The Industry Listeria Group has challenged Campden BRI’s Guideline 81: “Demonstrating control of listeria in ready to eat (RTE) foods. Listeria control: how should you approach it?”. Whilst some ILG members were part of the recent review which started prior to lockdown, Campden now acknowledge that some component parts are inaccurate and the final document displays an uneven balance in the emphasis of other parts. As CFA Director General, Karin Goodburn, explains: “This document, despite its title, does not cover the whole process of demonstrating control of Listeria. Instead, it focusses more on claimed advantages of challenge testing compared to […]

CFA’s suite of best practice publications provides guidance to both growers and producers of chilled, minimally processed, ready to eat (RTE) food, helping ensure risks are minimised throughout the food chain.. The latest in the portfolio is designed for chilled food producers using raw salad and vegetable ingredients where the edible portion is grown in the ground and the final foods are RTE. ‘CFA: Best practice in the preparation of beetroot and onion for minimally processed, RTE applications’ focuses on those two ingredients to help minimise challenges regarding potential Listeria contamination. It is important that businesses are aware of any […]

In June, CFA Director General Karin Goodburn was invited to present to members of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF), who are currently reviewing the risk basis of FSA’s guidance on the control of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum in vacuum packed and modified atmosphere packed chilled foods. ACMSF offers expert advice to the UK Government. The ACMSF sub-group is specifically focusing on toxin production and growth of botulinum toxin-producing Clostridia in chilled foods. Karin set out research and other work carried out over the last 30 years including by industry with Government funding (e.g. SUSSLE). Included in […]