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On August 24, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed a Regulatory Partnership Arrangement (RPA) with Ecuador’s Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries (VMAF) to strengthen the food safety of Ecuadorian shrimp intended for sale in the U.S. market.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is offering an online course through its FAO eLearning Academy on the threat that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses to global health, the role of the food and agriculture sector, and the impact of AMR on agrifood systems.

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.

The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Escherichia coli found on retail beef and pork meat samples in the UK is relatively low, according to surveillance conducted by the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).