The categories of food for which food safety concerns are examined include beverages; dairy and eggs; ingredients; meat and poultry; natural and organic; fresh produce; ready-to-eat (RTE); refrigerated and frozen; seafood and shellfish; plant-based; and alternative proteins.
Alternative proteins encompass lab-cultivated, cell-based meat, dairy, and seafood, as well as novel methods of producing proteins (e.g., upcycling carbon dioxide).
Meat and poultry safety focuses on the slaughter and processing hygiene of cattle, pork, ruminants, and other mammals used as food, as well as chicken, turkey, duck, and other avian species.
Natural and organic products contain no artificial ingredients or added colors, and are minimally processed or processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product.
The ready-to-eat (RTE) category includes foods that are assembled from ingredients into fully prepared meals that do not require cooking, chilling, or other preparation prior to consumption.
Refrigerated foods are temperature control dependent and remain fresh between 35 °F and 38°F (1.7 °C and 3.3 °C) for a specified length of time. Frozen foods are prepared or processed fresh and then frozen for future consumption.
Seafood includes all commercially captured or farmed freshwater and saltwater fish, molluscan shellfish, and crustaceans. Seafood and shellfish food safety is characterized by a special set of HACCP rules.
While stressing that the U.S. meat supply is safe, USDA has revealed that it is testing ground beef at retail for the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1—also known as the “bird flu”—in light of the ongoing outbreak among cattle.
The Alabama House of Representatives recently passed Senate Bill 23 banning the production or sale of cell-based meat products in the state. The bill has been returned to the Senate for concurrence.
In this bonus episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Alissa Welsher, Associate Senior Consultant at Elanco Poultry Food Safety, about the importance of pest management to poultry safety; specifically, for the control of darkling beetles, which can be an important source of Salmonella in poultry production operations.
To help predict and mitigate the presence of Escherichia coli and other foodborne pathogens on lettuce, a new weather-based model has been developed by USDA-ARS researchers and collaborators.
FDA recently revealed results of a survey that found HPAI H5N1 genetic material in one in five retail milk samples; additional testing is required to understand the possible
presence and risk of intact, infectious virus. Supported by other studies showing the efficacy of pasteurization against HPAI, FDA maintains its position that the U.S. milk supply is safe.
USDA-FSIS has finalized its determination to declare Salmonella an adulterant in raw, breaded and stuffed chicken products at levels exceeding 1 colony forming unit per gram (CFU/g).
To address the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a federal order that requires testing of dairy cows for the virus, as well as mandatory reporting.
Trace Register and ReposiTrak have announced a partnership to enable fast, simple compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Food Safety Modernization Act, Section 204 (FSMA 204), also known as the Food Traceability Final Rule, through data interoperability.
Following a 2022–2023 hepatitis A outbreak linked to contaminated frozen berries, New Zealand has issued new import rules for frozen berries to better ensure food safety.