Organic food news

• Conagra Brands to acquire Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP

  22-09-2017 17:17 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Conagra Brands has struck a deal to acquire ready-to-eat popcorn maker Angie's Artisan Treats, the maker of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP, from private equity firm TPG Growth for an undisclosed sum.
  
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• Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How brands can defend their shelf-space against encroaching private label

  22-09-2017 14:27 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  The Great Recession of 2008 may be long over, but the penny-pinching it inspired in consumers and their subsequent shift to store brands is not – prompting national brand marketers to explore new ways to reach consumers and downplay the competitive threat of private label.
  
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• An angler’s fantasy: Safer fish for all

  22-09-2017 09:16 via Food Safety News
  A study from the University of Adiyaman in Turkey suggests that because of the presence and abundance of 30,0000 known species of fish, the aquatic animals form the largest group in the animal kingdom used for the production of different animal-based foods.
  While this makes fish one of the most sought after ingredients in the seafood industry, it has also become one of the protein sources many health organizations are monitoring meticulously because of the risks of contaminants.
  Many of their co
  
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• Patrons of this Meijer store should get hepatitis A vaccines

  22-09-2017 07:54 via Food Safety News
  Michigan officials made an urgent appeal Thursday for anyone who has eaten baked goods from a specific Meijer grocery store to immediately seek medical attention because an employee there has been confirmed with a hepatitis A infection.
  A narrow window of opportunity exists for people to receive post-exposure treatment to prevent infection. Those at risk include anyone who ate bakery goods made on-site at the Meijer store at 1015 Pickard Street in Mt. Pleasant, MI, from Aug. 23 through Sept. 20.
  
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• British retailers to self-report chicken Campylobacter results

  22-09-2017 06:01 via Food Safety News
  England’s top nine retail grocers are going to begin publishing results of the Campylobacter retail survey of fresh shop-bought chickens produced in the United Kingdom on their store websites.
  The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the change follows discussions involving the industry and the agency. The retailers will sample and analyze fresh chicken for Campylobacter under “robust protocols established by FSA.”
  The plan also ensures the published results will be comp
  
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• NEW PRODUCTS GALLERY: From chocolate peanut butter Cheerios to HPP meals and milked peanuts

  22-09-2017 01:56 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Check out FoodNavigator-USA’s latest gallery of new products hitting US shelves, spanning everything from chocolate peanut butter Cheerios to ‘milked peanuts’ and pea- and cashew-fueled protein fueled beverages, to meat snacks, ‘fig salami,' HPP meals, and new plant-based meat options in the shelf-stable and chilled categories.
  
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• ADM gets personal with new microbiome collaboration with Mayo Clinic

  21-09-2017 21:20 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has announced a collaboration with the Mayo Clinic on personalized nutrition solutions to healthy body weight through probiotics, prebiotics, and other nutrients.
  
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• Clean labels & unique flavor combinations helps Abby’s Better Nut Butter cut through the competition

  21-09-2017 18:09 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  What began as a hobby for a 15-year-old girl, now is blooming into a bustling family business as Abby’s Better Nut Butter rapidly gains sales and distribution thanks in part to its clean labels, better-for-you angle and unique flavor combinations that set it apart from the competition. 
  
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• Quorn moves into the refrigerated aisles with its fungi-based proteins

  21-09-2017 17:52 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Meat-free brand Quorn – which has a big presence in the UK chilled food market, but has historically focused on the frozen segment in the US – has developed a new line of meat- and soy-free refrigerated sausages and chicken strips that will roll out across 1500 Kroger stores. 
  
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• NEW HIRES GALLERY: Hampton Creek rebuilds its board; Soylent hires new sales VP, Zallie to take the helm at Ingredion

  21-09-2017 08:48 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Check out who’s moving onwards and upwards at Kraft Heinz, Hormel, Conagra, Ingredion, Soylent, Hampton Creek, Hain Celestial, Hello Fresh, Peapod and Ready Pac Foods in FoodNavigator-USA’s latest round-up of new hires in food and beverage. 
  
