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Scientists from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), alongside collaborators from the U.S. and Norway, have finally discovered the algal source of ciguatoxin in Caribbean waters. The findings will make it possible to develop methods and standards to help food safety laboratories monitor and manage the risk of ciguatera poisoning.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Consumer Reports, Stop Foodborne Illness, and other food safety advocates have announced their support of a proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded, stuffed, not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) chicken products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) recently posted its fiscal year (FY) 2024 Public Health Regulations (PHR) report. The FY 2024 PHRs and their thresholds will go into effect October 2023.

The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) recently published key takeaways from its 2023 Research Symposium regarding a variety of topics including foodborne pathogens, cleaning and sanitation, floodwater hazard mitigation, and other areas.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a direct final rule finalizing the agency’s prior determination that the use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) in foods is no longer Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).

Salmonella spp. have long been associated with low-moisture foods such as nuts and nut-derived products, with varying prevalence observed in tree nuts, including cashews, at retail. Virtually all cashews are imported to the U.S. Some nuts, including cashews, are imported as a "raw" product (i.e., one that has not been subjected to a process to adequately reduce pathogens, such as a kill step). Salmonella contamination of such products has resulted in several notable outbreaks in the U.S. in the past ten years, including those in which cashew-containing products have been implicated as a vehicle. This article presents a brief overview of outbreak investigations of Salmonella infections linked to the consumption of cashews and cashew-containing food products. It also presents challenges encountered, lessons learned, and relevant regulatory requirements for importers and manufacturers of cashews and cashew-containing products.

A project funded by the Center for Produce Safety has collected information about, validated, and evaluated the efficacy of the cleaning and sanitation practices for harvest equipment among blueberry harvesters and packers.

Advances in next-generation sequencing have allowed for an understanding of the microbial inhabitants that make up the microbiome in ways that culture-based techniques are limited. This article provides a broad overview of two genomic techniques and potential applications for their use by meat and poultry processors.

The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) recently published its 2020 Integrated Summary, which includes data providing phenotypic and genomic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trends for Salmonella, Campylobacter, generic Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus isolated from retail meat and food-producing animals.

Eagle Product Inspection recently launched MAXIMIZER RMI, a new physical contaminant detection solution for the poultry processing sector.