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To align the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for 127 agricultural and veterinary chemicals with international authorities, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recently released its annual call for comment on proposed changes.

In 2020–2021, FAO/WHO’s International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) responded to 375 international food safety events, which is nearly double the number of incidents in 2018–2019 and the highest number since the network was established in 2004.

A recent survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA’s ERS) has revealed the Mexican horticultural sector’s response to and challenges with the requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FDA’s FSMA) since its implementation in 2011.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a new Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP) resource to help importers understand eligibility criteria and answer questions prior to submitting an application, as well as to outline the steps for foreign supplier audits under the Accredited Third-Party Certification Program (TPP).

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we are joined by Kris de Smet, D.V.M., Head of the Food Hygiene Team under the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety at the European Commission. Dr. de Smet discusses his work with the European Commission and Codex Alimentarius in areas such as Salmonella mitigation, foodborne illness outbreak preparedness and management, and food safety culture improvement and measurement.

A survey of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) found on retail foods sold in the UK has shown the overall prevalence of Salmonella to be low, although there is great genetic diversity among the Salmonella that was present, which may hinder outbreak investigations and source attribution in the case of foodborne illness outbreaks. 

A recent literature review has provided an overview of the impacts of climate change on significant foodborne pathogens, parasites, and toxins; specifically, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Vibrio, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and marine biotoxins.

In 2012, the Consumer Goods Forum’s Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) began the development of a standardized process for assessing and managing food fraud incidents, which has since been adopted across the food industry.

The 2023 fall cohort for Catalyst LLC’s Technical Leader Bootcamp begins on September 12. Over 14 weeks, the online bootcamp will provide curriculum, coaching, and community to help technical food industry professionals plan, coordinate, and intentionally create a path of success.

The scientific program at the 2023 IFT FIRST featured several food safety discussions around new challenges and key topics like chemical contaminants, consumer trust, standardization, FDA's traceability rule, and the co-management of food safety and sustainability. The theme of the event was "Innovation in a Time of Crisis: Can We Future-Proof the Food System?"