Attendees at the 2024 SQF Unites conference can expect to garner food safety knowledge from industry experts who will address topics ranging from the roles machine learning and artificial intelligence are playing in food safety to new insights regarding emerging hazard regulations, writes LeAnn Chuboff, vice president of technical affairs for SQFI. "SQF Unites is a knowledge bridge connecting SQF practitioners and professionals across the food supply chain," Chuboff writes. "It's a nexus where the latest industry trends, transformative technologies, and innovative strategies for managing food safety cultures converge."

The FDA has released additional resources to help the industry comply with the food traceability final rule. The resources, available on the FDA's traceability website, include examples of a traceability plan, a video featuring technological components of product tracing systems and a landing page on traceability lot codes.

High temperatures throughout the summer and an early fall freeze threw off the season for South Texas produce growers who say they expect normal volumes by mid-December. The unseasonable weather affected a variety of crops including bell peppers, cabbage, green beans and onions.

Startup Tensorfield Agriculture has developed a machine called the Jetty that uses heated vegetable oil to kill weeds in a targeted way. The system uses computer vision to identify weeds in high-density row crops like spring mix and carrots.

Singapore-based startup Nutrition Technologies raised $20 million in a recent funding round it will use to expand production capacity for its process that grows black soldier fly larvae and turns them into fertilizer and feed for pets and livestock. The company, founded in 2015, is in growth mode in Asia and it's competing against other startups including Insect Feed Technologies and Entobel that have similar missions.

Kraft Heinz has partnered with Berry Global to produce a fully recyclable ketchup squeeze bottle cap that eliminates the need for a silicone valve. The new design could divert up to 300 million caps from landfills annually and is debuting in the UK with more markets to follow, according to a company statement.

Unilever's "From the Ground Up" campaign champions regenerative agriculture as a way to both preserve the environment and bolster food security. "In all honesty we can't wait for consumer demand before we start to scale regenerative agriculture," said Robbert de Vreede, chief marketing and business development officer of nutrition at Unilever. "The majority of consumers today are not aware of what regenerative agriculture is and why it matters."

The Food and Agriculture Organization has scheduled a technical meeting from Dec. 12 to 14 to better understand the impact of dietary chemicals on the gut microbiome and human health for possible consideration in chemical risk assessment. Food safety risk assessors and microbiome specialists are expected to consider whether microbiome data is capable of use in food safety risk assessment.

Every SQF food safety practitioner needs to stay up to speed with allergen management. Allergens are the leading cause of FDA and USDA recalls. See the new Allergen Management Course in the Risk Collection. Learn more.

SQF Fundamentals Global Markets Certification for Primary Production, Food and Packaging and Storage and Distribution operations. Choose from Basic GMP-based or HACCP-based Intermediate level. SQF Fundamentals Global Markets Certification gets you on your way to grow your business and prepare for GFSI benchmarked SQF Food Safety Code Certification in the future!