To support the work of the Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA), FAO/WHO are seeking experts and data on the use of omics-based technologies for pathogen detection, outbreak root cause analyses, surveillance, food process monitoring programs, and microbiological risk assessments.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has published the latest National Microbiological Monitoring Program Annual Report for 2023–2024, which assesses domestic and imported food samples and industry environmental samples.
Following the withdrawal of the previously proposed strategy for reducing Salmonella in poultry, USDA-FSIS will host a public meeting on January 14 to advance work on a new approach, facilitating a discussion on “practical strategies” that “reflect both public health goals and industry realities.”
The nationwide infant botulism outbreak associated with ByHeart infant formula has grown to 39 cases in 18 states. All 39 infants were hospitalized; no deaths have been reported.
The sampling and testing project will support the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) by identifying trends and emerging risks from drug-resistant foodborne bacteria. Findings will be used to create a model that can help predict and address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mitigation strategies.
As of December 2, laboratory-confirmed cases in the ongoing Salmonella outbreak linked to pistachios has reached 155, and CFIA now requires importers and manufacturers of Iranian pistachios to hold and test their products for Salmonella before they can be sold.
Although the estimated cost per disease incident ranged from $341 USD in Africa to $2,194 in Europe, the total economic burden of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella was highest in Africa—especially sub-Saharan Africa—due to its prevalence and overall impact to public health in the region.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses a farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe, a study demonstrating the efficacy of antimicrobial peptides for reducing Salmonella in poultry, and the adoption of new international standards at the 48th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
After withdrawing its previously proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry in April, USDA-FSIS is indefinitely delaying verification activities for Salmonella in not-ready-to-eat, breaded and stuffed chicken products, and is reconsidering its strategy to reduce Salmonella in poultry with an exploratory public meeting in January.
An ongoing outbreak of foodborne enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O45:H2 infections is sweeping Germany. More than 400 confirmed and possible cases have been reported, with three associated deaths. The vehicle of illness is likely foodborne, but has not yet been identified.
RSS
