Department of Agriculture

Food quality and safety is of growing interest to consumers and thus to regulators. The United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are leading the way with on-farm and processing guidelines. Here are some links to bring you up to speed on these issues.

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• U.S. Food & Drug Administration – Food Section – Information on food nutrition, food safety, product recalls, packaging and labeling and food research.

• USDA Economic Research Service – Food Security Information

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Food Safety Websites:

• UH-CTAHR Farm Food Safety Website (Good Agricultural Practices)
• FDA recall and safety notices
• USDA  – Food Safety Inspection Service – Recall Notices
• FoodNet – “The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) is the principal foodborne disease component of CDC’s Emerging Infections Program (EIP).”
• PulseNet – “is a national network of public health laboratories that performs DNA “fingerprinting” on bacteria that may be foodborne. The network permits rapid comparison of these “fingerprint” patterns through an electronic database at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The DNA “fingerprinting” method is called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). “

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Regulations every food producer and processor needs to be familiar with.

Federal

FoodSafety.gov – Gateway for federal food safety information

OSHA Standards for Agriculture

EPA Regulations for Agriculture

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State of Hawaii

Hawaii Department of Agriculture

Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations – HIOSH standards
Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division HIOSH standards may be found athttps://hawaii.gov/labor/hiosh.

• Information on labor law in Hawaii may be found at the University of Hawaii West Oahu College’s  Center for Labor Education and Research

Hawaii Department of Health

 

US Department of Agriculture

• Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) effort to discover ways to manage food safety problems.

• Agricultural Marketing Service’s – Quality Through Verification (QTV) program for processors of fruits and vegetables.

• Food Safety Inspection Service – good site to food inspection of various types.

US Department of Commerce

•  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Seafood Inspection Program

US Department of Defense

• U.S. Army Institute of Public Health – technical elements of the command provide a full suite of public health services and mission capabilities.
• U.S. Army Veterinary Command (VETCOM) – The United States Army Veterinary Command (VETCOM) provides military veterinary services in support of United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) and Department of Defense (DOD) missions in their areas of responsibility. The responsibilities of VETCOM include food safety and quality assurance, care of government owned animals, and animal disease prevention and control.

US Environmental Protection Agency

• Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA registers pesticides for use in the United States and prescribes labeling and other regulatory requirements to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on health or the environment. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), EPA establishes tolerances (maximum legally permissible levels) for pesticide residues in food.Tolerances are enforced by the Department of Health and Human Services/Food and Drug Administration (HHS/FDA) for most foods, and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS) for meat, poultry, and some egg products.
• Office of Pesticide Programs – Regulations that have a lot to do with farming.
• Worker Protection Standard – EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a regulation aimed at reducing the risk of pesticide poisonings and injuries among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers.

US Food and Drug Administration

• FDA Food Safety Education Programs – Food safety educational resources.

 

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Links and publications of interest

• American Medical Association – Its mission is to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) – Watch dog group that deals with food safety among other issues.
• Center for Food Safety – “Center for Food Safety (CFS) is a public interest and environmental advocacy organization which works to address the impacts of our food production system on human health, animal welfare and the environment. CFS works to achieve its goals through grassroots campaigns, public education, media outreach, and litigation.”
• Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (U of Maryland and FDA)
• Partnership for Food Safety Education – the Fight BAC! site offers some great educational tools.

 

Food Safety in Food Processing Establishments and Trade Associations

• AboutProduce.com – excellent site brought to you by the Produce Marketing Association. Food safety, biotechnology, recipes, produce descriptions – the works!
• American Egg Board – food safety and eggs from the national industry group.
• American Food Safety Institute – The American Food Safety Institute (AFSI) is the nation’s leader in food manager training and certification.
• American Meat Institute (AMI) – AMI is the nation’s oldest and largest meat and poultry trade association. AMI is dedicated to increasing the efficiency, profitability and safety of meat and poultry trade worldwide. Has food safety info for meat!
• Association of Fruit and Vegetable Inspection and Standardization Agencies (AFVIS)
• Fresh Produce and Floral Council – has some very interesting data under “Issues in Food Safety.”
• Food Marketing Institute (FMI) – “The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is a nonprofit association conducting programs in research, education, industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 1,500 members including their subsidiaries-food retailers and wholesalers and their customers in the United States and around the world.”
• Foodservice & Packaging Institute (FPI) “is the material-neutral trade association for manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of single-use foodservice products, as well as others associated with the industry. It has numerous resources available on the environment, sanitation, public health, safety, solid waste, recycling, composting or other issues involving the manufacture, use and disposal of foodservice disposables.”
• Fruits & Veggies – More Matters – a non-profit of the Better Health Foundation
• Institute of Food Technologist (IFT) – Founded in 1939, the Institute of Food Technologists is a nonprofit scientific society with 28,000 members working in food science, food technology, and related professions in industry, academia and government.
• National Food Service Management Institute – Their mission is to provide information and services that promote the continuous improvement of Child Nutrition Programs, including food safety.
• National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) – “A not for profit organization known around the world for the development of voluntary consensus standards, product testing procedures, and certification services in the areas of public health, safety, and the environment.”
• Produce Marketing Association (PMA) – trade organization site.
• United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association – industry organization heavily involved in food safety.
• Vessel Sanitation Program – The CDC works to make shipboard food safe.
• Western Grower’s Association – large industry group who is working on food safety.

Postharvest Handling Advice

• Postharvest and Cooling (technology information site at North Carolina State University)
• UC Davis’ Postharvest page (the page for post harvest info)

Home and Kids Food Safety

• KidsWorld Food Safety – A fun site for kids brought to you by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

Third-party food safety auditing companies (this is not an endorsement of any kind)

• American Institute of Baking (Manhattan, KS)
• PrimusLabs.com (Santa Maria, CA)
• Scientific Certification Systems (Oakland, CA)