Food Safety Standards - One Year On

In our Knowledge article 1 year ago (July 2008 issue - read it here) , we stressed the need for high quality food safety compliance, and how it has become an increasingly important issue in the Food Services industry. Since then, the US alone has seen: A salmonella outbreak in 2008, which was traced back to fresh jalapenos, tomatoes and serrano peppers. This lead to an estimated 40,000+ illnesses and hundreds of hospitalisations, in dozens of US states. An E. coli outbreak in 2009, due to contaminated cookie dough, causing 7 cases of haemolytic-uraeic syndrome and hospitalisations in 30 US States. Another E. coli outbreak, causing the recall of over 380,000 pounds of beef. A second salmonella outbreak in late 2008/2009, this time in peanuts. This triggered the most extensive food recall ever in US history, involving 360+ companies and almost 4000 different products. It also caused 9 deaths and over 600 hospitalisations over almost the entire US. The company that processed the peanuts has since had a criminal investigation brought against it, and filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. This may be why the White House has been pushing for better food safety standards lately. Earlier this month, a food safety working group established by President Barack Obama said that the government will try and boost the safety of some of the nation's most popular foods, announcing stricter rules for the production of eggs, poultry, beef, leafy greens, melons and tomatoes. Tougher standards, including stiffer penalties and increased inspections, are included in legislation approved by a House panel earlier this year. Under the new rules: Egg and poultry producers will have to follow new standards designed to reduce salmonella contamination, including increased testing and refrigeration for eggs. The Food Safety Inspection Service, the Agriculture Department agency that inspects meat, will increase sampling of ground beef ingredients in an effort to better find E. coli contamination. The FDA will recommend ways that producers of leafy greens, melons and tomatoes can reduce disease strains, and require stricter standards in those industries within two years. The FDA and the Agriculture Department will create new positions to better oversee food safety. The FDA said Tuesday that Mike Taylor, a food safety expert and George Washington University professor, will serve as a senior adviser to the commissioner. Consumer groups said the new rules were good first steps as Congress considers even stricter measures. While it is regrettable that it has taken four widespread bacteria outbreaks in the past year for the US government to fully realise the importance of holding Food Safety Standards to a higher level, these recent actions are nevertheless a step in the right direction. Hopefully, other governments can take note, and work towards better Food Safety Standards, so as to avoid similar outbreaks in other regions of the world. To find out how CMO COMPLIANCE™ can aid you in food safety compliance, visit www.cmo-compliance.com/software_on_demand/Food_handling_safety_auditing_inspections.html

Dell Latitude XT2

Need a Tablet PC for work that can double as a laptop computer for home? The Latitude XT2 could be the answer you're looking for. With this computer, Dell blend together a 12.1" multi-touch swivel screen and a high-end PC, to make a fairly lightweight notebook (only 1.6kg) . The internals of the system are rather impressive: Core2 duo processor, Microsoft Vista Business, 3GB RAM and built in WiFi, bluetooth and 1Gb Ethernet. The fans are also very quiet and keep the system surprisingly well cooled the entire time. While the harddrive could be better (120GB on a 1.8" drive), the e-SATA port makes it easy to plug in an external drive if required. Battery life also leaves something to be desired (3 hours using high settings), but Dell also offers a 45Wh slice battery, which can effectivelly double the battery life. The system can handle almost anything you throw at it, and the touch-screen is one of the finest seen in a while. All in all, a great system for home and work, but be prepared to shell out for it, as it isn't cheap. Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Sony tries its hand in the Windows Mobile Smartphone market, and comes out with an impressive introductory product. The phone itself is solidly built, with a nice silver metallic finish. It slides out in landscape mode to reveal a very sleek QWERTY keypad, with keys large enough for even the biggest hands. The phone itself uses a modified version of Windows Mobile 6.1, and the operating system is very powerful in its own right, allowing for a multitude of useful bundled applications. The touch screen is very clear and sharp, and has excellent response, though it is a bit smaller than some of the other touch screens out on the market, so you will most likely be putting the stylus to good use. The phone has standard wireless functionality such as WiFi and bluetooth, and handles web browsing and emailing very well. The camera is 3 megapixels, and takes some good quality pictures, but not quite as great as some of its competitors. That said, the phone makes an excellent accessory for any business professional, and is a great new addition from Sony Ericsson into the smartphone market.