Quality Topic Rss

Get a Feel for Texture

2011-09-21T14:46:00Z

The most important physical properties of food quality are probably those related to consumer perception. Freshness of bread is commonly evaluated by lightly squeezing the loaf on the shelf. Its density is evaluated by feeling its weight, from which a consumer may imply something about chewiness.

E. Coli Can Linger in Streambeds for Months

2011-07-21T15:32:00Z

E. coli pathogens have already proven that they have a stubborn ability to survive in the human digestive system. Now, new research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that they’re also hardy enough to live for months in underwater sediments, sometimes even overwintering in streambeds.

Americans Fear Japanese-Imported Food

2011-07-21T15:28:00Z

Only 25% of Americans would feel comfortable buying and eating food imported from Japan in the wake of the radiation leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the earthquake and tsunami in March, according to a survey presented last week at the 2011 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo.

E. Coli Outbreaks Point to Need for More Research, Expert Says

2011-06-28T12:08:00Z

Although they appear unrelated to each other and involve different strains of the bacteria, recent E. coli outbreaks in Germany and the U.S. underscore how much scientists still have to learn about this pathogen, said U.S. Department of Agriculture microbiologist Pina Fratamico, PhD.

Track & Trace

2011-05-17T17:24:00Z

What’s scarier than a contamination event? Not properly planning for reporting to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when your product is involved in one. Fortunately, compliance with the FDA Reportable Food Registry (RFR) is easier than you think.

Food Microbiology: How to Become a Quality Control Freak

2011-03-22T15:50:00Z

Quality control in the food industry has a multitude of meanings. But the basic principal—to ensure sufficient quality—always remains the same.

Lessons Learned from GFSI Audits

2011-03-22T15:40:00Z

Achieving GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) certification can ensure consumer confidence in product safety. Among the many existing standards available for audit or certification, GFSI has selected several that are applicable to the food manufacturing industry.

Water Quality Equals Water Safety

2010-11-30T06:09:00Z

Michigan had an arsenic groundwater scare; children in Queens, New York, were hospitalized after drinking contaminated water at their school; Boston experienced a widespread boil alert that affected more than two million people; and residents in Caledonia, Wisconsin, went without access to public water for over a year due to a groundwater contamination caused by molybdenum, a dissolved metal that occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust and is one of the byproducts of coal ash. These are just a few of the incidents of drinking water contamination that occurred in 2010.

Managing Supplier Quality

2010-11-30T06:02:00Z

Tightly regulated businesses, such as food and beverage manufacturers, are experiencing struggles between opposing forces—supply chain efficiency and supplier quality. The key issue is the detachment of the board, which drives product life cycles for optimum profitability, from the quality managers, who are looking to enforce strict procedures to ensure product quality.

Organic Foods Travel a Rocky Road

2010-11-30T05:45:00Z

Organic foods have moved from the margins of the U.S. food industry to the mainstream. Nearly 90% of all retail food stores now sell organically produced items. Natural food retailers, such as Whole Foods Market, with 270 stores nationwide, have proliferated since the first Whole Foods opened in Austin, Texas, in 1980. Organic food is a big business, with sales expected to reach $27 billion this year. While still small compared to the overall $670 billion market, organic food has been the fastest-growing sector of U.S. agriculture in the past decade, with annual sales growth approaching 20%. And as it matures, the organic food industry is learning to flex its marketing, lobbying, and legal muscles.