A new report on preliminary 2022 data from the U.S. Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) finds that enteric infections in the U.S. caused by eight major foodborne pathogens have generally returned to or exceeded levels observed in 2016–2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a report on the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors in fast food and full-service restaurants from 2017–2018. The study found FSMS to be the strongest predictor of compliance, with well-developed FSMSs associated with fewer out-of-compliance food safety behaviors/practice than those underdeveloped or non-existent FSMS.
Approximately 40 percent of foodborne illness outbreaks associated with retail food establishments during 2017–2019 were caused by an infectious employee, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Additional control measures for Salmonella contamination by manufacturers of Not ready-to-eat (NRTE) breaded, stuffed chicken products—such as those proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture—could reduce salmonellosis cases associated with such products, according to a recent study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A recent study aiming to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cases of foodborne enteric diseases in Canada found a considerable reduction in cases in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
A study conducted by researchers from the UK Food Standards Agency suggests that international comparisons of foodborne illness rates are “problematic” due to differences in methodologies used.
A recent study, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA’s NIFA), has estimated the economic burden of foodborne illnesses linked to flour and flour-based food products in the U.S. from 2001–2021 to be as high as $258 million. Salmonella and Escherichia coli were implicated pathogens.
In June, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CTSE) will vote to decide if it will officially recommend adding Cronobacter sakazakii to the list of nationally notifiable diseases to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently published a report that explores the contribution of foods sourced from terrestrial animals on human health, including relevant food safety aspects.
