Fermentation Basics: How Microbes Make Food Safe and Delicious Here’s something remarkable: some of the safest foods in human history are made by deliberately growing bacteria in them. Yogurt, cheese, salami, sauerkraut, kimchi, sourdough, miso, soy sauce — all fermented. All teeming with live microbes. All safe. It seems paradoxical until you understand the principle: […]

E Numbers Explained: Food Additives Without the Fear-Mongering Let’s be honest: the phrase “E numbers” triggers anxiety in a lot of people. Social media is full of posts warning about “chemicals” with E-prefixes, implying that anything with an E number is dangerous and “natural” alternatives are automatically safe. Here’s what a food scientist will tell […]

Food Preservation Methods: From Ancient to Modern (Complete Guide) Humans have been preserving food for at least 12,000 years. Drying, salting, fermenting, smoking — these weren’t invented by food scientists. They were survival strategies, refined over millennia by people who understood, intuitively, what kept food safe. Modern food preservation uses the same principles, just with […]

Pasteurization vs Sterilization: HTST, UHT, and Retort Explained Here’s a question that trips up even experienced food professionals: what’s the actual difference between pasteurization and sterilization? Most people know pasteurization is “milder” — but how much milder, and why does it matter? The answer comes down to log reductions and target organisms. Pasteurization kills vegetative […]

The Big 9 Food Allergens: Labeling, Control, and What Auditors Check Undeclared allergens are the number one cause of food recalls in the US and among the top causes worldwide. Not pathogens. Not foreign material. Allergens. And the frustrating part? Almost every allergen recall is preventable. It’s not a science problem — it’s a systems […]

ISO 22000 vs HACCP: What’s the Difference and Which Do You Need? This is one of the most common questions we hear from food business owners: “Do I need HACCP or ISO 22000?” The confusion is understandable — they’re related, they overlap, and people use the terms almost interchangeably. But they’re not the same thing, […]

pH and Water Activity: The Two Numbers That Control Food Safety If you had to pick two measurements that determine whether food is safe, it would be these: pH and water activity. Between them, they control whether pathogens can grow, whether C. botulinum can produce toxin, whether your product needs refrigeration, and whether your process […]

Salmonella Jalapeño Outbreak: 345 Cases in 27 States 1. Executive Summary CDC, FDA, and state and local public-health authorities are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Javiana infections associated with jalapeño peppers. As of August 4, 2026, CDC reported 345 illnesses across 27 states, including 36 hospitalizations and no deaths. Reported illness onset dates range […]