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Salmonella spp. have long been associated with low-moisture foods such as nuts and nut-derived products, with varying prevalence observed in tree nuts, including cashews, at retail. Virtually all cashews are imported to the U.S. Some nuts, including cashews, are imported as a "raw" product (i.e., one that has not been subjected to a process to adequately reduce pathogens, such as a kill step). Salmonella contamination of such products has resulted in several notable outbreaks in the U.S. in the past ten years, including those in which cashew-containing products have been implicated as a vehicle. This article presents a brief overview of outbreak investigations of Salmonella infections linked to the consumption of cashews and cashew-containing food products. It also presents challenges encountered, lessons learned, and relevant regulatory requirements for importers and manufacturers of cashews and cashew-containing products.

Risk culture is a construct in which the organization's values, beliefs, and behaviors influence actions relative to how it responds to risks. By reducing complexity across the organization's functions and processes, the different types of risk can be assessed and managed by a single, powerful approach so that the risk culture is more mature.

A simple review of organizational structures shows that food safety teams report to different functions across food companies, but what structure provides the best opportunity for success of the food safety team, and what are the measures of success? Identifying the structure that sets up the food safety team to drive daily compliance and upgrade existing programs is key. This article examines current organizational structures and evaluates the pros and cons of each.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will host a free, hybrid public listening session on recall modernization on September 29, 2023. The listening session will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to share information and feedback about topics related to recall modernization for FDA-regulated products.

After finding nearly 70 percent of private-label avocado oils to be rancid or adulterated, researchers have identified key markers to help the retail food industry source authentic product.

A recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and three other global organizations has laid out priority research areas for mitigating the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the interface between the agrifood, healthcare, and environmental sectors.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently published a summary of a joint investigation of a multi-country foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Seftenberg that was possibly linked to cherry-like tomatoes.

In Canada, nearly 100 percent of food samples tested for the presence of microbial contaminants between April 2018 and March 2022 were deemed “satisfactory,” according to a recently published interim report from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

In a new video and infographic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided an overview of the traceback process used during foodborne illness outbreaks to investigate a food’s path through the supply chain.

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) are requesting data on the levels of T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins present in food.