Food Safety, Quality and Compliance

Frequency of GMP audits

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:41:00 +0000

Food Recall: Undeclared allergen in Smoked Salmon Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:41:00 +0000

Quality Food World has recalled Olive Branch Smoked Salmon Dairy Free (dip and/or spread) in NSW, QLD, SA and VIC from IGA, Harris Farm and other independent supermarkets including green grocers.

The product has been recalled due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (egg) which was omitted from the ingredients listing as a result of a labelling error. Any consumers who have a egg allergy or intolerance should not consume this product and may have a reaction if the product is consumed. Customers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.

For more details please click the following link: Food Recall: Undeclared allergen in Smoked Salmon Dip

Food Recall: Pauls Smarter White Milk

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:12:00 +0000

Food Recall: Pauls Smarter White Milk

Parmalat Australia Ltd has recalled Pauls Smarter White Milk (1L) from Woolworths, Coles, BP Service Stations and smaller independent outlets in NT due to Listeria Monocytogenes contamination. Listeria may cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly and people with low immune systems.

Food Recall: E. Coli in Sprouts

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:52:00 +0000

SA Sprouts is recalling all of its sprouts varieties from Foodlands, IGAs and Fruit and vegetables stores in South Australia due to microbial contamination (E. coli). Customers can return the sprouts to the place of purchase for a full refund or throw them away.

Food Recall: E. Coli in Sprouts

Food Recall: Cyanide in Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:14:00 +0000

Ayers Rock Trading Pty Ltd has recalled Lotus Brand Tapioca Chips from Asian grocery stores in NSW, due to higher than usual levels of naturally occurring cyanide in the ingredient cassava. Customers can return these chips to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Please click on the link below for more details

Food Recall: Cyanide in Chips

Food Recall: Sanitarium So Good

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:26:00 +0000

Sanitarium So Good Rice Milk is being recalled due to Undeclared allergen (soy) – the product was contaminated due to a production error. The recall applies to Best before 25 Mar 2012 (batch code 31206).

Click below for more information

Food Recall: Sanitarium So Good

Food Recall: High Iodine in Dried Seaweed

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:12:00 +0000

Good Luck Dried Seaweed Stripe are being recalled due to high levels of naturally occurring iodine. The recall applies to all packaging with a Best Before date of 07 09 2013. Regular consumption of these products may cause health problems in some people including pregnant and breastfeeding women.

For more information, click the link below

Food Recall: High Iodine in Dried Seaweed

Food Safety Week

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:01:00 +0000

The theme of Australian Food Safety Week this year is vulnerable populations, because these groups are growing rapidly. This increases the likelihood that either we may be in the vulnerable group ourselves or we may be preparing food for someone who is. In either case we must be extra cautious with our choice of foods and how we handle foods to avoid food poisoning.

Click the link below to view more

Food Safety Week

Food Recall: Toxic chemical in ChiTree Apricot Kernals

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:16:00 +0000

ChiTree Apricot Kernals are being recalled due to Potentially toxic levels of naturally occurring hydrocyanic acid. The recall applies to all packaging as there is currently no date coding or batch identification included on the product.

Click link below for more details

Food Recall: Toxic chemical in ChiTree Apricot Kernals

Food Recall: Microbial spoilage in Devondale UHT Milk

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:08:00 +0000

Devondale UHT Skim Milk is being recalled due to bacterial spoilage in some packs resulting in the development of an objectionable flavour & odour. The recall applies only to the 2 litre product with a Best Before date of 05JUN12-3 and a time code between 06:08 to 07:08. Click link below for more details:

Food Recall: Microbial spoilage in Devondale UHT Milk

Food Recall: Undeclared Allergens in Coles Supermarket Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Kerry Pinnacle is conducting a food recall due to Undeclared Allergens (egg and sulphites).

The incorrect packaging has been used resulting in products being packaged as "Choc Cherry Slice" and "Choc Chip Flapjack Slice", however Choc Slice and Coconut Slice are the products actually packed.

These products have been distributed and sold through Coles Supermarkets in Australia.

Food Recall: Undeclared Allergens in Coles Supermarket Cake

Food Recall: Exploding softdrinks | Salamanda Food

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:05:00 +0000

Food Recall: Exploding softdrinks Salamanda Food

Bundaberg Burgundee Creaming Soda (340mL) is currently being recalled due to an increased pH level in the product, causing fermentation and an increased risk of product shattering. There is the potential for injury due to an increased risk of the product shattering.

