UPDATE: It was just announced that the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations will come into force on January 15, 2019. Are you up-to-date on the new Canadian Food Safety regulations? Implementation timetables for food manufacturers (including alcoholic beverages) and food importers can be found here. On Feb 21st, 2018, an official announcement was made that…
The SQF Institute rolled out an updated SQF certification scheme in July 2017. Suppliers wishing to retain their SQF food safety certificate in 2018 were first audited against the revised standard on January 1, 2018. SQF professionals who attended the SQFI Professional Update last July got a chance to receive up-to-date information on the…
A look into sensory evaluation methods for the quality control of food and beverages. The sensory quality of food and beverages is an important aspect of overall quality. Sensory science ensures products meet quality specifications and customer expectations. Fraud management, product development, product identity-preservation and consumer insight are among the applications of sensory analysis. The…
The purpose of developing a food fraud vulnerability assessment is for a food or beverage manufacturer/packer to ensure that control measures are put in place to prevent the receipt of materials that do not meet food safety and quality specifications. The intent is to gauge the business’ susceptibility to product substitution and adulteration as well…
Karine Lawrence, Sirocco Principal, has been working for the Canadian and US wine and food industry for over sixteen years. Now, she's sharing her extensive working knowledge with aspiring winery assistant students at Okanagan College's Penticton campus. Karine will be co-teaching one module of the Winery Assistant Certificate Program: WINE24, Quality Control and Public Relations. This…
How to develop a Food Safety Plan that’s compliant with FDA Preventive Controls & HACCP requirements I have just taught another FSPCA course (Human Food) in Western Canada. FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food is the standardized food safety curriculum that is recognized by the FDA. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), companies…
Need Help with FSMA Compliance? The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now offers a dedicated tool to assist businesses in implementing and enhancing food safety – the Food Safety Plan Builder (FSPB)! This tool will help you to address your food safety plans and meet the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard…
Are you a food importer who needs help with a Foreign Supplier Verification Program? Your deadline to be compliant is fast approaching!
Applied consumer and sensory science is a discipline that is widely used and accepted in the food industry. It is only recently, with the expansion of the wine industry, that sensory tools have been used in wine consumer research to identify consumer likes and dislikes. This post features the research of two academics from the…
With the release of the new GFSI Benchmarking Requirements, food fraud is a threat that must be addressed.