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During National Food Safety Education Month, the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) will be hosting a free, three-part webinar series on produce safety in hydroponic and aquaponic operations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA’s NIFA) has granted a Michigan State University (MSU) research team $611,000 to explore the uptake of toxic heavy metals in food crops, with the goal of providing a guide containing mitigation strategies and decision-making resources for growers and policymakers.

A recent survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA’s ERS) has revealed the Mexican horticultural sector’s response to and challenges with the requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FDA’s FSMA) since its implementation in 2011.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified a reoccurring, emerging, and persistent (REP) strain of Escherichia coli O157:H7—REPEXH02—that has been implicated in significant foodborne illness outbreaks linked to leafy greens from 2016–2019.

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.

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.

Research on plant defense responses against pathogens, specifically E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium, holds insights to preventing foodborne illnesses and improving food safety practices.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently published a summary of a joint investigation of a multi-country foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Seftenberg that was possibly linked to cherry-like tomatoes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced new funding and education opportunities for school nutrition professionals through its Produce Safety University.