Visit Salamanda Food for more information

Food Recall: Salmonella in Macadamia Nuts

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:21:00 +0000

Food Recall: Salmonella in Macadamia Nuts

Chocolate coated macadamia nuts are being recalled due to Salmonella contamination.

Food Recall: Potential for Glass in Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:46:00 +0000

Little Creatures Brewing Pty Ltd—Pale Ale Pint, Bright Ale Pint and The Dreadnaught Single Batch Pint

Little Creatures Brewing Pty Ltd—Pale Ale Pint, Bright Ale Pint and The Dreadnaught Single Batch Pint

Food Recall: Plastic in Baby Food

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:19:00 +0000

Rafferty's Garden Pty Ltd—Rafferty's Garden Italian Lasagne Premium Baby Food 10 months+

To spray or not to spray?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 01:20:00 +0000

Avoiding chemical contamination of food product within your food business is not rocket science. It is common sense and basic food safety not to spray pest or cleaning chemicals directly onto the surface of the food....right? You would think so - but it is this very issue that has resulted in me issuing corrective action requests (CARs).

What went wrong?

There have been two separate food safety incidents of late. The first involved an abnormal chemical showing up on a laboratory report and the second actually occurred whilst I was standing observing a food handler undertake a cleaning activity.

Linking food safety laboratory results

An item of produce was tested for a range of pesticides as part of a routine food safety verification program. Product was sent to an external laboratory and tested for a range of different pesticides to confirm compliance with the law around MRL’s (maximum residue limits). It was from the laboratory report that a pesticide not usually associated with the produce was identified.

This chemical was later found to be the same as an active constituent found in common house ‘fly spray’. Cans of ‘fly spray’ were found around the produce packing rooms. So in short, food handlers were controlling flies in the packing area by the use of common fly-spray but did not consider the spray landing on food product.

Cleaning 101
On the second occasion, I was standing watching a food handler cleaning a piece of equipment. Cleaning chemical was being applied to the surface of a hot grill using a spray bottle. They continued to spray chemical onto the grill without any concern for the open cold storage server located right next to the grill.

You could actually see the chemical spray drifting and landing directly onto the freshly prepared salad and sandwich ingredients. When the food handler was questioned about their actions, they had no idea what they had done or what the food safety implications were.

Food Safety Lessons Learned

Hopefully from these two examples, you can avoid the simple food safety hazard of chemical contamination within your food business. It is also highly recommended that all food handlers are trained in the correct storage and use of chemicals. Take a minute to think about the use of chemicals in your business and if you have correctly assessed the risk in your HACCP hazard analysis.

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

How to control External Documents for HACCP

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:19:00 +0000

The control of external documents is a requirement of the majority of food safety and quality standards including WQA, SQF and BRC. External documents are defined as being any document that comes into your business from an external source or a document that has not been developed directly by your food business.

As a food safety auditor, I see many different methods for the control of external documents. However, from an evidence base (proof to support compliance), a food business cannot go wrong with having an external document register.

The register should list the following:

The name of the external document
The source of the external document
The date of the publication of external document
The location of the external document (where is it stored within your food business)

There is no need to mark the external document in any way if you have it listed on the document register. To test your current system (mini internal audit), check that the following random documents are currently controlled.

Certificate of Currency for your Liability Insurance
Pest Control Bait Location Map
Customer Requirements / Standard eg. BRC, SQF, WQA, Spotless, Cosco, McDonalds
Chemical Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS’s)
HACCP Training Certificates

I am sure that you can come up with many more but these will get you started. Do you have another method that you use for external document control? Let us know.

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

What does Clean really mean?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:42:00 +0000

Cleaning is a basic requirement of the food industry but often one of the hardest requirements to achieve. All food law and customer standards require that the food business is clean, so what does clean actually mean? Clean means you can’t see it, you can’t feel it and you can’t smell it. To expand on this let me explain further.

You can’t see it

When you visually look at a food contact surface or another surface (say the floor), you cannot see any dirt, dust, food scraps or any other material - so visually it looks clean.

You can’t feel it

If you were to run your hand over a bench, you can’t feel any grit or granules. If you were to walk across a floor, the surface does not feel slippery or sticky.

You can’t smell it

If you were to say walk past a drain, you cannot smell any filthy, rotting or putrid smells. There should be no smells that would indicate spoilage of any sort.

So, if you want to avoid a host of problems that come with an unclean food premises (bacteria growth, slip and fall injuries, prosecution, foreign matter in your food and pest infestation) follow the three simple actions to ensure your place is clean.

