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In May 2024, USDA-FSIS published a final determination setting levels at which Salmonella would be considered an adulterant in not-ready-to-eat (NRTE), breaded and stuffed chicken products, which also established a verification sampling program and a requirement for establishments to reassess their HACCP plans. FSIS has delayed the date for its sampling program and the HACCP reviews from May to November, 2025.

This article discusses the development of a USDA-NIFA funded project aimed at solving the problem of the dire workforce shortage of food safety inspectors, auditors, and managers through a paradigm shift in food safety education in higher education.

A limited number of state jurisdictions have completely adopted the most recent norovirus food safety provisions outlined in the FDA Food Code, according to an analysis conducted in 2020 by CDC researchers. 

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently published its first annual report summarizing infectious disease trends, which noted increases in the incidence of infections by important foodborne pathogens like Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, and norovirus.

A coalition of 24 prominent food industry and consumer protection organizations, as well as seven expert individuals, sent a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins urging her to reinstate two key federal food safety scientific advisory committees, NACMCF and NACMPI.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved its first cell-based food product—quail meat—bringing the product closer to market and establishing a regulatory framework in the national Food Standards Code.

Additional resources and authorities, made possible by user fees for the regulated food industry, could enable FDA to better monitor the food supply and review the safety of ingredients, argues a new expert policy analysis.

A paper authored by experts associated with ILSI Europe asserts that global food safety would benefit from the harmonization of risk assessment protocols for food contact materials used by different regulatory bodies, and suggests a path forward for working toward harmonization.

Leaked to Inside Health Policy, an HHS proposed reorganization plan for FDA would eliminate the agency’s product-specific centers in favor of five new function-focused offices. An FDA restructuring was already very recently implemented in October 2024 after two years of development, which created a unified Human Foods Program and new Office of Inspections and Investigations.

As promised by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the end of March, thousands of layoffs at FDA and CDC have begun. A hazy picture of how those cuts are affecting food safety-related positions is beginning to emerge, and stakeholders and legislators are voicing their opposition.