In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, leading medical and food law experts have raised concerns about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) process for the introduction of ingredients to the food supply, and are calling on the agency to proactive steps to ensure the safety of new food substances.
In light of a recent investigation that found nearly half of honey imported to the EU is adulterated, UK researchers have demonstrated the promise of two innovative techniques—DNA barcoding and spatial offset Raman Spectroscopy—for detecting sugar adulterants in honey.
A recent survey of the low-moisture food industry and relevant stakeholders has revealed the sector’s key food safety challenges and research needs related to food safety culture, sanitation, pathogen reduction, and technology adoption.
The California Assembly has passed AB 2316, named the California School Food Safety Act, which aims to ban six potentially toxic synthetic food dyes from foods sold or offered at public schools. The bill now awaits signature into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.
In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) will begin testing dairy cows at slaughter for the presence of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), under the existing National Residue Program.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to the manufacturer of the apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches that gave hundreds of children across the U.S. lead poisoning in late 2023.
A recent survey of raw flour and flour-based foods conducted by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found a low incidence of Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) among sampled products. Whole genome sequencing revealed a link between a Salmonella isolate from a sample and a human illness.
A recent, 8-year-long analysis of U.S. dark chocolate and cocoa products revealed a significant portion of samples to contain cadmium and lead levels exceeding California Proposition 65 maximum allowable limits, although concentrations of toxic heavy metals were seen to reduce over time.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has approved 16 edible insect species for import and sale in the country, and has set out the guidelines for insects to be approved as food.
The 99th meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) took place on June 11–20, 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland, during which the safety of certain food additives were evaluated.