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Two reports by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) have advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) on microbial testing of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and the safety of recycled water in food production, respectively.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has released its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2023–2026.

U.S. President Joe Biden recently signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which allocates $25.480 billion in total base discretionary funding for U.S. agencies that are responsible for agriculture and food safety, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we review the top food safety stories of 2022 and their impacts, the lessons learned, and what the future may hold in 2023 and beyond. Specifically, we discuss COVID-19 and the supply chain, FDA’s Agricultural Water Proposed Rule, food safety culture, the infant formula crisis, USDA-FSIS’ proposed regulatory framework for reducing Salmonella in poultry, the FSMA Food Traceability Final Rule, and the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s review of FDA’s Human Foods Program.

On December 23, 2022, the Senate voted to confirm Dr. Jose Emilio Esteban as the USDA's Under Secretary for Food Safety. The action came on the last day before the 177th Congress expired.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has announced that January 1, 2026 will be the uniform compliance date for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations published January 1, 2023–December 31, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has established a uniform appeals time period requirement for the filing of appeals of certain FSIS food safety inspection decisions or actions.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk to Sandra Eskin, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and head of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Sandra discusses FSIS' approach to mitigating Salmonella in poultry, including the agency’s Proposed Regulatory Framework to Reduce Salmonella Illnesses Attributable to Poultry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has announced upcoming changes and expansions to its beef sampling and testing programs for Escherichia coli and Salmonella. 

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk to Dr. David Acheson, President and CEO of food safety consultancy The Acheson Group, about a variety of pressing topics for the food industry, such as the declaration of Salmonella as an adulterant in poultry, Cannabis edibles regulations, compliance with the agricultural water rule, modernizing recalls, mitigating the risk of PFAS, and others. Dr. Acheson has a background in internal medicine and infectious diseases, and also served as the Chief Medical Officer at FDA’s CFSAN.