RKE Technical Bulletin – February 2023
Environmental Monitoring Every year there are hundreds of food recalls in the United States. While many are made in an abundance of caution, even more are initiated through confirmed lapses in food safety or due to biological contamination from pathogens. The pathogens of concern are Salmonella, Listeria Monocytogenes, and E. Coli. To reduce the risk […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – January 2023
Introduction to Pheromones The insect world is very diverse with around 900,000 different kinds of living insects. This representation approximates 80 percent of the world’s species. While humans can communicate by talking, insects need to communicate through the use of pheromones. Pheromones are chemicals used by insects and other animals to communicate between each other. […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – December 2022
Introduction to National Organic Program Compliant Pesticides The National Organic Program (NOP) is a USDA program. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role is to assist USDA by assuring that USDA’s policies are implemented with regard to organic claims made by registered pesticide products. Pesticides are regulated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – November 2022
Introduction to Defect Action Levels Like many things, food is not perfect. There are a certain number of defects allowable in food, this allowable quantity is known as a defect action level. Defect action level means a level of a non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defect at which FDA may regard a food product adulterated and […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – October 2022
Introduction to Insect Orders With more than 25 orders in the insect world, classifying one can be a daunting task, understanding how orders work can also be overwhelming. Order (Latin: ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy, the particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – September 2022
What are herbicides, and how do they work? Herbicides are chemicals used to manipulate or control undesirable vegetation. Also known as “weed killer,” herbicides are formulated in various chemical mixes to target different species of vegetation. The mode of action for the eradication of the weed can be different as well. Herbicides can act by […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – August 2022
Lettuce & Pathogens It seems the news is sharing stories of product recalls weekly. Not the “old school” recalls of ground beef for E. Coli, or raw chicken for Salmonella, lately it has been vegetables and the like. Currently a fast-food chain has suspended use of lettuce due to least 37 people who have gotten […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – July 2022
The FASTER Act This topic was previously discussed in the March 2021edition of the Technical Bulletin, this issue will cover the topic at a greater depth. The “FASTER Act” was passed by The U.S. House of Representatives on April 14, 2021. The act requires sesame be labeled as an allergen on packaged foods. This makes […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – June 2022
Sustainability Sustainability has become a mainstay in many vocabularies. It can be defined as “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance”, or “the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level”, both apply to the food manufacturing industry. Whether it is sustaining agricultural commodities for raw […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – May 2022
Introduction to Cronobacter Cronobacter is not one of the top concerns in the food industry, however, there have been recent recalls of infant formula due to this naturally occurring germ. Cronobacter sakazakii is a germ found naturally in the environment. These germs can live in dry foods, such as Powdered infant formula, Powdered milk, Herbal […]
