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| Gov`t. First Year Review Administration Moves to Safeguard Food Security |
KINGSTON(JIS): Monday, September 15, 2008 The issue of safeguarding the nation`s food security, in light of global developments, is one of the major challenges facing the administration, since it assumed office in September 2007, and which continues to be a priority matter. Spiralling costs, and in some quarters, shortage of staples, such as corn, wheat and rice, which constitute significant portions of the diets of non-producing countries, such as Jamaica, which are forced to import same, have been attributed to fluctuations in the price of oil, being sold for upwards of US$100 per barrel.
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Flooding: food safety advice |
Flood water can be contaminated with sewage, animal waste and other waste, from drains or the surrounding area, and so could be contaminated with harmful bacteria or chemicals. Although, the water is usually very diluted and so the risks of getting ill are low. Following simple hygiene practices should be enough to avoid getting ill from flood water. If you have been affected by flooding, either because your home has been flooded, or your water supply has been cut off, read our tips on how to prepare food safely.
General tips: It`s important to follow good food hygiene to stop harmful germs that might be present in flood water spreading to food. Here are some general tips on keeping food safe:Don`t eat any food that has been touched or covered by floodwater or sewage.
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Cleaning Methods for Fresh Produce |
As concerns grow over the use of chlorine washing, studies look into alternative ways to clean fresh produce to remove potentially threatening micro-organisms. Linda Everis reports All fresh produce contains a natural flora of micro-organisms that develops during growth in the field. This microflora is made up of a range of different micro- organisms, which may include Pseudomonas and Enterobacteriaceae. Neither are in any way harmful, but they can spoil the harvested produce. These micro-organisms are still present when the vegetables are minimally processed, and it is usual to find levels of more than one million organisms per gram on such products.
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Do you know how hygienic your favourite eating house is? |
Thursday 3 July 2008 The Food Standards Agency is consulting on a scheme to help consumers know at a glance how well their local takeaway or restaurant has done in food safety inspections. Scores on the Doors is a scheme whereby food businesses are given a score to show the hygiene standards found in their premises during inspections by local authority enforcement officers to check that they are complying with legal requirements. Each food outlet may display the score on its door or window so the public can clearly see how well the establishment has done, Details would also be available on the local authority’s website
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More Collaboration Needed Between Gov`t and Private Sector for Food Safety |
KINGSTON (JIS): Monday, June 23, 2008 Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Reginald Budhan, has said that greater collaboration between the Government and the private sector is essential in ensuring food safety. "For the successful accomplishment of optimum food safety standards, teamwork and collaboration with private sector organizations (food and food-related industries) as well as other related government support agencies, is most critical," Mr. Budhan said. He was speaking on behalf of Minister, Karl Samuda, at an exposition and fair held at the Emancipation Park in Kingston yesterday (June 20) to mark the culmination of National Food Safety Week, (June 15 to 20), themed: `Food Safety in Your Hands`.
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 | Discover our New Website... |
 The Food Safety and Quality Website is a comprehensive knowledge base for all interested parties: government, producers, suppliers, retailers, journalists and consumers. Our Web Site contains food safety news, fact sheets, proper hand washing techniques, hot and cold holding temperatures, foodborne pathogens,chemical contaminants, food allergens, HACCP regulatory issues and social projects.
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Agriculture Ministry Working with FAO to Develop New Financing Facility for |
KINGSTON (JIS): Saturday, November 15, 2008 Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that the Ministry will be working with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to develop a pilot for a new financing facility for farmers.
The development of this model forms part of the Ministry`s plans to strategically reposition itself by restructuring several bodies for which it has responsibility, and specifically to dissolve of the Agricultural Credit Board, to make way for an entity that will offer better financing to farmers. Addressing journalists at a press conference held at the Ministry`s headquarters in Kingston on November 13, Dr. Tufton said that this facility will be similar to the Grameen-style model, "which...has worked in oth
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IICA Agro-Tourism Project for Buff Bay Valley |
KINGSTON (JIS): Monday, November 10, 2008 The Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) has secured funding from the European Union (EU), to develop an agro-tourism project, to be implemented in the Buff Bay Valley in Portland.
IICA`s representative in Jamaica, Cynthia Currie, who made the announcement during a ceremony to launch `IICA Day` at the agency`s headquarters in Kingston, yesterday (Nov.7) said that at the end this 15-month project, "we would have developed a nature trail, farm tours and culture-based activities in the area that on one hand give the many tourists that come to Jamaica, an authentic and fuller taste of the Jamaican culture and on the other hand, and very importantly, increases economic activity for residents in the community."
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National Fisheries Policy Outlined |
MANDEVILLE (JIS):Tuesday, September 16, 2008 A National Fisheries Policy, which seeks to regulate the fishing industry through new laws, to protect fishers and increase production, has been outlined by Data Manager at the Fisheries Division, Anginette Murray. Miss Murray, who was speaking at a public forum in St. Elizabeth last week, said the measures would provide for greater control of the country`s resources, in meeting the domestic and export markets. "It addresses three main components - the sustainable production from capture fisheries and aquaculture, to supply domestic consumption; the increased returns from export of high value seafood and processed fish products; and safeguarding the sustainability of domestic fisheries by appropriate regulation of fishing and aquaculture activities," she said.
