Starting the development of guidelines to control Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in certain foods was one of the decisions made by the Codex Alimentarius Commission at its annual meeting in Geneva this week.
The July 2019 edition of the Journal of Food Protection—published by the International Association for Food Protection—includes an in-depth look at Salmonella outbreaks in the U.S. over a 17-year span.
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a joint collaboration aimed at protecting consumers from Cyclospora cayetanensis, a parasite that has caused multistate outbreaks of foodborne illness in recent years.
United Fresh Produce Association has released an updated version of the Food Safety Programs & Auditing Protocol for the Fresh Tomato Supply Chain, commonly known as the ‘Tomato Metrics’. These metrics were initially developed in 2009, endeavoring to harmonize food safety audit standards for the fresh tomato supply chain. It was this original effort that led to the development of the aptly named Produce GAPs Harmonized Standard.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today released a proposed draft guidance, “Reducing Microbial Food Safety Hazards in the Production of Seed for Sprouting,” intended to make the sprout seed industry (seed growers, conditioners, packers, holders, suppliers, and distributors) aware of the agency’s serious concerns with the continuing outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of raw and lightly cooked sprouts.
Describing the U.S. food safety system as “hopelessly fragmented and outdated,” a congresswoman is pushing for the creation of a single federal agency to secure the nation’s food supply.
On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement regarding its current, science-based stance on the use of cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds, including cannabidiol (CBD), in various products including food.
Fresh Express—a subsidiary of Chiquita Brands—has released an interim report and fact sheet explaining a Cyclospora outbreak that was linked to their packaged leafy greens.