Potential uses include pathogen and chemical hazard detection, food fraud identification, outbreak surveillance, risk forecasting, and regulatory decision-making. Barriers to wider adoption remain, such as data quantity, quality, and accessibility; confidentiality; and transparency.
The researchers determined that probabilistic modeling could help food businesses capitalize on existing scientific data to map processing and formulation conditions for controlling non-proteolytic C. botulinum in refrigerated, processed foods of extended durability.
Oxford University researchers found that the expansion of dense, industrial chicken farming created conditions that enabled Campylobacter strains to spread, mix, and acquire traits that could improve their survival in poultry production environments.
A new study found high levels of multidrug resistance and biofilm formation among Enterococcus spp. isolated from retail meat, market workers, and consumers. Genetic similarities among E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates from different sources suggested potential cross-transmission at the food–human
interface, although the researchers emphasized that direct transmission was not established.
Hydrogen peroxide treatment, followed by catalase enzyme application to remove residual peroxide, significantly reduced Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes on raw chicken wings while preserving the meat's overall color quality, although more research is needed on the effect on other organoleptic properties.
A new scientific review examines blue light-mediated photosensitization for antimicrobial intervention across various food sectors. The review notes the technology's promise as a nonthermal antimicrobial intervention for food safety and emphasizes the need for further studies to support scale-up across industry.
Transport cages are recognized as a potential source of cross-contamination in poultry slaughterhouses. The optimal washing water temperature and detergent concentration completely eliminated detectable Salmonella while greatly reducing indicator organisms. The identified parameters may improve food safety and operational efficiency.
A new hypothesis suggests Listeria monocytogenes persists by colonizing nutrient-rich voids left behind when Gram-negative bacterial biofilms disperse. If the theory is validated, the authors suggest shifting food safety strategies toward managing biofilm ecology and ecological succession, rather than focusing solely on pathogen detection.
Adding to a growing body of evidence that micro- and nanoplastics may enhance the virulence and persistence of pathogens in food and the environment, a new study found that nanoplastics may strengthen E. coli biofilms in drinking water systems and increase resistance to chlorine treatment.
Of the products (including chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings) labeled to contain avocado oil as the sole declared edible oil, 89 percent contained fatty acid and sterol profiles indicating the presence of other oils.