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

The Value of Your Food Safety HACCP Consultant

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 05:09:00 +0000

The HACCP certification process can be very daunting for any food business and even more so when there is trade at stake. The majority of the time, it is the responsibility of one person (normally the QA representative) to write, implement and make sure certification is successful. But those of us who have ever been expected to achieve this outcome know too well, that this is a massive job. Enter the trusted food consultant.

As an auditor, I have had many experiences with consultants – some good and some not so good. I get very irritated when I see that someone is being paid to do a job and they really just have no idea what so ever. So here are some tips of what to look for in a Food Safety Consultant.

Professional Credentials

The consultant should have at least some level of qualification in the food safety / food quality / food compliance arena. A degree in Food Technology, Environmental Health or Food Microbiology is a fantastic start.

Knowledge of the Criteria

Depending on the certification that your company requires, specific knowledge regarding the audit criteria is essential. Different certification criteria’s include Codex HACCP, BRC, SQF, WQA, McDonalds, ISO22000 etc.

Past Experience

Check out what the consultant’s background experience is. Have they worked in your industry or actually been exposed to successfully writing, implementing and managing a certificated food safety system. Keep in mind that the consultant should compliment your HACCP team. It is not necessary for them to know the ins and outs of your processes as your company would have that expertise. Knowledge around the different types of hazards that would occur in your process should be expected.

Professional Development

Keeping up to date is essential in the food safety and quality arena. Knowledge of emerging trends in food safety hazards and changes in legal requirements is a must. As an auditor, we are required to undertake 6-monthly calibration training to ensure that we are up to date with the latest standards and their requirements.

Past References

Get in contact with previous businesses that the consultant has undertaken work for. Ask about how they found the consultant to work, what Criteria (Customer Standard) they consulted on and how the certification process went. It is also important to find out what the scope of the consultants work was.

The Final Word

A little bit of research into your chosen consultant (before you sign a contract) can save you a lot of money and a lot of time. Also, you should be wary of any consultant that tells you that they can write and implement a HACCP based food safety program in 2 weeks. It takes time to change workers habits and behaviours so this cannot happen effectively within such a short period of time.

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

E.Coli Food Poisoning Outbreak: A Timely Reminder

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:15:00 +0000

The E.coli food poisoning outbreak in Germany is a timely reminder for food businesses to review their food safety hazard analysis tables. As it stands today, over 630 cases of HUS (Haemolytic uraemic syndrome and 1601 cases of EHEC (Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli) infections (without HUS) have been reported in Germany. Of these, 21 deaths have been recorded.

Food Safety Hazard Analysis

The majority of certification standards require the food business to keep up-to-date with new and emerging diseases along with reviewing their hazard analysis or food safety risk assessments on a regular basis.

Check that specifically E.Coli has been identified and assessed as opposed to just “microbiological hazards”. A common mistake by the food industry in the hazard analysis process is to not get specific with the actual type of microbiological hazard identified. This is important as one common “preventative measure” does not and will not control all different types of microbiological hazards.

Risk of E.Coli

The outbreak in Germany highlights the need to undertake a review for any food business that uses or processes fresh produce, seeds or sprouts (or anything that ordinates from soil or water). What is generally known about E.Coli is that it commonly found in the gut of humans and warm-blooded animals.
Although the source of the bacteria has not yet been identified in the outbreak, I suspect some type of cross contamination issue with faecal matter (maybe via fertiliser or watering).

Further Reading

If you would like to keep up to date with the E.Coli outbreak in Germany the World Health Organisation Media Centre is the place to look (http://www.who.int/en/).

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

Metal Contamination: Can you really detect metal in your products?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:02:00 +0000

There seems to be several food recalls every week due to metal contamination in finished product. If a metal detector was in place and operational, how is it that product has been recalled for metal contamination?
Read more »

Coca-Cola learns a Food Recall Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Tue, 24 May 2011 23:45:00 +0000

It is amazing the effect that a poorly written and executed recall plan can have on the credibility of a business. One of the world’s most popular brands is under the spot light after failing to notify the New Zealand Food Safety Authority that they had a problem.

Coca-Cola had been receiving customer complaints relating to white mould in its “Pumped” branded flavoured water since December 2010. It has been reported by New Zealand media that seventy-six (76) people had complained about the water with eleven (11) of those reporting experiencing symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea.

Concern has been raised by the Authority around the time it took for Coca Cola to notify the issues they were having. A trade recall was initiated by the company back in December with full distribution stopped in January 2011. It was not until further complaints were received in February 2011 that notification to the Authority was made. Even then, it was not the company that notified but a marketing company who alerted government.

