www.foodsafetyselect.com - Food Safety Select

July eNews 2021-07-30

eNEWS


Welcome to the July edition of the Food Safety Select eNews! In this edition we explore the latest food safety news, including news from our members who are doing some amazing work for the food industry. You can also find out about the latest supplier deals, webinars, food safety training, events and more.

From the Newsroom

Australian food businesses are turning to food safety software to protect their brand and consumers

By Food Safety Select 

Food businesses have been using software to improve efficiency and cut down on paperwork for a couple of decades. For most, the software has been more of a passive tool replacing old logbooks and paperwork. However, recent advances in technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 4G and 5G, faster internet speeds, and smartphones have resulted in a lot of changes.

Food safety software has advanced to the point where nearly all aspects of a food business can be monitored with more efficiency and accuracy than ever before. As a result, more companies are realising the benefits of these programmes and integrating them into their workflow.

What is food safety management software?

The software can come in various forms, such as an app or platform, and cover a variety of needs. Food safety management software can provide a broad overview of a business, as well as focus on specific details. Now that more aspects can be connected by IoT and logged in the cloud, the software is getting exponentially more helpful. For example, it can monitor temperatures, log inventory, detect pests, check real-time deliveries, notify when food is spoiling, keep up to date with compliance laws, and more. The software can keep track of every step of the food chain.

What are the advantages?

Food can be tracked and continually monitored to ensure it is safe to eat. Aspects such as temperatures can be constantly noted and checked, so they always remain within acceptable boundaries. Transport times and expiry dates can be easily observed to avoid food spoilage, with automated alerts when there is a problem.

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Australia’s food recalls hit record highs in 2020

Change to existing auditing arrangements for NSW licensees effective immediately

By Food Safety Select 

In response to a rise in cases of COVID-19, the NSW government has issued travel and work restrictions in some areas. These are in addition to the existing audit arrangements that came into place last year. As a result of these new regulations, in regions that are locked down where auditors who can no longer travel or face restricted movement, remote audits may be conducted.

These changes are effective immediately and work with the COVID-19 compliance guidelines issued last year in July 2020. The new rules were established to combat the pandemic, promote coronavirus awareness, and help businesses and customers stay safe.

Additionally, it has been strongly recommended that all food businesses complete a COVID-19 Safety Plan and register businesses as ‘COVID safe’. These measures have been compulsory for Food Processors, Abattoirs and manufacturers for a year now, and auditors have been checking COVID-19 Safety Plans as part of their routine inspections.

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Botulism – What is it, what are the risks, and how can your food businesses prevent it?

By Food Safety Select 

Botulism is a rare but well-known food poisoning illness caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Symptoms are severe and, if left untreated, can lead to paralysis and be fatal.

C. botulinum can be found in water, sediments, dust, soil, animal carcasses, and on plants. The illness results from a potent neurotoxin that comes in various forms and is produced as vegetative cells grow. In Australia, there have been periodic outbreaks of botulism in cattle, but human cases of food poisoning are rare.

If ingested, symptoms usually appear about 12 – 36 hours later, but in rare cases, can take up to 10 days. Symptoms include diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting, dry mouth, vertigo with neurological symptoms, such as muscle weakness, appearing soon after. 

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Air hand dryers versus paper towels, what is the most hygienic option?

By Food Safety Select 

The pandemic has brought about a deeper understanding of the importance of hygiene and keeping hands and surfaces clean. Restaurants and food businesses have been particularly at risk, and measures have included social distancing, alcohol, wipes, and strict cleanliness regimes.

Those working in the food industry have long known the dangers of viruses and bacteria and are aware of the correct procedures for washing hands. However, for food business owners, it is not just the hygiene of staff that is of concern - many have shared bathroom facilities used by workers and the public. There is also another issue – the best way to dry hands.

It has been well-publicised that toilets are full of harmful bacteria. The press has regularly reported that hand dryers can spread these germs into the air and all over users and surfaces. But are they correct?

Read more ➔

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Kate Lewis, Director and Technical Manager of microPoint Laboratories

By Food Safety Select 

In this week's edition of the Food Safety Select Member Spotlight Series, we ask Director and Technical Manager, Kate Lewis, all about microPoint Laboratories - A microbiological testing facility, based in Sydney that is known for providing accurate and high-quality testing services and excellent customer service to an extensive range of food businesses.

What is the story behind the establishment of microPoint Laboratories?

MicroPoint Laboratories was created in 2018 by two food science professionals who wanted to provide a connected approach between the laboratory and the food business. From our laboratory and food safety auditing backgrounds we could see businesses testing what they were told to test (by a customer, an auditor, or a regulator), or not testing appropriately. Most were not using their testing data effectively, if at all. The majority of food manufacturers no longer have a dedicated microbiologist, and outsource most of their testing. We wanted to bridge the gap so that our customers could access our expertise, understand their results, prevent issues from occurring, and ultimately protect their brands.

Tell us about microPoint Laboratories and the services you offer.

We are a NATA accredited food microbiology laboratory, offering a wide range of pathogen and indicator tests. Our range of pathogen tests can be reported in as little as 24 hours using the latest technology. We help our customers with routine testing requirements but also with more complex planning and execution of their shelf-life or challenge tests. We offer sample collection services, provide swabbing and sample collection materials, access to online results, result in interpretation and try to keep things as simple for our customers as possible.