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• Death Wish Coffee pulls ‘Nitro’ because of botulism risk

  21-09-2017 06:01 via Food Safety News
  Less than two months after it hit retail shelves, Death Wish Coffee Co. is recalling “Nitro Cold Brew” beverage, ceasing production and changing its manufacturing process because it may have allowed deadly botulin toxin to develop in the product.
  The Round Lake, NY, company launched online sales of the beverage on Feb. 2, billing it as the latest “World’s Strongest Coffee” in the Death Wish Coffee line of extra-caffeinated beverages. The “nitrogen-infused&rdqu
  
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• Moving Codex out of FSIS will boost trade, not food safety

  21-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  Editor’s note: This guest opinion column by Dr. Richard Raymond was originally publish on MeatingPlace.com and is republished here with permission. 
  The U.S. Codex Office is moving from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to USDA’s Trade and Foreign Affairs Office and that may not be such a good thing.
  The Codex Alimentarius, aka the “Food Code”, is a set of standards, guidelines and codes designed to protect food quality and safety. One example is
  
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• Court says San Francisco’s soda pop warnings unconstitutional

  21-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  Sweetened beverage advertisers in San Francisco won’t be forced to add an obesity warning to their labels and advertisements. A federal appellate court has ruled the warning mandate violates the U.S. Constitution.
  The City and County of San Francisco enacted the local law two years ago, requiring advertisers of certain sugar-sweetened beverages to include this statement on their labels:
  “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth
  
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• Plated teams up with Albertsons in bid to become 'the first omnichannel meal kit offering with national scale'

  21-09-2017 00:36 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  As shockwaves from the Amazon/Whole Foods deal continue to reverberate throughout the food industry, Albertsons has struck while the iron is hot via a deal to acquire Plated – one of the leading brands in the burgeoning meal kit market – for an undisclosed sum.
  
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• Cyclospora cases through the roof; CDC can’t find source

  21-09-2017 00:36 via Food Safety News
  Almost 1,000 people in the United States have contracted infections from  Cyclospora parasites since May 1. Health officials are baffled, saying they haven’t been able to discover the source of the microscopic creatures, which infect humans via contaminated food and/or water.
  There were 988 laboratory-confirmed victims in the ongoing outbreak, spread across 40 states, as of Sept. 13. That’s a 380 percent increase in victims compared to the Aug. 2 outbreak announcement by the Cen
  
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• Tasty, better-for-you breakfast solutions needed for time-crunched students

  21-09-2017 00:23 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Eating on-the-go seems like an obvious solution to the problem of time-crunched children skipping breakfast in order to get out the door and to school on time, but survey results from cereal maker Barbara’s suggests the practice may cause more harm than good. 
  
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• IRI insights on Gen Z shopping suggest marketers need a new approach

  20-09-2017 19:18 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Unlike cost-conscious generations that came before, Generation Z cares more about convenience than price – a dramatic reversal that will change not only how brands and retailers catch their attention but also where and how they shop, according to new findings from consumer research firm IRI.  
  
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• Google search data reveals 3 beverage trends that promise sustained growth

  20-09-2017 19:18 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Consumers are notoriously fickle, but their ongoing demand for beverages that are healthy and natural is paving the way for several sustained sub-trends that not only show immediate growth potential but also long-term payout, according to Google trends data. 
  
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• Industry giants to harmonise global date labels in food waste fight

  20-09-2017 14:55 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Some of the world’s biggest food companies will standardise their food date labels globally by 2020 in a bid to reduce food waste.
  
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• Nestlé-backed Swiss scientists create novel process for foams that last 'essentially forever'

  20-09-2017 11:44 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Ever-lasting foam in ice cream or beer without artificial stabilisers? Swiss researchers have "for the first time" developed a novel strategy to make foam bubbles last "essentially ‘forever".
  
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• Appeals court blocks San Francisco law on soda ad warnings

  20-09-2017 11:30 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  A US appeals court has blocked a San Francisco ordinance that mandates health warnings for soda and sugar-sweetened beverage adverts. 
  
