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FDA issued a new final guidance for industry on the action levels for lead in processed food intended for babies and young children. Action levels are levels of a contaminant at which the agency may consider a food to be adulterated. 

Boar’s Head has responded to a letter from 22 members of Congress probing the company about the recent, fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to its products. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who signed the letter, called Boar’s Head’s response “not credible” and “a classic corporate dodge.”

To assist interpretation of test results generated by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) microbiology laboratories, UKHSA has published new guidelines for assessing the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods placed on the market.

Following the high-profile, fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to Boar’s Head ready-to-eat (RTE) deli meats that prompted an internal review of USDA-FSIS processes, the agency has announced several new steps to strengthen its oversight of RTE facilities, including expanded Listeria rule requirements and stricter state-federal cooperative inspection agreements.

After a second Listeria monocytogenes strain related to clinical isolates was discovered through environmental and product testing, the patient count in the foodborne illness outbreak linked to Yu Shang ready-to-eat meat and poultry products has risen to 19, including an additional infant death.

A multistate foodborne outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections spanning more than two years has sickened 11 people and resulted in the death of an infant. The outbreak is linked to ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products from Yu Shang Food Inc.

The European Commission amended its regulation on the microbiological criteria for foods to revise the requirements for food business operators regarding Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has completed its root cause investigation of the summer 2024 listeriosis outbreak linked to plant-based Silk and Great Value milks. The agency was unable to confirm the primary source of the contamination, but found that the production facility was not compliant with testing requirements.

Following the history of serious food safety noncompliances at Boar’s Head’s Jarratt, Virginia plant, which led to a fatal listeriosis outbreak, USDA’s Inspector General has launched an internal investigation into the agency’s handling of the repeated sanitary violations found at the facility.

Boar’s Head has appointed Frank Yiannas, former FDA Deputy Commissioner of Food Policy and Response, as its interim Chief Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer (CFSO) and Chair of its Food Safety Advisory Council. Both the CFSO role and advisory council are new additions to Boar’s Head’s structure, established in response to the fatal listeriosis outbreak of 2024.