Consumer demand for more fresh, ready-to-eat products is driving development of new replenishment models based on smaller, more-frequent deliveries, versatile truck drivers and the latest temperature-controlled trailer technology.

The recall of a single spice can have huge ramifications for food safety.

Project Passport, launched by SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, is intended to provide companies in the food packaging supply chain with a suite of communication tools and educational resources to help convey relevant information about their products to ensure compliance and address the concerns of consumers and customers.

A coalition of grocers, seed growers and consumer and environmental advocates filed suit on Tuesday against the Department of Agriculture over a change it made to the process used to determine which substances may be used in organic farming.

The Reusable Packaging Association has issued comprehensive protocols to ensure the continued safe use of reusable plastic containers (RPCs) for fresh and perishable products in the supply chain. The guidelines encompass washing, handling, storing, packing, displaying and collecting RPCs. They also include rigorous and defined Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), and hourly, daily, monthly, and quarterly microbiological testing.

Throughout the logistics industry, food is one of the most demanding goods moved around the world. Statistics also show that it is also one of the most disposed products worldwide in relation to the produced quantity with 30 to 50 percent of food going to waste. The highest portion is on the consumers' side. But In the supply chain, a non-stop cold chain monitoring is the major instrument for food staying fresh and not rotting ahead of time. There are already several solutions in the field to collect data to monitor the cold chain. But most of these solutions are costly to install and to maintain and therefore only suitable for high-priced products such as pharmaceuticals. Wireless sensors that use the energy harvesting principle now overcome these challenges and open the door for a complete traceability of food at affordable costs.

And you thought Europeans had problems with their horse meat scandals. In China, consumers have to worry about getting served rat meat for dinner.