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Newsletter Volume 15, Issue 24
Hi FSQA Professional, In this issue, Contributor, Azure Edwards concludes her 5 part series on food safety as business infrastructure. Katy Jones, CEO of Trustwell is featured in the Women in Food Safety column.
Our sister company, Food Safety Tech Research has finished our first study. Dave Hatch, CRO will be providing insight and analysis of the food safety digital maturity at the Food Safety Consortium Conference later this month.
Click on the headlines to open the links that allow you to read the complete articles, register for the webinar or to download the whitepaper or eBook.
You can always read the most current articles and search archived FSQA articles from FST's Home Page. Thank you for your interest in Food Safety Tech.
Until next week or the next big story, Cheers! Rick Biros, Content Director, Publisher and Founder.
Food Safety as Business Infrastructure
By Azure Edwards, M.S., Founder and Principal Consultant, Pacific Blue Horizon Group
This series examines food safety as business infrastructure: the business decisions, governance structures, and operational conditions that determine whether technical food safety systems can hold under production pressure. The first three articles followed the operation inward, from the corrective action log through the cost of repetition to what growth asks a system to carry. The fourth followed it outward, to the public. This final article turns to the people who carry it all on their shoulders.
Food Safety Digital Maturity
Study ties digital maturity to measurable ROI and food safety performance; 290 food manufacturer respondents, full findings debut at the Food Safety Consortium, October 21-23 in Washington, D.C.
Women In Food Safety
Sure, some days you might feel like “just a step on the boss man′s ladder” working the 9-5 lifestyle in the food industry. As the late Dolly Parton once said, “It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it.” But if you take Katy’s lessons to heart and pour yourself a cup of ambition, your C-suite opportunity might present itself sooner than you think.
Food Safety Supply Chain Management
There are two big mistakes manufacturers are making with FSMA 204. The first is assuming that because you’re FSMA-compliant, you’ll be compliant with Section 204. The second is thinking about the rule as an internal issue that can be solved with better recordkeeping. When the FDA shows up with that traceability request, you’ll be expected to provide an electronic sortable spreadsheet with key details within 24 hours. In order for you to obtain that information quickly – and in the correct format – your suppliers and vendors will also need to be in compliance with the rules.
Recalls
The problem was discovered after the firm received two customer complaints regarding clear, hard plastic found in the sausage product.
Contamination pressures are shifting, detection budgets are tightening, and FSQA teams are being asked to do more with the same equipment. FlexXray’s third annual Foreign Material Contamination Benchmark Report surveys 172 U.S. and Canadian food manufacturers to give the industry a clear, current read on how peers are actually managing the problem.
The report covers how often contamination events occur and whether that’s changing, which technologies plants have in place versus what they’re planning to add, how confident teams are in their own equipment, and who makes the call when product goes on hold. It also includes new data on the specific types of material showing up most often — and what that means for the equipment already on the line.
Built on this year’s survey and benchmarked against 2025, the report is designed to help FSQA and quality leaders see where they stand relative to the rest of the industry, grounded in data rather than assumptions.
Suspect foreign material contamination? Look closer. FlexXray’s third-party FM inspection pinpoints exactly what product is affected — and isn’t — so you can salvage more instead of discarding the full lot. See how FlexXray’s inspection services work → www.flexxray.com
Allergen Sessions at the Consortium
The Future of Safe Dining: Allergen Transparency at Scale.
A leadership conversation with the brands shaping the next era of food service safety. Moderated by Betsy Craig, CEO and Founder, MenuTrinfo, LLC.
Panelists:
Jasmine Hagan, Director of Total Quality and Food Safety, Red Lobster
Neil O'Conner, Director, Food Safety | Global Operations, Marriott International
Nicole Martino, Nutritionist and Food Allergy Specialist, EPIC Universe and Universal Orlando Resort
Brandon Mathias, Food Safety & Allergen Program Manager, Aramark
Key Takeaways - Why allergen safety is moving from a compliance issue to a brand trust strategy. - The operational lessons learned from managing allergen safety across universities, hotels, restaurants, and large-scale food service environments. - How collaboration between food safety leaders, operators, and training partners is creating safer dining experiences for millions of guests.
Reading the Signals – Alpha-Gal and the Future of Food Allergen Safety
Steven Gendel, Ph.D., Principal, Gendel Food Safety LLC
Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS) is an emerging issue that challenges many of the assumptions underlying the allergen safety system.
This session will show that AGS serves as a case study of the system's ability to respond to an emerging hazard with a previously unrecognized etiology. This will include consideration of the implications for labeling and transparency, as well as the risks associated with using food ingredients in drugs and dietary supplements. Further, the role of AGS as a signal of the future impact of broader environmental changes on food safety will be discussed.
Food Safety eBooks
Modern food safety programs require more than routine testing. Learn how HACCP-driven strategies, PCR pathogen detection, and connected diagnostics help food manufacturers improve prevention, strengthen compliance, and respond faster to risk. In this eBook you will learn:
• How to build a HACCP-based testing strategy.
• Environmental vs. product testing best practices.
• Why PCR plays a critical role in modern food safety.
• Key factors that impact PCR performance and reliability.
• How connected diagnostics support faster decision-making.
Thought Leadership and Demand Generation Opportunities for FSQA Technology & Service Providers
