FDA has issued a proposed rule to amend the Standard of Identity (SOI) for orange juice, reducing the minimum Brix requirement from 10.5 to 10. This addresses modern agricultural challenges making it difficult for manufacturers to meet Brix content requirements.
A recent analysis of French milk and infant formulas has revealed the presence of titanium dioxide—which is banned as a food additive in the EU due to potential toxicity—in all human and animal milk samples, as well as in most infant formula samples. Researchers raise concerns about implications for infant health, and question routes of exposure leading to contamination.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses a new study that leverages a novel quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model that suggests that half of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses linked to romaine lettuce are caused by contamination via untreated overhead irrigation water.
England saw a 26 percent rise in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections from 2023 to 2024, and non-O157 STEC cases tripled since 2019. These trends may be driven by one foodborne illness outbreak involving contaminated salad leaves.
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) is reorganizing its organizational structure to enhance and amplify its produce safety and food safety regulatory goals.
Western Growers and FDA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve fresh produce safety and prevent foodborne illnesses through a new data-sharing framework. The MOU is aligned with the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s recently published Roadmap to Produce Safety report.
The Reagan-Udall Foundation for FDA has published a report based on months of stakeholder dialogues, titled, the Roadmap to Produce Safety, which provides recommendations for a private sector-led collaborative to improve U.S. produce safety.
A peer-reviewed study led by CU Boulder researchers demonstrates that erythritol, a popular non-nutritive sugar alcohol that is commonly used as a zero-calorie sweetener in “sugar-free” snacks and beverages, may increase stroke risk by may constricting the brain’s blood vessels and lowering the body’s ability to dissolve blood clots.
A foodborne listeriosis outbreak in Ireland has sickened nine people and resulted in one death. Preliminary investigation results suggest the likely cause are ready-to-heat meals produced by Ballymaguire Foods, sold under a variety of brand names at major retailers. Recalls have been initiated in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
FDA and CDC have closed their investigation into a Listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat products produced by Fresh and Ready Foods of San Fernando, California, announcing that one of the ten people who fell ill has died.