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• Eight E. coli cases in Wisconsin county prompt investigation

  20-09-2017 07:49 via Food Safety News
  Local health officials are investigating eight reports of E. coli infections in La Crosse County, WI, according to local media reports.
  However, neither the city of La Crosse nor the La Crosse County government had any information about the cluster of illnesses on their websites as of Tuesday night.
  Media in the area, which is on the western border of Wisconsin near the tri-state region where Minnesota and Iowa border the state, reported county health officials confirmed they are investigating t
  
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• Inspector General again finds weaknesses in organic imports

  20-09-2017 06:02 via Food Safety News
  Consumers buying pricey organic produce would likely be upset if they knew the imported fruits and vegetables they pay premium prices for are sometimes doused with chemicals when they reach the United States.
  A new report by USDA’s Inspector General looks at the National Organic Program’s international “arrangements and agreements” and finds them badly in need of reform.
  The IG makes a total of nine recommendations for change in four different areas. It starts b
  
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• New York finds Campylobacter bacteria in Yoder Farm raw milk

  20-09-2017 06:01 via Food Safety News
  Unpasteurized, “raw” milk from the Martin Yoder Farm should be immediately discarded because it is contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni bacteria. New York officials have prohibited the farm from selling raw milk until further notice.
  The farm immediately stopped selling the unpasteurized milk on Sept. 13 when state officials notified the owner of a preliminary positive test for the pathogen. However, there is concern people may still have unused portions of the contaminated milk in
  
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• FDA’s Gottlieb tells state ag bosses how FSMA is going to work

  20-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb  talked about compliance with new food regulations at the Annual Meeting of the influential National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) in New Orleans.
  Compliance deadlines are on the minds of those in American agriculture as 2018  approaches, making Gottlieb’s appearance before the state officials possibly the most timely visit by an FDA commissioner in a decade.
  Gottlieb spoke
  
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• It’s juice, Jim, but not as we know it… Harvest Soul Organic tells a fiber story

  20-09-2017 03:23 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  If you can’t always eat whole fruits and veggies, then 100% juice is the next best thing, right? Wrong, says Harvest Soul Organic, which is on a mission to disrupt the juice aisle with its fiber-rich, blended whole food beverage line: the ‘anti-pressed’ juice.
  
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• Revive Kombucha finds ‘evergreen path’ to growth with Peet’s Coffee partnership, $7.5M financing

  19-09-2017 15:34 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Seeking an “evergreen path” to growth while still protecting its mission, Revive Kombucha gave a seat on its board of directors to a top executive at Peet’s Coffee, which also led a $7.5 million series B financing round for the brand, according to company co-founder Sean Lovett.
  
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• Animal-based protein tops consumer choice, but plant-based options are rising fast, Nielsen finds

  19-09-2017 12:52 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  When it comes to meeting consumers’ growing demand for protein, animal-based products continue to reign supreme in the US and Canada for now – but plant-based options are gaining traction and hold significant sales potential, according to the market research firm Nielsen. 
  
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• Food Safety Month: Memories and myth busting

  19-09-2017 06:01 via Food Safety News
  Growing up, September always meant the beginning the school year. But now, entering my 16th year of schooling, September has taken on a new meaning as a graduate student who is passionate about raising the awareness for the FDA‘s National Food Safety Month.
  The second of four children, I was fortunate enough to have parents who educated me on the importance of food safety when I helped prepare family dinner or made baked goods. If you had asked
  
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• New commissioner says his time is going to food safety at FDA

  19-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  New FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb claims food and tobacco issues are taking up a majority of his time. Maybe so, but there’s nothing on his public calendar to prove it.
  Drug approvals and the regulation of medical devices usually take up more of the FDA commissioners’ time than the food side of the house. But Gottlieb says “the food center and issues related to tobacco” were dominating his schedule during his first months on the job.
  Scott Gottlieb
  Gottlieb spoke at a p
  
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• Abusive veterinarian turns FSIS Billings District into his own fiefdom, paper charges

  19-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  In a two-part series, a daily newspaper in Montana documents 12 years of harassment by a vindictive federal supervisory inspector of some of the state’s small meat plants.
  In “Feds admit harassing small Butte meat plant, but take no action” and “‘Legg regs’ take their toll on plants throughout Montana,” the Montana Standard newspaper shows how USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is apparently one man’s fiefdom in the faraway “Bill
  
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• Ripple Foods seeks to disrupt plant-based yogurt category: 'Let's not mince words... some of these products are terrible'

  19-09-2017 00:26 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Plant-based Greek-style yogurts from Ripple Foods – slated to hit the market by the end of this year – will have a higher protein content (12g/serving) and superior texture to brands currently on shelf, which have improved, but can still look “gelatinous” and “weird,” according to co-founder Dr Neil Renninger.
  
