The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has announced Dr. Justin Ransom as its new Administrator. The previous Administrator, Dr. Denise Eblen, who served in the role in December 2024, will remain in the Office of the Administrator as Deputy Administrator.
FDA recently published a final guidance for industry to describe and answer questions about FDA’s use of remote regulatory assessments (RRAs) to oversee and assure compliance of FDA-regulated products, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reflecting on 20 years of research, scientists from the University of Pretoria and the Water Research Commission in South Africa are calling for better national water quality standards, as well as regular surveillance and testing of water sources and produce, to address contaminated irrigation water and improve produce safety.
Preliminary figures from Food Safety Australia New Zealand’s (FSANZ’s) 2025 foodborne illness economic burden estimate suggest that foodborne illness costs the Australian economy approximately $3 billion AUD each year, up from the $2.81 billion estimated in 2023.
The UK Food Standards Agency has established a safe upper limit for THC consumed in hemp-derived CBD foods and beverages of 0.07 milligrams per day, and is encouraging businesses to reformulate CBD products in light of the new THC recommendations.
A survey of produce growers found that seven percent of respondents do not implement food safety risk reduction practices on their farms, reporting time and money to be the biggest challenges. Larger operations and farms subject to third-party audits were more likely to adopt risk reduction practices.
FDA’s Human Foods Program has published a proposed agenda for guidance document work to be advanced in 2025, prioritizing opiate alkaloids on poppy seeds, the use of food coloring from natural sources, and new dietary ingredient (NDI) notifications, among other topics.
A wave of similar announcements has come from companies such as Nestlé USA, General Mills and The Kraft Heinz Company as the Trump Administration prioritizes phasing out synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply and scrutinizes food additives generally.
In England, cases of both Campylobacter and Salmonella infection increased by 17.1 percent from 2023 to 2024—the highest rates seen in a decade—according to the latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) annual data.
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