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Advances in AI offer promising opportunities to strengthen food manufacturers' internal compliance efforts with FDA requirements. While FDA has issued written guidances on AI, primarily for drug and medical device companies, its direct application to food safety is still evolving. 

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Dr. Lane Highbarger, President of Highbarger Consulting LLC and former Regulatory Specialist and lead microbiologist in FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety, about his thoughts on the recent FDA workforce cuts instigated by the Trump Administration, and how these cuts may impact the agency's ability to ensure safe food for consumers.

FDA has released for public comment its proposed method for ranking chemicals in the food supply that will be prioritized in post-market safety assessments. 

Efforts are underway to create a patchwork of new state-specific extended producer responsibility (EPR) and stewardship programs, recycling requirements, and minimum post-consumer recycled (PCR) content requirements that apply to packaging materials used for food and beverage products. Entities across the entire food and beverage supply chain may be implicated and need to be prepared for compliance. 

Similar to the Trump Administration’s MAHA agenda, Senate Bill 25 also has a strong focus on ultra-processed foods and food additives.

A major highlight of the event was the launch of UNIDO’s new Food Safety Approach 2.0, which integrates the most recent best practices and international standards to support Member States in the modernization of their national food control systems.

The fiscal 2026 budget request from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services touches on infant formula, ultra-processed foods, and other HHS priorities that Food Safety Magazine has reported on.

Developing a continental food safety data hub with a rapid alert mechanism, a traceability system, and regional centers will be critical to the agency getting up and running.

The bill’s passage by the California State Assembly comes on the heels of two other food safety-related bills authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and passed into law.

As of May 30, 45 people across 18 states have been infected, compared to 26 people across 15 states who had been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella as of May 19.