Spices and other low moisture foods are now being identified as outbreak contributors, in part due to the finalization of the FDA’s FSMA Preventive Control Rules, along with the new FDA outbreak testing technologies, and increasingly complex supply chain controls. Spices are often found to carry salmonella, or have physical adulterants, and may remain unidentified as allergens. They may also be impacted by lead, and when not carefully controlled throughout the supply chain, have bacterial growth potential that can end up in processed foods.
Spice handling operations are subject to environmental facility controls, environmental sampling and test, process validation, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGPM), sanitary transportation rules, and packaging, labeling and other controls. However, most spices used in the US are grown in tropical environments and imported from unknown, unregistered and unregulated farms, where they are hand harvested with little and no food safety controls, before moving to larger handling and packaging centers in the U.S.
Knowing where and how spices are harvested and handled, and what the basics of spice food safety are is especially important, since spices are used to enhance flavors in almost all processed foods. Understanding spice food safety will help your company prevent outbreaks that can destroy your company. If your company is involved with spices in any way, you need to ensure you have appropriate food safety controls in place. With new reports in the public domain, it is obvious that in spite of being classified "generally regarded as safe" (GRAS), spices are not as safe as previously thought.
Join this 60 minutes session by expert speaker Dr. John Ryan, Ph.D. where he will cover outbreaks as well as basic microbial reduction techniques, drying, testing, preventive controls, pest controls, storage, facility controls (air/dust/humidity), sanitation operation procedures, water issues, and other basic spice handling food safety considerations.
Here is what you'll learn:
Who should attend?
- Dr. John M. Ryan
- Dr. John M. Ryan
- Dr. John M. Ryan
- Dr. John M. Ryan
- Melissa Vaccaro
- Shawn K. Stevens
1-866-458-2965
1-919-287-2643
Dr. John Ryan holds a Ph.D. in research and statistical methods. He has been working on transportation food safety issues since 2011 after retiring from his position as the administrator for the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture's Quality Assurance Division where he headed up Hawaii’s commodity inspection, food safety certification and measurement standards service groups. He has won awards for traceability technology for his visionary...
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