food safety

P. Vincent Hegarty: MYCOTOXINS / AFLATOXINS are both NATURAL and TOXIC

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain molds (fungi) that are found naturally all over the world. They can contaminate food crops and pose a serious health threat to humans and livestock. Food crops can become contaminated both before and after harvesting. Pre-harvest contamination with aflatoxins is mainly limited to corn (maize), cottonseed, peanuts, …

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training at Sekem

Improving food safety and relevant HACCP plans

In March 2021, Land O’Lakes International Development asked me to help with a remote project on improving food safety and relevant HACCP plans. As many companies and organizations around the world are having to acclimate to the new work environment and an inability to travel, the Farmer-to-Farmer team at Land O’Lakes Venture37 has been working …

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Food Value Chain, Cassava

Using International Standards for Food Safety Along the Food Chain

Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and Codex Alimentarius Standards Provide Prevention to Increase Food Safety in all levels of Food Production Global expansion of commercial purchases of food commodities and ingredients makes food safety an international concern. Developing countries have the products, but many counties do not have the …

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Compliance Labeling Training

Compliance Labeling for Imports

The US imports about 15% of its food supply. According to the USDA “over 95 percent of coffee/cocoa/spices and fish/shellfish products consumed in the United States are imported, as are about half of fresh fruits and fruit juices and almost a third of wine and sugar.” The EU imported 93 million tons of food in …

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The safety of Coffee

The World of coffee and food safety

I have enjoyed my time working with coffee farmers around the world. Learning to cup coffee with a Starbucks team in Rwanda was eye opening. Coffee cupping, or coffee tasting, is the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. It is a professional practice but can be done informally by anyone or …

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Food Safety, head shot of authors

SWALLOWING TRUST and GLOBAL FOOD SAFETY

Surely you don’t expect me to swallow that? In some parts of the world this is a polite way of saying a statement or data is considered untrustworthy and you do not accept it. Unfortunately, we cannot say that about the safety of some of the food we swallow. Among the many reasons is we …

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