The California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) announces that it is awarding $8.49 million in grants to 60 farm to school projects throughout the state via the 2021 California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program.
“We’re happy to report that so many projects are being funded in our inaugural year of the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “The excitement to participate demonstrates how much the program goals resonate with school meal providers, educators and regional food system partners.”
Did you know the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Commercial Feed Regulatory Program (CFRP) recently changed tonnage tax reporting in the California feed industry to highlight the vital role of the diversion of human food by-products to animal food?
These changes will include expanded and specific reporting such as overall feed categories, specific feed or ingredient, and intended species. Human food by-product definitions for the California feed industry can be found on the CFRP website, and are categorized as: wet food processing waste; recovered retail food; restaurant food waste; and cull fruits and vegetables.
CFRP also is working diligently to publish regulations pertaining to the incentivization of licensing and tonnage tax reporting of by-products, including assessing licensees at a lower tonnage tax and license rate. Notification will be provided to the industry when the regulations are published.
Visit CDFA’s Safe Animal Feed Education Program Human Food Waste (By-product) Diversion webpage for more information about how more than 12.5 million tons of by-product are currently being diverted to animal feed within California’s livestock industry. The diversion of this tonnage that would otherwise be going to landfills demonstrates the feed industry’s innovative recycling nature!
Register now for two tracks in the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology California Farm Food Safety E-Learning Series funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture Produce Safety Program.
Several speakers will provide short presentations during the two-hour sessions and time will be dedicated to answering questions from participants. Pre-registration is required for the free sessions that will be held online via Zoom.
The Biological Soil Amendments of Animal Origin (BSAAO) series will provide information about the benefits and risks of BSAAO during production. This series is tailored to Californians, with specific BSAAO regulatory and enforcement information relevant to California growers.
Session 1: 1-3 p.m. April 7 – Overview of BSAAO and the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule
Session 2: 1-3 p.m. April 14 – Compost
Session 3: 1-3 p.m. April 21 – Soil amendments containing ingredients of animal origin
The Production Agricultural Water series will provide information on risks associated with production agricultural water, current best practices for agricultural water management, treatment options for agricultural water and updates on the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule agricultural water testing requirements. This series is tailored to Californians, with specific agricultural water regulatory and enforcement information relevant to California growers.
Session 1: 1-3 p.m. May 6 – Update on agricultural water and the Produce Safety Rule
Session 2: 1-3 p.m. May 13 – Assessing on-farm risks associated with agricultural water systems
Session 3: 1-3 p.m. May 20 – Introduction to options for treating agricultural water
Did you know that “food recovery” means preventing waste by recovering as much wholesome food as possible for people in need?
Did you know that “food upcycling” is the re-use of food or food byproducts to create new ways of feeding people and animals while minimizing food waste?
Both of these concepts are presented in this video on the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Food Recovery website.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) California Farm to School Network just released its monthly newsletter.
Highlights include:
Update on CA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program
Review of March 10-12 CA Farm to School Virtual Conference
Upcoming workshop: designing a more inclusive school meals program
USDA update: children will continue to receive free meals through summer 2021 due to pandemic
Farm to school success story: Orcutt Union School District develops culinary arts program
USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program success story: CA produce company partners with food banks
National Farm to School Network resources, including grants & funding, webinars & events, and research & resources
The California Farm to School Network is composed of farm to school practitioners and enthusiasts statewide. Click on the newsletter subscribe button to also receive these monthly updates that include information about grants, resources, research, webinars, events and news from the National Farm to School Network. The California Farm to School Program is part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) in the Division of Inspection Services.
Today’s California Agriculture Day theme of “Celebrating Resilience” recognizes the agricultural industry’s ability to adapt to change, especially considering the events of last year.
Many examples of this, and how California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Inspection Services Division staff continued to provide services to our resilient California Ag, can be found in the Inspection Services Annual Report 2020 (FY2019-2020).
