Food Safety plays an important role in the reputation of an establishment. The implementation of good, safe practices will ensure you are doing all you can to protect the consumer and avoid a food-borne illness outbreak.
Mycotoxins are a common hazard in the food industry, with the rate of incidents of contamination increasing over time. Agricultural products – specifically cereal grains, and fresh and dried fruits and vegetables – may be contaminated by fungi that produce these mycotoxins as secondary metaboli...
Botanicals and plant food substances – we are often told the good, but are we aware of the potential safety risks? Here we discuss some associated safety and toxicity risks that you might not know about. Botanicals and plant food substances (PFS) derived from natural sources are hailed for thei...
Almonds are among the world’s most widely-consumed tree nuts, but their high price tag puts them at risk of food fraud. Almonds can be substituted with dried apricot kernels, which are significantly cheaper than almonds and are very similar in appearance and flavour. However, apricot kernels pose ...
Popularity of international cuisines and healthy food items has led to a growing global demand for herbs and spices. Consumers are inspired by new spice blends and flavours, adding a wider variety of these commodities to their food than ever before. In addition, recent studies have promoted spice...
Food safety hazards can be divided into an array of categories, depending on the nature of each hazard. They include biological, chemical, physical and allergenic hazards. Let’s take a closer look at each. Biological Hazards Overview Foodborne biological hazards include microbiological organism...
You can have complete food safety compliance in your facility, and follow best practice; but if you have an unknown contaminant or adulterant in your raw materials, you’ve lost the game before you’ve even had a chance to play. The process from farm to fork is extensive, and extremely complica...
Being able to identify which areas within a food facility are vulnerable to all hazards and which ingredients are vulnerable to food fraud is essential in ensuring the early detection of any potential risks. This can be achieved through building a robust testing schedule which takes into consid...
Cinnamon has been a household favourite for centuries, and is used all around the world. This popular spice comes from the inner bark of several tree species of the genus Cinnamomum. Because of its popularity, cinnamon – especially ground cinnamon – is subject to adulteration. This is often i...
*this is an emerging global story. Please ensure you research and follow trusted international and local media sources for updates* There is much confusion regarding the risk of transmission of the novel (new) coronavirus (2019-nCoV) via meat and other food products. FACTS has received many queries...