A Center for Produce Safety-funded proof-of-concept study is exploring a novel, high-throughput capture and concentration method for hepatitis A virus in fruit wash water, which uses magnets and hydrogel nanoparticles. It could be added to existing FDA and ISO digital PCR assay workflows, potentially reducing false positives.
FDA is rumored to face significant budget cuts proposed by the White House that would shift 100 percent of the responsibility for routine food facility inspections to states. Additionally, due to layoffs, FDA has suspended its proficiency testing program for food testing laboratories and its efforts to bolster avian influenza testing in food products.
With a primary focus on food safety, a foresight exercise conducted by FAO identified both opportunities and challenges related to innovations in the New Food Sources and Production Systems space.
According to internal FDA and CDC reports uncovered by NBC News and attorney Bill Marler, in November 2024, a multistate Escherichia coli outbreak linked to lettuce sickened 89 people, resulting in 36 hospitalizations and one death. Mention of the outbreak was not made public until the investigation was closed, nor were any details shared openly.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a paper describing research and innovation needs to support regulatory science and advance risk assessment, including understanding the gut microbiome, improving aggregate chemical exposure science, ensuring allergenicity assessments for novel proteins are fit-for-purpose, and other areas.
FDA carried out a sampling and testing assignment of bottled waters for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in 2023–2024. Although PFAS were detected in ten samples, no bottled waters were found to have levels of “forever chemicals” exceeding EPA maximum limits for PFAS in drinking water.
Using a specially designed framework, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign analyzed and characterized how food businesses are responding to the emerging patchwork of disparate state regulations on additives, labeling, and manufacturing. They cautioned about the unintended consequences borne by the complexity of complying with individualistic state-level policies.
Taking effect by the 2026–2027 school year, the Arizona Healthy Schools Act has been signed into law, banning “ultra-processed foods,” defined as foods containing any one of 11 artificial food dyes and additives, from being sold in schools.
Harmonization of precautionary allergen labeling (PAL) requires the acceptance of reference doses for priority allergens. A new study found that PAL based on specific FAO/WHO-recommended thresholds would only elicit mild to moderate reactions in a small proportion of the allergic population.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses two scientific advancements related to Listeria monocytogenes control: 1) a study that showed the effectiveness of combining antimicrobial blue light with chemical sanitizers for pathogen inactivation, and 2) the development of a new growth prediction model for L. monocytogenes in artisanal cheeses.
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