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President's Message
By Merle Jacobs Recently I was watching TV when a commercial came on; a space shuttle was orbiting in space, when the astronauts noticed they were quickly running out of power. In the nick of time, the Energizer Bunny appeared and re-powered the shuttle, saving everyone from a possible disaster. As I was thinking about this, it hit me! The Energizer brand and its bunny are much like the American Council for Food Safety and Quality (ACFSQ also known as DFA). The Association has been serving the dried fruit and nut industry since 1908, and is as strong as ever. As you will learn from our new E-Newsletters, our staff and services are here to serve you. This past February ACFSQ held its 101st annual meeting and conference in Monterey, California. The meeting was held in conjunction with its sister organization, the Specialty Crop Trade Council (SCTC), formerly known as the California Dried Fruit Export Association. To learn more about the various workshops and keynote speakers, check out the story “101st Annual Meeting and Conference.” For many years industry members and customers worldwide have known us as the Dried Fruit Association, or DFA. In 2001 we changed our name to the American Council for Food Safety and Quality (ACFSQ) to better represent the broad services we offer our members and their industries. Although our name has changed, our commitment to you has not. ACFSQ is uniquely positioned to assist you in all of your food safety needs. Our staff of highly qualified professionals have years of experience working directly in your industry. We have a staff of qualified sanitarians that can assist you with your GMP and HACCP needs. Our laboratories utilize HPLC, and other state-of-the- art equipment to ensure the most accurate and reliable analyses. We have expanded our aflatoxin testing capacity and offer quick turnaround at no additional cost to ensure that we can meet your analytical needs. Our lab is also ISO certified. We have a state of the art microbiology and chemistry laboratories to analyze Salmonella, E. coli, pesticide residue, free fatty acids and other testing you may require. This makes us a true one-stop-shop for your food safety and analytical needs. In order to better serve you, it’s important we update you on the various events occurring in the dried fruit, tree nut, and related industries. Our new, quarterly E- Newsletter will do just that. Our goal is to provide you with timely, relevant information regarding food safety and quality issues. The newsletter will include a President’s Message, updates in our services, recaps of annual meetings, as well as other information to help you do your job better. Recent food safety outbreaks in the nut industry have stirred up the food safety and quality image for the public and your customers. Now is not the time to be an ostrich! Food safety is a real thing and we are here to help you. I encourage you to contact ACFSQ with any questions you have, and to visit our website at www.agfoodsafety.org. With your help, we too will be like the Energizer Bunny and Keep Going, and Going and Going. Kind Regards, Merle Jacobs President/CEO |
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Comments, questions or story ideas? Please contact newsletter editor Richard Cherrix at 916.561.5900 ext. 107 or richc@agfoodsafety.org IN THIS ISSUE Speciality Crop Trade Council Annual Meeting 2009 Safe and Efficient Inspection Guidelines Time to Reevaluate Food Safety Programs The Dried Fruit Moisture Tester New Allergy Webinar to Assist with Food Safety Issues Member Spotlight: Riverwest Processing, Inc. Nestled between the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast Ranges in California's fertile Sacramento River Valley, lies more than a half-million acres of the world's finest, and most productive almond orchards. Riverwest Processing, Inc., located in Glenn, California, was founded in 2004 by the Koehnen and Paiva families. Their mission was simple: to provide a first-class processing destination for their growers, and a complete supply solution for customers seeking high-quality, natural California-grown almonds. read more Carrier of the Year Award The Specialty Crop Trade Council would like to announce that APL has been awarded the “Carrier of the Year” award for 2008. The “Carrier of the Year” award is based on the total number of containers shipped by the carrier in the calendar year. AgTC: “Clean Truck” Program The Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) recently wrote to the Port of Seattle Commission summarizing its support for the Port’s approach to effort to reduce emissions and improve air quality. A full copy of AgTC’s comments can be read by clicking here. DFA Terms and Conditions Clarification In mid February, members received a letter regarding the misuse of the phrase “DFA Terms and Conditions.” We would like to remind you that in actuality, the terms and conditions referenced are actually a contract developed by the California Dried Fruit Export Association (CDFEA), which is now referred to as the Specialty Crop Trade Council (SCTC.) For more information regarding these terms and conditions, and the changes in some of the trade and contract requirements in particular industry segments, please read the full letter to our industry members, and the Export Contract Terms & Conditions at http://www.agfoodsafety.org/news-events-links.php |
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