Contamination Control

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The 2023 annual report highlights a few noteworthy outbreaks: illnesses linked to toxins from morel mushrooms, lead linked to cinnamon in applesauce pouches, and Listeria monocytogenes linked to soft serve ice cream cups.

Meeting aims to facilitate finalization of the document “Prioritizing food safety issues related to chemical water quality in agrifood systems.” 

Collaboration between the two agencies suggests that the suspected source of the outbreak involves products under the jurisdiction of both.

In a new opinion, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is proposing to modify the existing maximum residue limits (MRLs) for agricultural chemical chlormequat in oats, as well as in the products of food-producing animals.

A recent study showed the high prevalence of Campylobacter in Nigeria with poultry as the primary reservoir, carrying significant food safety implications, and highlighting the importance of controlling the pathogen from a One Health perspective.

Among recommended measures are setting national targets to curtail antibiotic use and implementing surveillance systems that show how antibiotics are actually used on U.S. farms and feedlots.

A study has validated and verified two gas-phase hydroxyl radical processes for inactivating Salmonella and several avian pathogens on poultry hatchery eggs without affecting the egg hatch rate or development of hatched chicks, providing a viable alternative to traditionally used, hazardous and toxic formaldehyde treatments.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) sampled and tested meat, chicken, and Siluriformes fish (catfish) for 16 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), detecting “forever chemicals” in less than 0.2–0.3 percent of all sample types except wild-caught catfish, of which nearly half contained at least one PFAS.

A study led by researchers from the University of Antwerp has found that ultra-processed plant-based foods contain high levels of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in comparison to their animal-based analogs, but a dietary exposure risk assessment did not raise a health concern for the adult population, including vegans.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has withdrawn the long-awaited proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry, which was designed to reduce the cases of human salmonellosis attributable to poultry consumption, saying that additional consideration is needed based on public comments.