According to the New York Times and CBS News, some fired FDA food safety scientists and terminated FDA food safety labs are being reinstated, as well as several dozen inspectoral support staff, following mass layoffs handed down from the Trump Administration.
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) sampled and tested meat, chicken, and Siluriformes fish (catfish) for 16 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), detecting “forever chemicals” in less than 0.2–0.3 percent of all sample types except wild-caught catfish, of which nearly half contained at least one PFAS.
In an April 25 speech, UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) Chief Executive Katie Pettifer described efforts FSA is taking to improve meat industry regulation, including supporting the adoption of new technologies, negotiating international trade agreements, addressing inspector and veterinarian workforce shortages, evaluating inspection charge discounts, and tackling food crime.
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has withdrawn the long-awaited proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry, which was designed to reduce the cases of human salmonellosis attributable to poultry consumption, saying that additional consideration is needed based on public comments.
To inform the broader third Intestinal Infectious Disease Survey (IID3), the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducted a study to calculate burden estimates for four foodborne pathogens: enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), sapovirus, hepatitis A virus, and Toxoplasma gondii.
In an April 22 press conference, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced FDA's plan to work with industry to phase out synthetic, petroleum-based dyes from the nation’s food supply.
The D.C. Section of Institute of Food Technologists (DC-IFT) is hosting “Food Policy Impact 2025,” a two-day event that will explore the future of food policies and their impact on food, nutrition, and health.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to industry attorney Alfredo Fernández about what the new Toxic Substances Control Act and emerging state legislation mean for food manufacturers, importers, and businesses regarding compliance with U.S. requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food contact materials and packaging.
FDA is rumored to face significant budget cuts proposed by the White House that would shift 100 percent of the responsibility for routine food facility inspections to states. Additionally, due to layoffs, FDA has suspended its proficiency testing program for food testing laboratories and its efforts to bolster avian influenza testing in food products.
According to internal FDA and CDC reports uncovered by NBC News and attorney Bill Marler, in November 2024, a multistate Escherichia coli outbreak linked to lettuce sickened 89 people, resulting in 36 hospitalizations and one death. Mention of the outbreak was not made public until the investigation was closed, nor were any details shared openly.
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