The number of reported illnesses has risen to 55 in an outbreak of salmonellosis linked to chia seed-based products in both the U.S. and Canada, and several product recalls have been announced and extended. The outbreak has been reported in 12 states and four Canadian provinces, and infected persons have been found to have one of three distinct Salmonella strains: Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Hartford, or Salmonella Oranienburg.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced a final rule setting standards for manufacturers of infant formula to help ensure that the formulas made for the U.S. market continue to be safe and support healthy growth for infants who consume formula.
Food Safety Magazine has chosen Ann Marie McNamara, vice president of food safety and regulatory compliance for Jack in the Box, to receive the magazine's Distinguished Service Award at the 2014 annual meeting of the International Association for Food Protection.
"Mad cow" disease has caused a fourth death in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lab tests confirmed that a patient in Texas who recently died had Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a fatal brain disorder linked to eating beef from cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
The United Fresh Produce Association (United Fresh) yesterday announced that it has collaborated with international standards body IFS to offer fruit and vegetable producers and packers a streamlined solution to achieve GFSI-benchmarked certification with IFS Food and the United Fresh Harmonized Standard, as well as a one-stop approach using GLOBALG.A.P. for primary production.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have developed a Web resource about the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC). The site highlights the collaboration's work and creates a vehicle for sharing information with the public.
U.S. and Canadian health agencies continue to report increases in the number of cases of salmonellosis linked to sprouted chia seed products, with current totals at 27 in Canada and 17 in the U.S. Two strains of Salmonella — Salmonella Newport and Salmonella Hartford — have been associated with the outbreaks in both countries.
Michigan State University Extension scientists on May 31 published an article urging consumers and foodservice employees to "open your vacuum packed fish before thawing." The reason? Both Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes can survive in reduced oxygen packaging at refrigerator temperatures, and thawing the fish before opening the package may promote the growth of those pathogens.
The FDA on June 2 published the final version of “Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 100.250 Food Facility Registration – Human and Animal Food,” which provides guidance for FDA staff on enforcing the food facility registration provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. They include the requirement that certain food facilities register with FDA, the requirement that registered facilities biennially renew their registrations with FDA, and FDA’s authority to suspend a food facility’s registration.
Iowa-based Quality Egg has agreed to pay $6.8 million in fines for crimes that include selling the tainted eggs that caused a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2010.
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