Food Online's Top 10 Of 2017

By Sam Lewis

What articles did our readers find most valuable in 2017? Take a look back at last year by reviewing the 10 most-popular articles that appeared on Food Online in 2017.

1. The ABCs Of Building A Food Safety Plan: From HACCP To HARPC
   The FDA required hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) for juice and seafood, and the USDA for meat and poultry. The Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) proposed Preventive Controls rule for Human Food requires a written Food Safety Plan (FSP) be developed using the hazard analysis risk-based preventive control (HARPC) approach. A preventive approach to food safety is nothing new. But the HARPC approach is a new paradigm shift in thinking. This article will explain this new thinking, define, what HARPC approach is, explain how HARPC is different than HACCP, and how employing this thinking helps you arrive at developing a Food Safety Plan.
    
2. How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Food Manufacturers Feed The World
   As an industry, we face some formidable challenges in ensuring there is enough food to feed the world’s growing population. Food security is high on the international agenda with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, estimating by 2050, feeding a global population of 9 billion will require a 70 percent increase in food production. So, what technologies can food processors implement to meet this high demand?
    
3. Inside Kraft Heinz’s FSMA Inspection Readiness
   While compliance with FSMA and being ready for FDA inspections may seem like a sprint to satisfy FDA directives, the path to complying with the regulations is a long, methodical, marathon-like endeavor. Here, Lauren Di Menna, scientific & regulatory affairs manager at Kraft Heinz, explained how Kraft Heinz has prepared for FSMA and gave insight into the company’s experience with FDA inspections.
    
4. Implementing FSMA What Do I Need To Know And Do
   Several of FSMA’s major rules are now in effect, but that doesn’t mean all food makers are clear on what is expected of them. There are thousands of pages of regulations for the law, which can be confusing and daunting, not to mention the rules present food companies with a plethora of new challenges. Here, Hilary Thesmar, Ph.D., RD, CFS, VP of food safety programs at the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), answers my questions on what food makers need to know to comply with FSMA’s requirements and offers guidance on how they can achieve it.
    
5. 5 Current Events Impacting The Food Industry
   Current events outside of the food realm can have a lasting impact on how the food industry approaches business. Here, Miriam Maxwell, senior principal regulatory scientist, corporate scientific and regulatory affairs at Ocean Spray Cranberries offered her insights into some current world and U.S. events and how they’re impacting the food industry.
    
6. Trump And Food Safety: How The Industry Is Responding To Executive Orders
   In this column, the Global Food Safety Forum’s Hannah Kyle illustrates the influence the President’s Executive Orders have had on the industry over the last several months, as well as how the industry is responding.
    
7. FDA Swab-A-Thons: What To Expect In The Search For Pathogens
   The FDA and food manufacturers are both on the same mission: make food safer. But, increased scrutiny during FDA inspections has left many food industry professionals with increased anxiety. Here, food industry attorney Shawn Stevens answers my questions about the FDA’s process of microbiological sampling, how the agency is incorporating Whole Genome Sequencing into its sampling processes, and what food companies can do to alleviate regulatory worries.
    
8. A Food Recall’s Ripple Effect: What We’ve Learned From Valley Milk Products
   The Valley Milk Products recall resulted in a subsequent ripple effect of recalls affecting over 30 companies. As this food safety event has played out over the last several months, it has also raised several questions on how the industry should react and handle these types of chain-reaction-like recalls.
    
9. Hormel's Strategy In The Battle Against Microbial Contamination
   Your company’s CEO probably isn’t going to notice if you start a production run an hour late. But, if you start production on time without inspecting the environment, taking corrective actions, and sanitizing the environment, your product may be forced into withdrawal or a recall… and your CEO will know you in a very intimate and negative way. Here, Doug Craven, corporate manager of sanitation at Hormel Foods, discusses the steps Hormel takes to ensure its food processing environments and food contact surfaces are properly sanitized, aren’t harboring microbial pathogens, and safe products are reaching its customers.
    
10. Food Defense: A U.S. Army Perspective
    Back in 1997, a veterinarian, Leslie Huck, showed me a checklist he was developing. It focused on intentional contamination and it made me think about how the military is always a target for acts of violence. This article illustrates the evolution of food defense and provides insight into what food manufacturers can do to build and improve their food defense plans.