The goal of an Environmental Monitoring Program, or EMP, is to reduce food safety risks by testing the food processing environment for harmful bacterial contaminants. Such a program aims to identify pathogen “niches” (harbourage sites) as well as cross-contamination points. It is a critical activity that is used to verify food safety plans, sanitation practices…
NEWS UPDATE: * Edition 8.0 Audits will continue to be in effect until September 30, 2019. ** From October 01 on, audits will be conducted under the SQF Code, Edition 8.1 Learn more at sqfi.com SQF Institute Professional Update SQFI just announced in their July newsletter that the SQF Food Safety Code Manufacturing version 8.1…
Blog post contributed by Wine Researcher Darcen Esau from Terroir Wine Consulting A sold-out crowd attended the inaugural Sensory Symposium, sponsored by Okanagan College, and created by Terroir Consulting, Silk & Coupe, and Sirocco Food + Wine Consulting. This unique one-day event included three sessions where attendees listened to winemakers discuss hot topics in the…
Free Food Import Seminar – Are You compliant? Vancouver, BC, Canada – June 5th, 2019 1:30PM to 5PM Limited seats available Priority seating will be given to attendees who register for 1.5 day FSVP Training (June 4-5, 2019) Event Details Time and place: 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm on June 5th 2019, Holiday Inn Vancouver Airport- Richmond…
Popularised by Malcolm Gladwell, the ideas of consumer research scientist Howard Moskowitz have redefined the consumer goods industry. The work of Moskowitz has found applications in the food industry and more recently in the wine sector. E. & J. Gallo Winery, in 2010, recognised the importance of consumer data and “developed a framework to understand…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1 in 6 American suffers from foodborne diseases annually, resulting in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.1 In response to this growing public health concern, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law in 2011. The objective of FSMA is to strengthen the…
The Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations came into force on January 15, 2019.1 The new food safety regulations target food for human consumption including ingredients. Requirements are established for food that is imported, exported, or traded between Canadian provinces and territories. Other requirements pertaining to food traceability, labelling and advertising also apply to…
The global food certification market was estimated at USD 8.45 billion in 2017. It is projected to reach USD 11.45 billion by 2023. Food certification is a process that allows a business to demonstrate compliance to food safety and quality standards. Certification is achieved through independent and reliable third-party audits of manufacturing or storage sites.…
Last month, Sirocco food and wine consulting launched Sirocco Insights, a new consumer behaviour and trends research service, to help wineries and wine retailers collect reliable consumer preference data and effectively engage their customer base. Why Consumer Research? The United States consumes more wine in total than any other country according to the Wine Institute,…
A previous blog post provided a-step-by-step approach to developing a Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment. For this month’s post, we introduce new resources and give you tips to train your team and satisfy the SQF code’s food fraud control requirements. One easy way to meet SQF food fraud audit expectations is to create a register of…