Examples include:
Shipping Point Inspection inspected 114,280 lots / 2.55 billion pounds of almonds (setting a new seasonal record for CA almond production)
Center for Analytical Chemistry developed 20 new scientific methods while satisfying the regulatory and monitoring needs of 33 public agencies
Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program reviewed and registered 3,032 organic input and 9,658 conventional fertilizer labels
California Nutrition Incentive Program distributed $2.85 million in incentives to low-income shoppers by providing a dollar-for-dollar match of nutrition benefits spent on California-grown fruits and vegetables at participating Certified Farmers’ Markets and small retail stores
Critical food safety inspections continued for both produce safety and animal feed
We invite you to further inspect our Annual Report 2020 to learn how Inspection Services fulfills our mission of providing professional services that support and contribute to a safe, abundant, quality food supply; environmentally sound agricultural practices; and an equitable marketplace for California agriculture.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announces its Center for Analytical Chemistry (CAC) Anaheim Food Safety Laboratory remodeling project is complete.
The remodeling included complete reconfiguration, updating infrastructure and adding electrical power to the CAC laboratory at the site in Anaheim, California. The work was completed in stages to allow operations to continue at a reduced capacity during construction. The new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and advanced lab equipment are essential for the optimal operation of sensitive instruments and allow for flexible work configurations.
CAC is a branch of CDFA’s Division of Inspection Services. CAC scientists utilize state-of-the-art equipment and processes to conduct agrochemical analyses to ensure a safe, abundant and quality supply of food and fiber in California.
Featured conference speakers include California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, co-chairs of the newly formed California Farm to School Working Group, a committee of experts focused on expanding farm to school programming in California.
Click here to read a CDFA press release that includes details of the conference and the California Farm to School Working Group.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program Manager Shelley Phillips is published in the March 2021 issue of Food Control as a co-author of “Survival of common foodborne pathogens on dried apricots made with and without sulfur dioxide treatment.”
Abstract
To fill the current knowledge gap in the survival of foodborne pathogens on dried fruits, this study monitored the survival of three common pathogens on dried apricots. Sun-dried apricots made with (DAS) and without sulfur dioxide (DANS) treatments were used and were inoculated using a dry (sand) or a wet (phosphate-buffered saline, PBS) carrier. The survival of Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes (LM) on inoculated dried apricots was monitored for three months during ambient temperature storage. When dried apricots were inoculated with the wet carrier, all three pathogens survived the 48- hour drying period. After drying and during ambient temperature storage, the number of culturable pathogen cells decreased as the storage time increased. Among all three pathogens, STEC survived with higher culturable numbers for a longer period of time than the other two pathogens on DANS over the 90-day storage period. When pathogens were inoculated via the dry carrier, Salmonella survived with higher culturable numbers among three pathogens on DANS, indicating its enhanced survivability after being dried on sand and exposed to stress conditions before inoculation. In addition, regardless of the inoculation carriers, pathogens survived for longer periods of time or with higher levels on DANS, indicating the antimicrobial properties of free SO2 contained in DAS. In summary, based on the results of this study, pathogens can survive on dried fruits; factors affecting pathogen survival include the types of test pathogens, inoculation methods, and the use of sulfur dioxide.
Citation
Zhuosheng Liu, Chao Liao, Kayla Golson, Shelley Phillips, Luxin Wang. “Survival of common foodborne pathogens on dried apricots made with and without sulfur dioxide treatment,” Food Control, Volume 121, March 2021, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713520304850.
California State Organic Program Special Investigator Leslie Fernandez collaborates with CDFA Needles Border Station staff to inspect organic blueberries and organic seeds entering California.
Did you know the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) State Organic Program (SOP) collaborates with CDFA’s Border Protection Stations to inspect organic products coming into California?
SOP and border station staff recently inspected organic blueberries and organic seeds entering California at the Needle Border Inspection Station. The organic inspection included verifying proper paperwork and checking that packages follow labeling requirements.
This is part of SOP’s increased efforts to conduct inspections through different stages of the food chain to ensure the integrity of organic products being grown and sold in California.
This is a blog for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Inspection Services Division (ISD). Read here for the latest news about how ISD is providing Californians professional services that support and contribute to a safe, abundant and quality food supply; environmentally sound agricultural practices; and an equitable marketplace for California agriculture.
