In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Thomas Gremillion, Director of Food Policy at the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the coordinator of the Safe Food Coalition, about CFA’s advocacy for stronger federal food safety regulation. We also discuss CFA’s perspectives on current food safety regulatory hot topics. 

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has published a response to feedback received on the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements (BMRs) v2024 stakeholder consultation.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recently published its Annual Report 2023–2024 outlining the agency’s food safety regulatory work throughout the past year, including the management of food safety incidents, standards development, surveillance, and other efforts. 

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 report by the European Court of Auditors has identified “notable gaps” in the EU legal framework around food labeling and enforcement of regulations, and offered recommendations for improvement. 

In a recent Senate hearing, top U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials shared how resource constraints hinder its food chemical safety review work, and provided insight into a pending decision about red dye 3’s authorization for food use.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched its five-part National Milk Testing Strategy to monitor and address Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) in milk and dairy herds. A new Federal Order and accompanying guidance has been issued. 

The Swedish Food Agency has published the results of its latest food basket survey, which show a decreasing trend in the levels of dioxin and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure. Dioxins and salt remain the largest health risks. 

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reported the arrest of five men in London after trucks full of allegedly illegal smoked meat carcasses were discovered. 

In an effort to reduce food waste caused by consumer confusion, and following new legislation passed in California standardizing the use of “Best By” dates on food, USDA and FDA have issued a joint request for information about industry practices, consumer perceptions, and impacts related to food date labeling.