to-cook dinner packages being delivered to homes across America, especially those with meat included.… Continue reading How safe are those home-delivery meal kits?

Allergen Cleaning Validation

Most food processing plants are designed to leverage the maximum number of different products on the fewest pieces of expensive equipment. One challenge for the food industry is changeovers from a product containing allergens to a similar product that does not contain allergens (or the same allergens) produced on the same equipment. Some companies employ… Continue reading Allergen Cleaning Validation

Mail you’d rather not get

It starts with an unannounced arrival in the lobby. A produce company is operating in full swing at its chopped bag salad plant when investigators with the Food and Drug Administration come calling for a random inspection. For the next two weeks, investigators’ eyes are on everything, pouring through records, food safety plans, collecting samples… Continue reading Mail you’d rather not get