office@qlaboratories.com | (513) 471-1300

Q

Q

Food Safety Modernization Act

FSMA Laboratory Accreditation

FDA Proposes FSMA Lab Accreditation Program

Title II, Section 202 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law in January 2011, instructed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish a program for the testing of food by accredited laboratories. FSMA stipulated that accredited labs must possess “a demonstrated capability to conduct one or more sampling and analytical testing

Read More »
Q Laboratories Expert

Q Laboratories Sales Director to Speak at IFT Florida Event

Q Laboratories Director of Sales for the Food Industry, Will Melnyczenko is the Special Guest and Featured Speaker at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Florida Section Holiday Dinner on December 3rd in Orlando. The topic of the presentation will be, “Challenge Testing vs Shelf Life Testing – Navigating the Differences.” Will has nearly 20

Read More »
New Era of Smarter Food Safety

FDA Extends Smarter Food Safety Comment Period

The Food and Drug Administration has extended the comment period regarding the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative. Originally targeted for November 20th, the new “comment by” date is now December 20th. Smarter Food Safety Intended to build upon the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Smarter Food Safety initiative emphasizes utilizing modern technology

Read More »
qlabs-sprout-pic-four

Microbial Hazards of Seed for Sprouting

Due to concern over, “the continuing outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of raw and lightly-cooked sprouts,” the FDA recently released a Draft Guidance entitled, “Reducing Microbial Food Safety Hazards in the Production of Seed for Sprouting Guidance for Industry.” After reviewing 50 outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with sprouts between 1996-2018, resulting

Read More »
qlabs-farm-factory-photo

FDA Provides Guidance on “Small Business” Designation

Stakeholders familiar with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) may have noted the Agency’s efforts to minimize the financial and time-consumption burdens placed on smaller regulated establishments who may not possess the vast resources of larger firms. Companies designated as “Small Businesses” are granted more time to reach compliance with

Read More »
qlabs-method-verification

When Do I Need a Method Verification?

In this age of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) it is increasingly important that the methods you (or your third-party lab) are using are validated by a recognized organization. Methods contained in the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA-BAM), the USDA-FSIS Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook, as well as methods approved by independent, non-governmental bodies such as

Read More »
qlabs-env-monitoring-photo

Environmental Monitoring Design Utilizing the Zone Concept

With the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), as well as the recently released FDA Guidance on controlling Listeria monocytogenes in RTE foods, it is more important than ever to have a carefully designed, robust Environmental Monitoring (EM) program in your food manufacturing plant. Effective design of your EM program is essential to

Read More »

Food Recalls – Environmental Monitoring

Two (at least) recent food recalls were the result of FDA inspectors finding a positive pathogen result on an environmental monitoring (EM) sample, such as a swab or sponge. More troubling to hear was the fact that the positive result came from a sample taken from a Zone 3 or 4 location, meaning a non-food

Read More »
qlabs-train-and-truck

Safe Transport of Food Products as per FSMA

Another aspect of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that attempts to provide food protection throughout the entire supply chain is the safe food transport rule. According to an FDA press release, “the rule will require those involved in transporting human and animal food by motor or rail vehicle to follow recognized best practices for

Read More »