When it comes to OTC pharmaceuticals and most personal care products, we’ve become accustomed to breaking layers of plastic bands, packaging seals and shrink-wrapped liners, whether opening a new bottle of ibuprofen or a fresh jar of moisturizer. When that seal is broken by someone other than us, we’re warned and conditioned to think that foul play has probably occurred. We understand that the product could be adulterated, contaminated or otherwise altered, rendering it unsafe.
Continue ReadingWhen there’s a recall, consumers think of the name on the package. Often that brand is the single company believed to be responsible, and that company is the one whose reputation is diminished. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than the food industry, where one ingredient from a supplier that consumers have never heard of can spark recalls across big brands and private labels.
Continue ReadingACConventional wisdom suggests that automation and robotics should make products safer by removing the potential for human error adding more precision to production. But some industries are finding that automation is a double-edged sword. The food industry, in particular, has experienced a string of product recalls whose origins can be traced back to automated systems. Take factory farming, for example. Food Quality & Safety Magazine
Continue ReadingMost people have heard of blockchain technology as it relates to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. In fact, blockchain was initially developed specifically to record and track bitcoin transactions. As the technology becomes more widely adopted, however, developers and businesses are finding more and more applications for the secure tracking it enables.
Continue ReadingIn October of 2018, the FDA released new draft guidance for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) on how to meet its seven key rules for ensuring the safety of our food supply. A month later, the nation was hit with yet another major food-borne outbreak – E. coli-contaminated romaine lettuce that killed five and sickened hundreds of consumers across 36 states.
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