Jan/San & Disposables News
U.S.D.A. Raises Ending Stocks Forecasts for this and Next Year
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its July 11 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, forecast the carryover of U.S. sugar on Oct. 1, 2019, (2018-19 ending stocks) at 1,761,000 short tons, raw value, up 235,818 tons, or 15%, from its June forecast based on higher tariff rate quota imports and higher imports from…
Read MoreThe Human Element of Food Safety
Recently, everything from Listeria to E. coli to Campylobacter has given American consumers good reason to worry about the safety of their food. The industry has responded and is making every effort to improve the safety of food by utilizing science-based testing and sampling practices, detection technologies, food safety training and education, and multiple interventions. However, other scientific fields could take…
Read MoreWhy Red Robin is Under Siege
At a January 2018 investor conference, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. said it planned to combat rising minimum wage costs by eliminating the roles of busboys and expeditors at restaurants. The job cuts would save millions and require servers to wipe clean tables. It was a stark contrast to the brand’s unbridled service ethos, where employees…
Read MoreAir as a Food Safety Risk
Air filtration is an important but often overlooked or misunderstood part of food safety. It pays to hire an expert when designing or upgrading such a system, as it can get complicated and expensive. The most sensitive areas in a plant are between the oven and packaging where finished product is vulnerable. Baked products exiting…
Read More2018 Key Issues in the Foodservice Industry
A look at the most read stories from SmartBrief’s Restaurant and ProChef newsletters over the past year reveals a few key themes. Stories about restaurant revamps — whether that meant a new look or even a new name — caught readers’ attention. In culinary news, many of the dishes that garnered headlines in 2018 fell into one…
Read MoreMcDonald’s Moves Toward Antibiotic Reduction in Beef
McDonald’s Corp. has unveiled a new beef antibiotic policy that will apply to 85% of its global beef supply chain. The company developed this policy over the last year and a half while working with veterinarians, public health leaders and the beef producers responsible for the health of animals. “McDonald’s believes antibiotic resistance is a critical…
Read MoreU.S.D.A. Researchers Downplay Validity of Antimicrobial Resistance
Antibiotics don’t affect the levels of antimicrobial resistance in ground beef, according to a new study conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers that appeared in the Journal of Food Protection. Antimicrobial use in U.S. cattle production has “minimal to no impact on (antimicrobial resistance) AMR in the resident bacteria,” the study said. The World Health Organization and…
Read MoreCalifornia Suppliers are likely the Source of Tainted Lettuce
A nationwide advisory to stop eating romaine lettuce remains in effect this week as federal health and food safety officials scramble to find new suppliers amid an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 32 people and hospitalized 13 in 11 states. The outbreak, announced jointly Nov. 20 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
Read MoreU.S.D.A., F.D.A. to Jointly Oversee Cultured Meat Regulation
The proposed joint regulatory framework will have F.D.A. oversee cell collection, cell banks and cell growth and differentiation. Production and labeling of food products derived from cultured cells of livestock and poultry will fall into U.S.D.A.’s jurisdiction. “This regulatory framework will leverage both the F.D.A.’s experience regulating cell-culture technology and living biosystems and the U.S.D.A.’s…
Read MoreHealth Officials Determine Cause of Ohio Chipotle Foodborne Illness
Health officials in Ohio released their findings on Aug. 16 regarding the recent foodborne illness outbreak at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Powell, Ohio that sickened 647 people. The Delaware General Health District said that stool samples collected in July tested positive for the toxin that Clostridium perfringens forms in the gastrointestinal tract. The food samples did test…
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