This episode of Food Safety Five discusses updated USDA-FSIS guidance on Listeria testing in RTE facilities, the latest on the Boar’s Head facility behind the fatal outbreak of 2024, and a real-world Listeria “Seek and Destroy” success story.
Taking place June 5–9 in Columbus, Ohio, the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) 130th Annual Education Conference offers sessions focused on manufactured food safety, retail food safety, and produce safety.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has published a report on PFAS in agricultural systems to help guide USDA's response to the impacts of agricultural lands polluted by these “forever chemicals.”
New data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shows the most recent and complete picture of workforce attrition at federal agencies responsible for food safety and public health.
This article examines shifting USDA regulatory expectations, evolving risk assessment tools, and realistic strategies to manage Salmonella as a true public health risk rather than solely a process control issue.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund’s newly published Food for Thought report outlines food recalls and foodborne illness outbreak investigations that occurred in 2025 and provides recommendations for improving the U.S. food recall system.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) has set its federal policy priorities for 2026. Food safety-related issues are central to NASDA's 2026 advocacy work for the Farm Bill, animal diseases and traceability, and pesticides
A new paper describes U.S. regulatory agencies’ roles in two recent, high-profile foodborne illness outbreak investigations—the Boar’s Head listeriosis outbreak and the McDonald’s Escherichia coli outbreak—and highlights the shortcomings and strengths in how the outbreaks were managed.
This episode of Food Safety Five reads between the lines of the revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans, discussing its use of the term “highly processed foods,” how its definition differs (or does not differ) from the debated “ultra-processed foods” category, and the potential implications for food policy.