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When a Food Safety Assessment is scheduled, even an experienced USDA-inspected establishment can feel the pressure. The Enforcement, Investigations, and Analysis Officer (EIAO) may request extensive records, examine scientific support, observe production, speak with establishment personnel, and compare the written food safety system with what is actually happening on the floor. But an FSA is not simply a test of whether the establishment has all the right documents. It examin

For many food businesses, working with a co-packer is an efficient way to bring a product to market without building and operating a dedicated production facility. A co-packer may provide the equipment, personnel, licenses, purchasing power, technical expertise, and production capacity needed to manufacture at commercial scale. But a co-packing agreement is not simply a pricing and production contract. It is part of the food safety and regulatory system surrounding the produc

Fresh-cut produce is once again in the food safety spotlight. FDA and CDC are currently investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora illnesses linked to iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and recalled by Taylor Farms de Mexico. The investigation is an important reminder of one of the fundamental challenges with ready-to-eat fresh-cut produce: contamination may enter the supply chain before processing, spread during handling and processing, and reach consumers wi

Receiving a Noncompliance Record, or NR, can be stressful, especially for a small or very small establishment. Many processors are hesitant to appeal because they do not want to create tension with inspection personnel or worry that questioning a decision could make things more difficult. But appealing an inspection decision is an established part of the FSIS regulatory process. FSIS specifically states that establishments may appeal inspection decisions without fear of retal

What the Current Fresh Jalapeño Salmonella Outbreak Teaches Food Producers About Protecting Their Products A food producer can have a strong HACCP plan, a well-maintained facility, trained employees, established sanitation programs, and carefully controlled production processes and still find its products connected to a recall because of something that happened before an ingredient ever entered the facility. A current food safety event provides an important reminder of how qu

This article concludes our AskHACCP Environmental Monitoring & Listeria Series by exploring what happens after a positive environmental finding and how thoughtful investigations strengthen food safety systems. A laboratory report lands on your desk. One routine environmental sample has tested positive for Listeria species from a floor drain in the ready-to-eat area. If you have worked in food safety for any length of time, you can probably picture what happens next. Someone w

Published in recognition of National Fermentation Day, a celebration of one of humanity's oldest and most enduring food preservation methods. Each year, National Fermentation Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate fermented foods and the extraordinary biological processes that create them. It also offers something more important. It gives us a reason to pause and consider how deeply food preservation has shaped human history, cultural identity, scientific understanding, and

When developing a HACCP plan for fermented, dried, cured, ready-to-eat, or shelf-stable foods, three technical parameters frequently enter the conversation: water activity, pH, and salt concentration. Although these factors can work together to limit microbial growth, they measure different physical and chemical properties of food. They are not interchangeable, and documenting one does not necessarily demonstrate control of another. Each must be evaluated within the context o

An Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) often tells regulatory personnel more about the maturity of a food safety system than almost any other verification activity. Long before reviewing laboratory reports or sanitation records, experienced investigators, auditors, and food safety assessors are evaluating how a facility identifies, monitors, and manages environmental risk. Many food processors think of environmental monitoring as simply collecting a few swabs each month an

One of the most common statements heard during facility visits, audits, and regulatory inspections is: "We have a HACCP plan for that." Often, the document exists. The procedures are written. The forms have been created. The records are being completed. Yet when employees are observed performing the task, the process on the production floor looks very different from the process described in the binder. This is where the distinction between a food safety plan and a food safety

One of the most frustrating situations a processor can face is receiving the same Listeria finding again and again. The area was cleaned. The equipment was sanitized. Follow-up samples were collected. Yet the positive result returns. When this happens, the issue is often not the sanitation chemical, the sanitation crew, or the testing program. The issue may be a harborage site. Continuing the Conversation In this series, we have moved step by step through Listeria control. Ph

Food producers frequently hear terms such as Process Authority Review, Scheduled Process, HACCP Plan, Validation, Critical Control Point (CCP), and Food Safety Plan used interchangeably. As a result, many businesses assume these systems serve the same purpose or that one automatically satisfies the requirements of the other. They do not. While both are important food safety tools, they answer different questions and serve different regulatory functions. Understanding the dist

What the Updated FSIS Policy Book Signals About the Future of Meat and Poultry Labeling For years, many meat and poultry processors quietly relied on the USDA FSIS Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book as an operational reference point. It sat somewhere between guidance document, institutional memory, and field interpretation manual. Inspectors referenced it. Consultants referenced it. Label developers referenced it. Small processors often treated it as the closest thing to

On May 21, 2026, USDA FSIS published a final rule titled Visual Post Mortem Inspection in Swine Slaughter Establishments. The rule becomes effective July 20, 2026, and represents a significant shift in how routine post mortem inspection will be conducted in swine slaughter establishments. At the center of the rule is a change to traditional post mortem inspection procedures in swine slaughter establishments. FSIS is removing the mandatory requirement for routine mandibular l

Some of the most vulnerable food safety systems we encounter are also the most heavily documented. The logs are there. Temperatures were recorded. pH readings were taken. Water activity checks were completed. Sanitation records were signed. Corrective actions were documented. From the outside, the system appears organized and under control. Then eventually, during an inspection, reassessment, audit, deviation review, or product investigation, a different question surfaces: Wh

Interconnected systems in regenerative agriculture Across the food industry, more processors, manufacturers, and food businesses are beginning to look more closely at how agricultural practices upstream affect sourcing stability, product integrity, environmental resilience, and long term operational performance. One area receiving growing attention is regenerative agriculture and the role that partnerships with local farms can play in strengthening food systems. From a compli

In this series, we have moved step by step through Listeria control: Phase 1 focused on where Listeria hides. Phase 2 addressed post lethality exposure and RTE risk. Phase 3 examined trend-based regulatory oversight. Phase 4 outlined how to build a practical Environmental Monitoring Program. Phase 5 discussed reading the results and not panicking. Now we move upstream ... Listeria does not move randomly. It follows water. As temperatures shift and humidity rises, moisture bec

One of the most common things I see when I walk into a facility is not a lack of training, it’s training that never made it to the floor in a meaningful way. On paper, everything is usually in place. Procedures are written, logs are filled out, and people have technically been trained. But when you step into production and start asking simple questions, the cracks show up quickly. Two people doing the same job will explain it differently, or worse, you’ll see something being

AgriForaging was built from lived experience inside regulated food systems, to close a structural gap in how producers navigate state and federal inspection. Those producers include farmers, processors, butchers, value-added manufacturers, specialty food companies, restaurants, and businesses operating under state and federal inspection systems nationwide. Years ago, while growing a food business, I learned what that gap costs in real time. The regulations were real. The expe

The inspector is standing in your facility. They ask a question. Your team looks at you. What happens next determines the tone of the entire inspection. For many small and mid-sized food manufacturers, the word “inspection” triggers stress, urgency, and sometimes defensiveness. That reaction is common. It is also where operations lose control. Regulatory inspections are not just about compliance. They are about communication, documentation, and how your system holds under pre