Contamination Control

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A recent study conducted by the Japanese National Institute of Health Sciences has filled data gaps about and provided support for the safety of titanium dioxide as a food additive.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its infant formula compliance program, which outlines the agency’s approach to inspections, sample collection, sample analysis, and compliance activities for FDA personnel, with a focus on Cronobacter and Salmonella contamination.

Data have allowed the pork industry to understand risk points in slaughter and processing, as well as the highest-risk products and how Salmonella changes throughout the process. The collective goal is to promote universal food safety knowledge, improve human health, and, thus, contribute to USDA's ambitious target of achieving a 25 percent reduction in salmonellosis cases by 2030.

Although the use of glyphosate on crops poses a food safety risk and its use should be curbed, completely banning the substance too early may lead to farmers using chemical alternatives that are just as harmful to human and environmental health, according to experts from Wageniningen University and Research (WUR).

In this Food Safety Insights column, we continue to explore processors' near-term priorities for food safety programs, as well as the regulations and issues they are watching that will have the most impact on their programs in the future. Food safety culture, microbiological control (including environmental monitoring), and sanitation and hygiene are three of processors' indicated top priorities for the near term.

Non-cultivable foodborne pathogens, such as enteric viruses and protozoan parasites like Cyclospora, present unique challenges in our food system due to significant limitations in sampling and detection. This article covers the methodological drawbacks of current methods related to interpretation of results and public health risk, while offering alternative food safety management principles to address the prevalence of these pathogens in food.

The number of cases has returned to pre-pandemic levels, reports Livsmedelsverket (known as the Swedish Food Agency in English). Vegetables and buffet food are the most common causes of food poisoning.

Scientists from Wageningen University and Research have created a model that considers multiple criteria to help industry reverse-engineer foods that are palatable, nutritious, sustainable, safe, and economically viable.

The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) has compiled a report that determines which fruits and vegetables are most at risk of spoilage when sold in bulk and the associated food safety risks.

The Government of Western Australia Department of Health is launching a new strategy to reduce foodborne campylobacteriosis infections, which is the state’s most notified foodborne gastrointestinal disease.