The basis of every product recall plan should be the action of notification. This particular recall has shown that particular elements of the recall process were not followed by Coca-Cola. Several other deficiencies were identified during the Food Safety Authority investigation including inconsistencies in company recall procedures.

So, based on this latest report, please consider the following questions for your food business:

How good are your recall procedures?
Have you ever conducted a review against legal requirements?
How effective is your “mock recall” process in identifying problems?
Did you actually rectify issues identified during your last “mock recall”?

Love to hear your feedback!

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

Food Business Notification

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:45:00 +0000

The NSW Food Authority has successfully prosecuted a food business for failing to notify their business in accordance to food legislation. A fine of $3,200 was issued for this offence by the local court in conjunction with a listing on the NSW Food Authority “Name and Shame” database.

Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 (Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code) requires all food businesses to notify their existence to the relevant authority.

What is a food business?

A food business is defined as any business, enterprise or activity that sells food or handles food intended for sale. This includes all commercial, charitable or community based businesses.

How were they identified?

The food activities of the business were uncovered as part of a food poisoning investigation. Over 50 consumers became ill after the catering event was held.

Court documents stated that after an extensive investigation was conducted by the public health unit it was found that “the severe illness affecting participants was indeed caused by salmonella, and those affected constituted a significant proportion of people who had participated in the event. Further, whilst the investigation revealed that there was considerable cross-contamination of various foodstuffs and the facilities in question, the source of the salmonella was able to be identified with a substantial level of certainty”.

Is your business next?

It is the food businesses responsibility to notify their existence to the relevant authority. In most cases, this will be either your local council or your State/Territory Food Authority or Health Department.

It is recommended that you keep a copy of your notification registration details to produce as required. This will include providing this information during your 3rd party certification audit as the majority of customer standards require you to comply with your food legal obligations.

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

Hand Washing for HACCP

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 11 May 2011 01:45:00 +0000

The legal requirements for food handlers in regards to hand washing are documented the relevant food safety legislation applicable to your country location. Food handlers are generally required to wash their hands whenever they are likely to be a source of contamination.

This includes washing hands:

Before working with ready-to-eat foods
After handling raw food
After using the toilet
Before commencing and re-commencing handling food
After smoking
After coughing or sneezing
After touching hair, scalp or a body opening
After using a handkerchief or disposable tissue
After eating or drinking
After using tobacco or similar substances

It is recommended that a food handler, whenever washing his or her hands:

Use only the designated hand washing facilities provided
Wash hands with warm running water and soap
Only dry hands with single use or disposable towels

6 Step Hand Washing Technique

Remove all rings and wet your hands with warm running water
Put a small amount of liquid soap in the palm of one hand
Rub your hands together for 20 seconds so you produce a lather
Make sure you scrub between your fingers, under your finger nails and the backs of your hands.
Rinse your hands with clean running water for at least 10 seconds. Try not to handle the taps once your hands are clean. The provision of hands - free taps helps to reduce post hand washing contamination.
Dry your hands with a single use paper towel. Single use towels help to prevent the spread of germs. All used towels should be disposed of in the waste bin.

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/

How to document a HACCP Flow Chart

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:45:00 +0000

The HACCP Flow Chart is the basis of any HACCP based food safety program. It is imperative that the food business documents this flow process correctly as the remaining HACCP principles are developed from this flow process chart.

Over the years there has been a gradual shift from the use of symbols that represent certain production operations to the use of words. By documenting your flow process chart as a series of words, it helps to clearly indicate the steps in your process.

What is a HACCP Flow Chart?
A flow process chart is a pictorial representation of a process. Within the food industry, it generally represents all the steps that raw materials go through to become a finished product. Steps in a flow process chart can include Receival of raw materials, store of ingredients, preparation, cooking, cooling, packing, labelling, bulk storage and distribution. Depending on your process, you may have many more or less steps and types of steps than these listed.

Flow Chart Symbols
Traditionally, HACCP flow chart symbols have been used to illustrate the actions within a flow chart. The most common actions are shown below:

Flow Chart Text Boxes
It is more common now to use worded text boxes. This helps to give a better description of the process step and is more also easily understood. Text boxes also allow you to document as much detail about the process step as you need.

Clear documentation
Whatever method you choose to use, the flow chart should clearly indicate all steps in the process. Please ensure that you consider steps involving re-work and services in eg. Water, compressed air (food safety hazards can be identified at these process steps). If you find that you have several processes within a process, a separate flow chart should be documented. Your first level document can be an overview with subsequent layers drilling down into each of these processes.
For more information and guidance on the flow process chart requirements, please check the HACCP certification standard which you have based your HACCP system on.

http://www.salamandafood.com.au/