The European Commission has published a revised guidance document on monitoring and shelf-life studies for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods in compliance with recent amendments to Regulation (EU) 2073/2005 on the microbiological criteria for foods.
Some EU and UK food law changes in development could arrive sooner than expected, and others will take more time to go into effect. This article discusses food law changes to watch for in 2026.
At the 55th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), prompted by the ongoing infant botulism outbreak linked to ByHeart formula in the U.S., CCFH decided to initiate work related to the control of Clostridium botulinum in powdered infant formula.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) convened itseighth annual Stakeholder Forum on November 24 in Brussels, Belgium, where more than 100 agri-food stakeholders and regulators explored how risk assessment can be accelerated without compromising food safety.
The proposed EU Food and Feed Safety Simplification Package targets "overlapping and disproportionate rules" that burden agri-food businesses and national authorities, covering plant protection, feed additives, official controls, and animal health. The package's pesticide deregulation measures have garnered criticism from environmental protection groups.
According to a report by the Swedish Food Agency, food fraud costs Swedish society an estimated $13.6 billion SEK (approximately $1.5 billion USD) annually. The agency is preparing upcoming government directives to implement measures to address the growing problem of food fraud.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses scientific recommendations around ultra-processed food (UPF) definitions and policy, a study demonstrating the antimicrobial efficacy of common sanitizers in potato wash water, and a review outlining the food safety risks of edible flowers. Also discussed are regulatory and standards developments in the U.S., EU, and at the international level.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published guidelines for reporting whole genome sequencing (WGS) data in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2025/179, which requires Member States to conduct WGS on the isolates of five important pathogens during the investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks and sets data-sharing parameters.
By examining global standards such as HACCP, GFSI, and SQF, this article explores the gaps in current competency assessments and the risks posed by these gaps. It also provides actionable strategies to empower frontline leaders and quality assurance teams to improve where necessary.
Responsible for representing scientific interests within the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), Dr. Ian Young is also Professor of Medicine at Queen’s University in Belfast.
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