A recent study conducted in Portugal found staphylococcus aureus was present on 11% of swab samples from the hands of food service employees, and more than 44% of those samples were resistant to antibiotics. These results illustrate the need for proper hygiene to prevent the spread of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.

Sixth Wave Innovations has expanded the capabilities of its Accelerated Molecularly Imprinted Polymer technology to include the ability to detect salmonella, listeria monocytgenes and sarcina. The technology, which can also detect E. coli, provides food producers a fast testing solution that can reduce downtime, prevent waste and allow for more frequent testing.

Unifiller and Hobart provide retail customers detailed insights into how to clean equipment, and the companies have also introduced equipment innovations that were designed with easy sanitation in mind. "With consumers placing more focus and importance on cleanliness, it's imperative that retail grocers meet those expectations by being able to easily clean and sanitize their food equipment," said Grace Strotman, marketing specialist with Hobart.

Automation is driving change in farming around the world and could be the key to increasing food production and raising the fortunes of small farmers in developing parts of the world, according to a new report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. "Automation allows agriculture to be more productive, efficient, resilient, and sustainable and can improve working conditions," said Maximo Torero, the FAO's chief economist.

Indoor growing facilities including greenhouses and hydroponic farms could be the key to increasing Canada's year-round supply of fresh produce, both for domestic consumption and export. "If we do this right, from a food autonomy perspective, I could certainly see Canada being a huge supplier of produce to Americans in maybe a decade or two," said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.

Lactase from lactic acid bacterium can be used to create sweet yogurt without added sugars, according to research from the Technical University of Denmark. Bacteria-based lactase can be grown directly in the milk and breaks down lactose without needing an additional costly catalyst.

Nestle is reducing its reliance on plastic with packaging redesigns that use paper-based and other recyclable materials and by scaling refillable packaging systems, said Jodie Roussell, public affairs lead, packaging and sustainability. The company is also supporting container deposit programs, extended producer responsibility legislation and other efforts to reduce plastic waste via an improved recycling infrastructure, added Roussell.

Discount grocer Lidl will expand its use of packaging made from Prevented Ocean Plastic to the meat department, a move the retailer says will keep 1.7 million plastic bottles out of the ocean. Lidl has also joined UK grocers ALDI, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer in replacing green caps on milk bottles with clear plastic ones that are easier to recycle.

Have questions that need answers? The newly launched SQF Help Center is here to assist. Containing information on topics like SQF training, getting started with SQF and many more, the help center has you covered! Check it out here.

Our guidance page has been updated to include new macro-enabled checklists -- an easily printable, customizable tool offered by SQFI for your internal audits and annual SQF audit. Interested? You can download a free sample macro-enabled checklist to test its functionality.