Between January 2023 and January 2025, a total of 509 illnesses were caused by the consumption of alfalfa sprouts across ten countries in Europe. The outbreak encompasses eight Salmonella serotypes, and the sprouts were traced back to seeds grown in a single geographical region in Italy.
A joint report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) shows that resistance to key antibiotics among important foodborne pathogens is persistently high in both humans and animals.
Only 0.11 percent of food-producing animals and animal-derived foods sampled in 2023 were non-compliant with EU veterinary drug residue limits, according to the latest data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The European Commission has published its new Vision for Agriculture and Food. Among other objectives, the Vision communicates the Commission’s goal of more strictly enforcing EU production standards for imported agri-food products, especially related to pesticide use and animal welfare.
This episode of Food Safety Five covers a new EU regulation that limits PFAS in food packaging and bans single-use plastics for fruit and vegetables under a certain weight, among other changes. Also discussed is a bill introduced to the New York State legislature to ban certain food additives and tighten requirements for GRAS ingredients.
An analysis conducted by German consumer protection group ÖKO TEST demonstrated that bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) are often found in pizza takeout boxes and can migrate into pizzas.
The EU has adopted a new regulation requiring Member States to conduct whole genome sequencing (WGS) on the isolates of five important pathogens during the investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks, and sets data-sharing parameters.
EU agencies are recommending actions the agriculture sector should take toward the more responsible use of azole-based fungicides, due to the risk of Aspergillus becoming azole-resistant, making treatment for human infections less effective.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, also known as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, limits per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging, bans single-use plastics for most produce, sets requirements for single-use containers in foodservice, and makes other changes to EU plastic food packaging rules.
An analysis conducted by Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) raises concerns about trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), in European mineral waters, which are sourced from deep underground and are typically believed to be more protected from pollutants than other waters.