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• Sweet ambition: DouxMatok raises $8.1m to take sugar reduction technology to market

  19-09-2017 00:23 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  DouxMatok, the Israeli firm behind patented technology that makes sugar taste sweeter, has raised $8.1m in a funding round led by Israel’s largest VC fund, Pitango, with the participation of existing shareholders including Gil Horsky* and FoodLab Capital.
  
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• Naturex strikes global distribution deal with Mycotech for vegan mushroom protein: 'We could see they had something new'

  18-09-2017 19:17 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Natural ingredients giant Naturex has struck a global distribution deal with MycoTechnology, the fungi-fueled start-up behind Pure Taste fermented shiitake vegetable protein: a high-profile new entrant to the ‘alternative’ protein market. 
  
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• BASF teams up with InsideTracker for personalized nutrition & supplementation recommendations

  18-09-2017 16:11 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  BASF and Segterra have announced a collaboration for BASF’s health ingredients brand, Newtrition, to provide personalized nutrition and dietary supplementation recommendations and scientific support for Segterra’s InsideTracker.
  
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• New produce coalition stands against potential anti-dumping revisions in NAFTA

  18-09-2017 07:54 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  A new coalition of US and Canadian produce companies hopes to protect the North American Free Trade Agreement from potentially “traumatic” revisions based on “protectionism and a very narrow view of trade,” according to one co-founder.
  
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• I need chocolate, Alexa... sweets, snacks, and the Amazon effect

  18-09-2017 07:54 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  Candy and snacks sales on Amazon are growing at 42% year-on-year,* according to new report from ecommerce data firm One Click Retail, which says category sales have already hit $215m in the first eight months of 2017, compared with $240m for the whole of 2016.
  
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• Processing problem spurs recall for staphylococcal enterotoxin

  18-09-2017 06:01 via Food Safety News
  Processing deviations discovered by inspectors reviewing records at a Washington sausage company have prompted a recall of numerous products because they could be contaminated with staphylococcal enterotoxin.
  German Sausage Haus LLC of Camano Island, WA, is recalling 1,252 pounds of heat treated, not fully cooked, not shelf stable meat products. The company shipped the products to retailers in Washington and to institutional kitchens in undisclosed states, according to the recall notice posted b
  
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• Omnichannel ops and IOT

  18-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  Editor’s note: This is Part 3 of a special series sponsored by Par Technologies Corp. Read Part 4 on Sept. 25.
  With just a few taps on a smartphone, a week’s worth of groceries is ordered for a family and delivered right to their door. For them, their grocery store’s adoption of the omnichannel approach to streamline in-store and online shopping experiences is about convenience and quick service.
  For the grocery retailer, however, this move to stay competitive in the
  
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• FDA warns cattle feed, cheese, supplement producers

  18-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  A Kentucky cattle feed manufacturer, a Vermont cheese processing facility, and a New York supplement facility are all on notice from the Food and Drug Administration for violations of federal food safety rules.
  The FDA sent the warning letters to the companies in August and September, and posted them for public view in recent days. Companies are allowed 15 working days to respond to FDA warning letters. Failure to promptly correct violations can result in legal action without furt
  
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• Frozen sausage recalled in Canada, U.S. for undeclared milk

  17-09-2017 06:12 via Food Safety News
  A New York company is recalling frozen pork sausage products in the United States and Canada because they contain milk, a known allergen that is not declared on the product labels.
  In the United States, the recall by RI Wang Food Group of Maspeth, NY, includes almost 27 tons of “China Brand” sausage products, which the company sent to retailers and institutional kitchens in New York and New Jersey.
  In Canada, an undisclosed volume of the China Brand sausage products from RI Wang are
  
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• Letter from the Editor: Vacancy says food safety not a priority