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Spotlight on Yam and Cassava |
KINGSTON(JIS): Monday, September 15, 2008 Jamaica, like many other nations, is very concerned about food security, thus this issue and rural development have become primary areas of focus in the current agricultural development programmes.
According to Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, in his contribution to the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate, this focus has resulted from "a combination of high food prices and high fuel and fertilizer costs, which pose a clear and present danger to our country`s food security. As net importers of food, we are particularly challenged."
"A careful examination of our food basket shows at least 61 per cent of the items are imported.we must reduce our dependence on imports for consumption," he stressed.
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Tuesday 18 July 2006 The FSA`s Bacteria Bite Business video demonstrates the importance of good food hygiene, focusing on the 4 Cs (Cleaning, Cooking, Chilling and Cross-contamination). This is now available to view online. The film shows kitchen staff, in a surreal café setting, making the mistakes that can lead to food poisoning. It also tells viewers what to do to make sure food will be safe to eat.
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E-learning course: Enhancing participation in Codex activities |
FAO and WHO have developed an e-learning course, entitled Enhancing participation in Codex activities to provide information on Codex procedures and to support effective participation of all delegates attending Codex meetings. The target audience of the distance learning curriculum includes: Designated Codex Contact Points; Food safety policy-makers; NGOs representing food industry, scientific and consumer interests and Academic Institutions
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Video Podcast episode 2: bread, rice, potatoes and pasta |
The Foundation is delighted to announce that episode one of our new healthier eating video podcasts for schools, is now available. This new free resource has been developed in response to teacher feedback and advice.
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Free Healthy Eating Video |
1. Free Healthy Eating Video
Episode one of our new healthier eating video for schools is now available. This new free resource has been developed in response to teacher feedback and advice. The first episode introduces pupils to the Eatwell Plate and then goes on to explore the Fruit and vegetables food group in more detail. The Foundation is delighted to announce that episode one of our new healthier eating video podcasts for schools, is now available. This new free resource has been developed in response to teacher feedback and advice.
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New UNESCO resource: Web-tools for Educators CD-ROM |
This CD-ROM, "Web Tools for Educators", contains free web-based tools (computer software that is accessible via the Internet) that are useful for people working in the education field. In particular, this CD-ROM contains software that teachers can use to enhance teaching and learning, and software that education administrators can use to improve productivity and efficiency. Each of the tools on this CD-ROM comes with a "tutorial" which explains what the tool can be used for and what its educational or efficiency advantages are. In addition, clear instructions are provided regarding how to download and install the tools.
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| Cookit grants for schools |
Friday 23 May 2008 The Agency is offering 50 grants to help schools purchase `Cookit` sets. Cookit is a set of high quality cooking equipment. It contains all the equipment needed to teach basic cooking and baking skills to groups of up to 12 pupils. It also contains activities and recipes for teachers to help plan lessons. ‘The Cookit has been carefully designed and trialled to ensure it supports cooking in schools effectively. It offers very good value for money in terms of quality.’ Cookit has been developed for primary schools by the Focus on Food Campaign, with the support of the Food Standards Agency.
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Food Safety Assured with SISTEM™ Training |
AlchemySystems.com, the leader in innovative, proven training solutions for foodservice employees, has been selected by a number of major food manufacturers to help combat food safety challenges and regulatory compliance issues through employee training. Recent product recalls and improper animal-handling incidents have spurred a need for updated food safety initiatives that will restore confidence in consumers. By implementing Alchemy`s unique group-based training platform, SISTEM (http://www.SISTEMtraining.com/foodsafety), companies such as the American Foods Group (AFG), Buckhead Beef, Kerry Inc., Olymel and Tyson Foods Corporation have targeted workforce education to promote the prevention of similar food safety incidents.
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New Online HACCP Suite to Address Critical Food Safety Training Needs |
April 09, 2008 PureSafety Launches New Online HACCP Suite to Address Critical Food Safety Training Needs NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PureSafety, a leading provider of online safety training and risk management software solutions, today announced the release of a new suite of courses addressing the principles and training outlined in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), an internationally recognized and recommended approach to food safety. The Center for Disease Control estimates that 76 million people in the United States become ill from pathogens in food each year. It’s critical for every segment of the food industry - processors, distributors and food service organizations - to ensure the safest possible handling, preparing and serving of food.
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Leading US Supermarket Selects MetricStream for Food Safety |
Leading US Supermarket Chain Selects MetricStream for Food Safety and Quality Compliance
(openPR) - MetricStream, Inc., the market leader in enterprise-wide Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Quality Management solutions, today announced that one of the largest employee-owned supermarket chains in the United States has selected MetricStream as its enterprise-wide platform for automating business processes for food safety and quality compliance. The solution will help the company sustain compliance with food safety and quality regulations across its stores, warehouses and manufacturing facilities.
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Food sampling advice video now on-line |
Tuesday 4 March 2008 As part of the Agency’s continuing commitment to low cost training for local authority food enforcement officers, we are now making available our food sampling video online. The video is aimed at both Environmental Health Officers and Trading Standards Officers. It covers the principles of food sampling for analysis and examination and can be used alongside our guidance material on sampling.
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