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Friday 15 January 2016

USDA Pesticide Safety Report - Monday, January 11, 2016

As with all reports, our reactions to the USDA pesticide report should be from an informed point of view. You may read a summary of the report.
The report concludes that "pesticide residues do not pose a safety concern for U.S. food". What is the basis for this conclusion? Here are some references to help you form your opinion. If there is one point that I would like to be more clearly stated, it is on how the pesticide tolerance levels are established. Although it is implicit in the pesticide registration process, the kinds of tests or safety evaluation that must be conducted before a tolerance level is established could be more clearly presented in the reference documents available to consumers. One is left to presume that the registration process forces applicants to submit convincing test results to support the safety claims about the pesticides at the established tolerance levels.
Pesticide Data Program: Annual Summary, Calendar Year 2014. You may Download Copy:
Additional References:

Monday 11 January 2016

Validation: An under-utilized and Misapplied Food Safety Assurance Concept

This blog post has been moved to the author's eBook.
Posted by Felix Amiri
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Felix Amiri is currently the chair of GCSE-Food & Health Protection

Monday 4 January 2016

SSQA Training Options Survey

Due to recent inquiries and expressed interest in SSQA training, the GCSE-Food & Health Protection is now considering three possible options. The Team had initially resolved to sponsor physical attendance training conferences through donations and charge no fees to conference delegates. With this resolve, training conferences will take place depending on sufficient donations received to cover the costs. With the recent inquiries and some potential candidates indicating strong interest in receiving the SSQA training, the GCSE-FHP Team is now considering two additional options.


Through this survey, the Team wants to know which option (1, 2, or 3) the majority of people wishing to take the training prefer:

1. Stay with the donations and no fees option.

2. Hold physical attendance conferences with the delegates paying only to cover the costs for site rental, etc. so that as more people register to attend, the attendance fee amount drops for each candidate.

3. Conduct on-line seminars or webinars with a set fee between $200 and $600 per candidate that does not change no matter if more or less people register to take the training.

If you are interested in taking the training, please state the option you prefer in the comments section below. If you wish to respond privately, you may send an email to the Team stating the option you prefer. Email: gcse@afisservices.com


If your organization or business wishes to sponsor a conference please let us know: gcse@afisservices.com

Saturday 2 January 2016

More Food Safety Reality Check Questions:

This blog post has been moved to the author's eBook.

Posted By Felix Amiri
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Felix Amiri is the current Food Sector Chair of GCSE-Food & Health Protection 

Join the Conversation and Action

Everyone is invited.
Food has long been recognized as a fundamental human right by many countries and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Food as a Fundamental Human Right. Food is our right in more ways than one – our food security, the safety of our food, our satisfaction and the state of health that we derive from the food we eat, and our deliberate action to ensure all of these rights - all constitute our fundamental right to food. 

You now have several opportunities and options for participating in the conversation and keeping up with what is happening in this coalition. Please visit the main web site often: http://www.afisservices.com/gcse-fhp/index.html
As part of the global coalition, GCSE-FPH is committed to facilitating helpful information exchange among members and the public. This means that every member may contribute information and every member may use information contributed. The open public forums that are currently in use are the existing social media as listed above:  


In addition to the open forums, members have the opportunity to request and receive assistance from the GCSE-Food & Health Protection Team: http://www.afisservices.com/gcse-fhp/gcseinquiry.html

Some assistance may also be requested from the GCSE-Food and Health Protection Panellists. These are highly knowledgeable and experienced individuals in matters pertaining to food and health protection, food and health product safety, quality management, auditing, training, regulatory requirements, consumer affairs and other areas of expertise. GCSE-Food & Health Protection has enlisted and continues to enlist members who serve as Panellists from around the world. Industry experts are encouraged to join the coalition as Panellists.

A member who wishes may request to be a Panellist if he or she qualifies. All requests from those who wish to serve as Panellists are reviewed and most are approved once the basic knowledge and experience requirements are met.

A member who needs assistance with any technical question or issue pertaining to food and health protection may submit a request to the GCSE-FHP Team. The Team contacts the Panellist members who are most suited to provide answers or guidance and the Team coordinates the information exchange.

For details about how this works, you may consult the Membership Guide that is available to registered members.