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Category: October 2022

Food Safety for Food Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

NCFSENA three-part series of webinars will take place in October and November for entrepreneurs who want to start a food business. These webinars are hosted by the North Central Food Safety Extension Network.

This webinar series will focus on the best practices related to food safety, food labeling, cleaning and sanitation of food contact surfaces.

  • Food Safety Basics—Planning for food safety helps to ensure the safety of your food products and protects both your consumers and your business.
  • Food Labeling Basics—Learn about labeling your food products, FDA’s food package labeling requirements, including nutrition, ingredients, allergens and more.
  • Cleaning and Sanitation Basics—Learn about the definition of cleaning and sanitization, and methods to clean and sanitize food contact surfaces.

Event details:

October 12, 26 and November 9, 2022

Noon CST/1:00 EST

Registration required at https://go.iastate.edu/SZAPVM

 

High Antioxidant Purple Tomatoes

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Tomatoes with purple skins have been available for a while. Now there is a new purple tomato with purple flesh and high in anthocyanins.

Dark blue or purple foods such as blueberries are considered superfoods. These new purple tomatoes can add another option plus add color to many meals.

This tomato was developed by Norfolk Plant Sciences. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service states it can be safely grown and used in the United States.

Learn more at the Big Purple Tomato website.

 

Preserving Unripe Tomatoes

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
tomatoes
Source: https://preservingfoodathome.com/2019/10/
Photo: USDA Flickr

As fall approaches, those end of season unripe tomatoes are still usable. Be sure to pick them before a frost or freeze if canning them.

Unripe, or green, tomatoes can be preserved just like ripe tomatoes. So when canning them they still require acidification. Here are some ideas to can green tomatoes.

Don’t want to can them, or it is after a frost or freeze? Then freeze them for later use.

 

All About Apples!

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Apples
Photo: USDA/ARS

Apples are in season and there are many ways to use or preserve them. Besides being an crunchy snack, they can be used in many recipes from breakfast to dinner.

Apple pie is a favorite dessert. So have you tried canning your own apple pie filling? One specific ingredient is a thickener called Clear Jel®. Be sure to buy the cook-type, not the instant thickener. Clear Jel® makes gel clear as opposed to using traditional corn starch which gets cloudy and separates. Clear Jel® holds up to the heating during the canning process and doesn’t break down. See instructions in Preserve it Fresh, Preserve it Safe: Apples.

Apples can be canned in many ways from plain apples to chutney and more. They can be dehydrated and frozen also. Find more ideas at  www.rrc.k-state.edu/preservation/recipes.html.

 

 

 

Preserving Overripe Tomatoes

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

It is always best to preserve any food at its peak ripeness and freshness. Tomatoes that are overripe can be a problem if canned.

The acidity level in tomatoes varies during the growing season. If overripe, they are less acidic than when at the peak of ripeness.

Do not use damaged tomatoes or any that have mold growth. These may contain harmful pathogens that may not be destroyed during the canning process.

The best preservation method for these tomatoes is to freeze them.

Source: https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/canning-tomato-products-safety-guidelines

Treat all varieties and colors of tomatoes the same. They all require added acid for safely canned tomatoes. Learn more at www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF1185.PDF.

 

More on Tomatoes…

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Canned tomatoes
Canned tomatoes, University of Georgia

The safety of canning tomatoes primarily rests on the pH, or acidity, of the tomatoes themselves. Some myths state that older tomato varieties, or heirloom varieties, are more acidic than todays modern tomatoes. But research has shown that this is not true.

Research conducted at three universities, North Dakota State University, University of Illinois, and Utah State University, show that many varieties of heirloom tomatoes are actually less acidic than todays tomatoes. To be considered a high acid food, the pH needs to be below 4.6. Many are above that pH level and into the 5.0 or above pH range.

This is why, no matter what variety of tomato you preserve, it is important to add acid in the form of citric acid, bottled lemon juice or vinegar to can them safely. See instructions at www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF1185.PDF.

Sources: North Dakota State University Extension; Utah State University; and University of Illinois

 

Food Preservation Webinar

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Are you looking for a way to keep fruits and vegetables fresh for longer? Do you want to extend the shelf life of summer and fall foods from your garden? Join USDA’s National Agricultural Library and the University of Minnesota Libraries Doris Kirschner Cookbook Collection for a free webinar and cooking demo at 12 pm ET on Thursday, September 29th: “Keep Your Food Safe & Fresh: Simple Canning & Preservation Tips.”

This event will be live-streamed and captioned. Registration required. A recording will be available at a later date.

Speakers will be:

Dr. Carla Schwan, University of Georgia

Kate McCarty, University of Maine

 

2023 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Rinsing Peppers
Photo: USDA FSIS

Every two years, the Partnership for Food Safety Education hosts the Consumer Food Safety Education Conference. The next event will be March 1-3, 2023 in Arlington, VA. The theme is The Future of Food Safety: Everyone Has a Seat at the Table.

This event is for food safety educators and communicators; public health professionals; Cooperative Extension educators; food and beverage industry professionals; K-12 educators; and many others. The goal is to help prepare for national goals such as HealthyPeople 2030 and New Era of Smarter Food Safety.

Registration is now open!

 

Solving Bagged Salad Food Safety Problems

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Lettuce
Fresh greens
Photo: USDA Flickr

Packaged salad greens are an easy way to include nutritious greens into many meals. But the biggest challenge is food safety has many foodborne illness outbreaks have occurred over the years. Between 1998 and 2019, 36 outbreaks have occurred linked to mostly romaine lettuce.

Researchers are working to unravel the causes of these outbreaks. A recent study conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service has found that E. coli survived in lettuce harvested in the fall 5.6 times more than the same varieties in late spring.

General bacterial population also varied by season, lettuce deterioration rate factors, and the survival of E. coli affect safety. Lettuce harvested in the fall had a greater rate of deterioration which can lead to better pathogen survival. There is a potential to use the microbiome on lettuce as a food safety indicator of microbial quality in bagged lettuce.

Research continues on this challenging fresh product. Consumer demands of easy to prepare foods continues. But this finding gives paths of research to learn more about intrinsic characteristics for pathogen survival.

Read more at www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2022/fall-seasonal-effects-connected-to-e-coli-outbreaks-in-bagged-romaine/

 

Food Safety Mythbusters

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

MythbustersThe Partnership for Food Safety Education has several social media graphics ready to use to help bust some myths about food safety practices.

These graphics are in English and Spanish. There are seven categories of food safety topics. They include:

  • Clean & Sanitize
  • Babies & Toddlers
  • Fridge & Freezer
  • Microwave
  • Fruits & Veggies
  • Meat & Poultry
  • Food Delivery

Simply select the link to download the graphic, save to your device and share!

 

Reference to any specific commercial products, process, service, manufacturer, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation. Paid for by Kansas State University