The top ten food safety research projects that excited Food Safety Magazine’s audience the most in 2025 covered Listeria monocytogenes (especially related to biofilms), microplastics, Escherichia coli, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), avian influenza in dairy, microbial threats in irrigation water, and food allergens.
In this year-end episode of Food Safety Matters, we round up the top stories of 2025, covering U.S. federal food safety policy changes under the Trump Administration, MAHA- and state-led moves against food additives of concern and ultra-processed foods, infant formula safety, science on Listeria and biofilms, ongoing monitoring of avian flu, and AI food safety applications.
In a retrospective analysis of two Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks linked to packaged salads, CDC epidemiologists underline key learnings and suggest proactive measures for industry.
According to the newly published European Union One Health 2024 Zoonoses Report, the number of foodborne illnesses and outbreaks reported in the EU are on an upward trend. Notably, listeriosis cases with severe outcomes have risen.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses a farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe, a study demonstrating the efficacy of antimicrobial peptides for reducing Salmonella in poultry, and the adoption of new international standards at the 48th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses research on Listeria biofilms, including sanitizer efficacy and evolutionary insights, and on a persisting Escherichia coli strain in leafy greens. It also covers regulatory developments in the UK, Canada, and the UAE, as well as a potential U.S. ultra-processed foods (UPFs) definition.
FDA recently released a warning letter dated September 5, 2025, issued to Fresh and Ready Foods LLC, a ready-to-eat (RTE) foods producer that was implicated in a multi-state, multi-year listeriosis outbreak.
Researchers have developed a new, farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model to evaluate the risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in fresh-cut cantaloupe.
Wageningen University researchers conducted an experimental evolutionary study to explore the genetic and phenotypic mechanisms that drive the enhanced biofilm formation ability of evolved L. monocytogenes strains, identifying the overexpression of a certain protein as a key contributor.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses hoses as reservoirs for biofilms in food processing facilities, the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter on retail beef and chicken, a new Salmonella serovar database, and microplastics release from food contact materials.