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News From Our Members

Using IoT for Rodent Management in Food Businesses

By Cre8tec Pty Ltd

Rodent infestation is a common yet challenging food safety issue. Certainly, "prevention is better than the cure" and trying to adopt various preventive measures is impossible once a facility is infested. There are several techniques and methods of extermination available, most of which incorporate the use of toxins. The key to prevention is being able to predict and identify an infestation before it is too late and IoT solutions do just that with wireless technology. Similar to COVID-19 contact tracers, IoT solutions aim to detect the index case to prevent the infection from spreading.

About IoT: IoT stands for Internet of Things, which is an ecosystem of physical devices connected with each other, accessible via the internet. The internet helps these devices in exchanging data. The IoT at its full potential will change the future for food businesses primarily in the areas of improving food safety; by increasing transparency and flexibility, and creating greater capabilities to manage compliance. The traditional mindset for the adoption of IoT technology has been on improving the efficiency of restaurants and providing enhanced customer experiences. However, some of its greatest potential remains within food safety. Real-time data from IoT devices make it possible to closely monitor key food safety data points, allowing manufacturers, retail, and hospitality to reduce the risks of foodborne illness outbreaks through data collection, data visualisation, automated reporting, and predictive analysis.

How does IoT help in rodent management?

IoT solutions for rodent management, such as RATSENSE, offer valuable information and data, which assists in several ways. An obvious benefit is the ability to deploy rodent and mice traps more strategically. Beyond this, being able to identify entry and exits for these rodents, as well as the typical rodent pathways, is useful for devising an effective and targeted strategy for control. A greater understanding of rodent activity minimises the need for toxic baits, allowing for long-term physical and non-chemical approaches. The data also provides insight on rodent activity and eliminates guesswork, keeping ahead of the changing behaviour of rodents.

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Become a Food Safety expert from the convenience of your home!

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Tips to Manufacture World-Class Infant Formula

By Produco

When anyone mentions high-end or high-quality milk powder, Infant Formula is the one product that is the pinnacle of the list. The quality that this type of final product has to attain ranks second only to some pharmaceutical-grade products. And it is found throughout the world. 


No matter which country in the world you live in or visit, you will find canned or packaged infant formula products on the supermarket shelves.

Not surprisingly, it’s a competitive market. A number of large and not-so-large companies operate in this space and generally have their roots in manufacturing other dairy-based products.

What was once limited to cow offerings (Bovine), the market is now joined by sheep (Ovine), goat (Caprine), and soy (vegetable-based) variety formulations to cater to all tastes, lifestyles, and dietary requirements.

Read more ➔

PestIT Webinar Series

By PestIT Pty Ltd

An innovative leader in pest management products and training, PestIT introduces its new technical webinar and industry leader interviews. “Technical support and training have always been our mission and focus,” says director Peter McCarthy.

“Since 2004, we have pioneered so many new concepts in pest and bird management here in Australia. We, therefore, need to educate and develop both the professional pest manager, the food industry, as well as launching these new technologies”.


In both June and July, our webinars have focused on issues impacting both the professional pest and food production industries. Commencing with sessions on bird management, heat treating, and rodent sensor technology, PestIT will continue to add valuable training resources on the company Socials, such as Facebook, Instagram, and our YouTube Channel.

PestIT will use Food Safety Select to update industry members on forthcoming topics such as bird management products, insect trap technology, non-chemical rodent control, and ...

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The cleaning service helping businesses with audit compliance and re-opening following COVID closure

By Cleaning Edge Solutions

As a food manufacturer, you are likely to be subject to regular quality audits from a number of different organisations. Compliance is critical to your business. The consequences of failing a quality audit can, at best, divert your staff's focus from day-to-day operations and at worst, disrupt your production. The outcome can be anything from negative implications for sales to more serious consequences, such as putting distribution at risk.

As experienced contract cleaning operators of food processing facilities, Cleaning Edge Solutions is regularly called upon to support clients when audits are conducted. Food processors we partner with are regularly audited by Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi, and those that also export globally, have their operations audited by AQIS as well. These audits are in addition to quality audits by local health authorities. Quality audits, while a necessary part of doing business, can be time-consuming and increase the stress levels within any organisation. We see this regularly.

Following yet another time-consuming audit with a major food processor, it struck Clayburn Figredo, Founder and Managing Director of Cleaning Edge Solutions, that the status quo was no longer acceptable. The declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic increased the complexity and the implications of failing quality audits.

By March of 2020, Clayburn’s team had already progressed with the brief he had given them: Take the auditing process, apply technology, close any loopholes and make it user-friendly. The next time the same food processor asked us to attend an audit conducted by a major supermarket retailer, he arrived with his laptop. Taken aback, the auditor asked where the trolleys that normally carried the boxes of archived documents were. Clayburn simply tapped his laptop and said it’s all here. The team had created an online portal that captured every single training and operational document associated with cleaning the premises. Our participation in the audit was cut down to about 15 minutes due to the speed with which documents could be accessed. In addition, the reputation of our client in the eyes of the retailer was enhanced.

Read more ➔


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Events & Training

Food Handling Course - Level 1 (SITXFSA001)

14 Aug 2021 - 9 am to 12 pm

Food Handling Course - Level 1 (SITXFSA001)

Food Safety Supervisor

14 Aug 2021 - 9 am to 3:30 pm

Food Safety Supervisor Training

11 Oct 2021 - 12 Oct 2021

AIFST21 Convention: Food Science - Delivering in a changing world

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