Contamination Control

RSS

The Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN), which enables EU Member States to exchange information and coordinate responses to food safety incidents, processed a record 10,490 notifications. Notable incidents included a Listeria outbreak linked to French cheese, Salmonella in Italian tomatoes, and cereulide in infant formula.

As part of the pilot, FSIS plans to evaluate a shortened moving window for Salmonella performance standards.

When a certain protein pathway was disrupted in the assembly of extracellular matrices, normal Bacillus cereus biofilm formation was impaired, but compensatory responses enabled a level of matrix plasticity that could help explain why biofilms are difficult to eradicate.

Traceability investigations identified a common seed supplier, with implicated alfalfa seeds imported from India and distributed throughout Europe. Available evidence suggested the seeds were likely contaminated before entering the EU.

Reoccurring, emerging, and persisting (REP) strains cause foodborne illnesses over extended periods of time, rather than through isolated outbreaks. The REP framework was jointly developed by CDC, FDA, and USDA-FSIS through the Interagency Foodborne Outbreak Response Collaboration.

This article discusses how, in most cases, more microbial reduction comes from cleaning than from sanitizing. 

The ruling in the case Monsanto v. Durnell shields pesticide manufacturers like Bayer–Monsanto, the maker of glyphosate-based Roundup, in failure-to-warn lawsuits. A legal expert explained to Food Safety Magazine how this decision potentially weakens state right-to-know chemical health warning laws like California's Proposition 65. 

The Arkansas-based study showed that repeated mid-season soil aeration events significantly reduced arsenic concentrations in rice grain without increasing cadmium levels, providing field-scale evidence that water management can help mitigate arsenic accumulation.

ByHeart-commissioned research shows the currently accepted “gold standard” for Clostridium botulinum detection in powdered formula, SRC enumeration, may fail to catch contamination. It is used by many formula brands, including Nara Organics, another company linked to an infant botulism outbreak. Following this finding, third-party IEH Labs developed a novel detection method.

Only six deaths were reported in 2024. The majority (nine) of the 12 fatalities in 2025 were included in one E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef served at long-term care facilities nationwide.