Microbiological Control

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A study suggests that some food matrices (i.e., smoked fish and soft cheese) significantly increase the ability of Listeria monocytogenes to adapt, survive digestion, and cause infection. Based on the findings, modulating the fat and protein content in food could be one potential way to reduce L. monocytogenes risk.

Reflecting on 20 years of research, scientists from the University of Pretoria and the Water Research Commission in South Africa are calling for better national water quality standards, as well as regular surveillance and testing of water sources and produce, to address contaminated irrigation water and improve produce safety.

Preliminary figures from Food Safety Australia New Zealand’s (FSANZ’s) 2025 foodborne illness economic burden estimate suggest that foodborne illness costs the Australian economy approximately $3 billion AUD each year, up from the $2.81 billion estimated in 2023.

A survey of produce growers found that seven percent of respondents do not implement food safety risk reduction practices on their farms, reporting time and money to be the biggest challenges. Larger operations and farms subject to third-party audits were more likely to adopt risk reduction practices. 

In England, cases of both Campylobacter and Salmonella infection increased by 17.1 percent from 2023 to 2024—the highest rates seen in a decade—according to the latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) annual data.

The discovery highlights a potential route for the spread of colistin-resistant genes through global seafood trade.

The executive summary includes global risk characterizations for parasite-food commodity combinations for Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Giardia, Toxoplasma gondii, and other foodborne protozoan parasites.

French Health Minister Yannick Neuder has confirmed that Escherichia coli was behind the outbreak that also has landed eight children in the hospital.

Study’s results suggest that charged nanoplastics can influence the growth, viability, virulence, physiological stress response, and biofilm lifestyle of the pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7.

USDA-FSIS and public health partners are investigating an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes that currently includes 17 ill people in 13 states. As of June 17, 2025, there have been three reported deaths and one fetal loss associated with this outbreak.