This year’s Top Ten Food Safety Innovations list was chosen based on which discoveries and technologies attracted the most attention from Food Safety Magazine readers, including new detection methods for chemical and microbiological contaminants, novel processing technologies, preharvest interventions for microbial risks, and others.
An analysis conducted by Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) raises concerns about trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), in European mineral waters, which are sourced from deep underground and are typically believed to be more protected from pollutants than other waters.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we discuss the top food safety stories of 2024 and their implications, including high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks, the ongoing avian flu outbreak in poultry and dairy cattle, FDA’s Human Foods Program restructuring, rising concerns and evolving legislation around food additives and chemical contaminants, and other topics.
After a poisoning outbreak linked to “legal” mushroom-based edibles sold across the country, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has informed industry that the mushroom Amanita muscaria is not authorized for use as an ingredient in food.
Earthjustice sued FDA on behalf of consumer advocates that previously petitioned FDA to revoke food contact authorizations for 28 phthalates, and were denied. Although FDA since revoked authorizations for many of those phthalates and says the rest are under review, the plaintiffs hope their lawsuit will force a long-overdue safety reassessment.
On December 19, the European Commission officially adopted a sweeping ban on the use of Bisphenol A (BPA), as well as some other bisphenols considered harmful, in all food contact materials. Industry will be allowed an 18-month transition period.
The European Commission has updated its list of food imports from certain countries that are subjected to temporarily increased official controls due to contamination risk.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) targeted testing of clams found a range of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) present in all samples. Testing of domestic clams did not reveal a similar level of contamination.
Researchers have estimated a global economic cost of $1.5 trillion per year associated with three toxic chemicals commonly found in plastics and food contact materials—BPA, DEHP, and PBDEs—due to premature deaths, chronic diseases, and lower IQs.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has opened a public consultation on a draft scientific opinion about the public health risks associated with perchlorate in food. EFSA increased the tolerable daily intake for the chemical and concluded no health risk to the general population at current exposure levels.
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