In the food and beverage industry, the sensory properties of food are critical in establishing market success. From wine to sodas, chocolate, or coffee, sensory evaluation has been used to assess product qualities such as bitterness, sweetness, aroma or texture. Sensory information plays an important part in the new product development cycle. Combined with consumer…
On July 13, 2020, the US FDA released the New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, an initiative introduced by Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas. Frank Yiannas is an acclaimed food safety expert and the author of Food Safety Culture: Creating a Behavior-Based Food Safety Management System (2008). The FDA’s new…
SQF Edition 9 was published and launched during the SQFI Conference from October 27 to 29, 2020. Implementation is slated for May 2021. With the new edition, SQFI aligns the SQF code with the latest GFSI benchmarking requirements. It also ensures that the standard is evolving to meet the requirements of a global food supply…
Amid COVID-19, we have seen the global pandemic’s impact on our food supply. Empty shelves, excess /shortage of supplies all happened at the same time. The food prices index has risen significantly since the global pandemic1. The report “Household Organic Food Waste ‑ COVID‑19” by Dr. Charlebois et al. indicates that an average Canadian household…
Back in March, when many of us made the shift to working from home and social distancing, consumers rushed to the grocery stores and stocked up on food and essentials. With this surge in demand came increased pressure on food manufacturing plants to provide goods quickly and safely. But when it comes to safety protocols…
This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the SQF Institute will be hosting its annual SQF Conference online. The food safety event which will be held from October 27 to 29, 2020, will be able to reach SQF practitioners in 40 countries. This is a great opportunity for students to participate (a ticket costs 99…
What is Traceability? The Codex Alimentarius Commission defines traceability as “the ability to follow the movement of a food through specified stage(s) of production, processing and distribution”.1 For the Canadian Food Inspection agency, traceability is the ability to follow an item or a group of items - be it animal, plant, food product or ingredient…
What is CAPA? In order to understand the usefulness of CAPA, we must first introduce the PDCA cycle. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is a four-step quality management process that was introduced by Dr. W. Edwards Deming in 1950. A graphical representation of the Deming wheel is represented below. This model is commonly used by project…
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rule for Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration Last February, the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) released the third and last installment of the draft guidance for the Intentional Adulteration (IA) rule. The FSMA IA rule is aimed at identifying and controlling significant hazards intentionally…
The second installment of the Wine Sensory Symposium took place at VV Tapas Lounge, a brand new eatery and wine bar located at 957 East Hastings in Vancouver. Wine blogger and hospitality consultant Laura Milnes from Silk and Coupe facilitated 2 great debates about BC wine showcasing Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island wineries. Two…