Microbiological Control

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As the food safety threats posed by fungal contamination continue to grow, ILSI Europe has introduced a practical risk prioritization framework designed to identify which mycotoxins present the greatest risk to consumers, and where mitigation efforts should be concentrated.

The Trivalent Salmonella Conjugate Vaccine (TSCV), which simultaneously addresses typhoid fever and foodborne illness caused by non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica, elicited strong immune response in 100 percent of participants in the randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. 

Cyclosporiasis is considered an "important neglected parasitic infection" by CDC. It is also a nationally notifiable disease. Cyclospora is an emergent foodborne pathogen that is frequently overlooked in risk assessments for food safety assurance—an oversight that might not be justifiable.

An updated literature review from the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) summarizes the effects of climate change on foodborne pathogens, and how strengthening surveillance and investing in control technologies can address the growing risks.

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reported on the outcomes of the recently concluded, £24 million Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) program, and announced that it will continue to build on the work of PATH-SAFE with a national Food Surveillance Program.

An ongoing outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to prepared pasta meals has expanded to 15 states, causing 20 illnesses, 19 hospitalizations, and four deaths. The meals were sold under various brand names at Walmart, Kroger, and Trader Joe’s stores.

FDA has introduced two resources designed to improve public access to information about concluded foodborne illness outbreak investigations: Executive Incident Summary (EIS) Abstracts and Foodborne Outbreak Overview of Data (FOOD) Reports for historic pathogen-commodity pairs.

A CDC analysis of multistate foodborne illness outbreak investigation data for 2023 reveals the foods and pathogens that caused the greatest number of outbreaks and illnesses. A single salmonellosis outbreak linked to cantaloupe accounted for 407 illnesses.

A study from the Arkansas Center for Food Safety demonstrates the importance of application time and product formulation in the effectiveness of hand sanitizers, which is critical for food handlers.  

The Congressional Food Safety Caucus, headed by U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro, has requested that Boar’s Head representatives appear before the caucus to justify the reopening of its Jarratt, Virginia plant, where the meats behind a deadly 2024 Listeria outbreak were produced.