  17-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  I’m pretty jaded when it comes to the federal government — no matter who is running it. But I do know that without filling the spokes in the government’s wheels nothing is going to happen. And some spokes are more important than others.
  Faithful readers know Food Safety News is counting the days for the appointment by President Trump and confirmation by the U.S. Senate of the next USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety.
  The USDA Under Secretary for Food S
  
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• WGS could be WMD in global battle against foodborne illness

  16-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  Editor’s note: This column by FDA’s Steven Musser and Eric L. Stevens was originally published on the agency’s blog.To view the larger version of this graph on the FDA website, please click on the image.
  FDA is laying the foundation for the use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to protect consumers from foodborne illness in countries all over the world.
  To view a larger version of the map, please click on the image.
  We recently traveled to Geneva to join a meeting of the Co
  
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• All restaurants in resort town close because of E. coli in water

  16-09-2017 03:37 via Food Safety News
  Anyone hoping to grab a late supper or snack tonight in Atlantic Beach, NC, is out of luck. Same goes for this weekend, possibly.
  Thirty restaurants in the barrier island community voluntarily closed today at the request of local officials because E. coli has been found in the town’s water supply. The restaurant operators didn’t have much choice, though, as the county health department was ready to suspend operations at eateries that did not close.
  “We’re requesting this
  
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• Texas raw milk Brucella contamination hits 7 states

  16-09-2017 01:10 via Food Safety News
  Although it is against federal law to sell unpasteurized milk across state lines, the CDC and state health departments are investigating illnesses in at least seven states in relation to Brucella bacteria found in raw milk from a Texas dairy.
  One woman in Texas has been in the hospital for weeks with a lab-confirmed case of brucellosis. A sample from her matches antibiotic-resistant Brucella bacteria found in raw milk from K-Bar dairy in Paradise, TX, according to Texas officials and the federal
  
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• Find products. Earn money… makeena helps shoppers earn cashback on healthy, eco-friendly brands

  15-09-2017 13:23 via FoodNavigator-USA RSS
  
  The entrepreneurs behind an app enabling shoppers to earn cash back after purchasing natural, organic and healthy lifestyle products, say they can give brands participating on the platform “unprecedented insight into their customers' shopping habits.”
  
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• CDC expands on Texas warning about Brucella in raw milk

  15-09-2017 08:07 via Food Safety News
  A month after Texas public health officials urged raw milk drinkers and their doctors to be on the lookout for symptoms of Brucella infection, the federal government weighed in with its own advice.
  Anyone who drank unpasteurized, “raw” milk from the K-Bar Dairy in Paradise, TX, from June 1 through Aug. 7 is “at an increased risk for brucellosis and should receive appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP),” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Wedne
  
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• Papaya Salmonella outbreak slams Hispanic population in U.S.

  15-09-2017 07:00 via Food Safety News
  The popularity of fresh papaya in some ethnic cuisine is resulting in a disproportionate number of Hispanics being infected in four ongoing Salmonella outbreaks.
  With 235 laboratory confirmed infections as of this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the number of Hispanic victims in the individual outbreaks ranges from 50 percent to 91 percent. Two people have died, but their ethnicity has not been made public.
  The CDC and Food and Drug Administration are tracking eight
  
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• ‘Desktop dining’ moves food safety issues into the workplace

  15-09-2017 06:05 via Food Safety News
  LAS VEGAS — This week’s conference of ISSA, also known as the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, attracted more than 16,000 people and more than 700 exhibitors from  25 countries to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
  Engineer Stephanie Fleming demonstrates an innovation from the Italian company De Nora at ISSA 2017 this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This unit converts water into a powerful, odorless, bleach-free, ready-to-use disinfectant for any fo
  
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• Lab-made meat, poultry get big funding boost from big food

  15-09-2017 06:00 via Food Safety News
  It’s the future of meat and poultry — or at least part of the future.
  That’s what some investors, among them global agricultural heavyweight Cargill Inc., are saying about meat grown in labs from cells taken from animals without slaughtering them.
  On Aug. 22, Memphis Meats Inc. in the Bay Area of California, which so far has produced beef, chicken and duck directly from animal cells, announced it had raised $17 million in funding from investors. Those i
  
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