Food Safety Top Stories

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Automated, risk-tiered supplier monitoring does not prevent an outbreak (like this summer's cyclosporiasis event) or replace the traceback work done by FDA and CDC, but it can change how fast and how precisely a distributor can act while that investigation unfolds. 

The recent Cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce is a reminder of just how difficult modern foodborne outbreak investigations have become. In reality, food safety investigations rarely depend on a single "smoking gun." The future of ensuring food safety lies not in simply improving any one test or technology, but in integrating them into a comprehensive decision-support system.

Taking a page out of the pharmaceutical industry's pharmacovigilance playbook, this article discusses why Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) teams need to monitor product performance after reformulation or process changes—and how to start.

Food safety begins in the field, the barn, and the watershed, not at the processing plant. The concept of preharvest biosurveillance—the systematic, continuous monitoring and management of biological threats before harvest—is now central to building safer and more resilient food systems. 

Science and decision-making rarely operate on the same timeline. While scientists continue evaluating new evidence, people across the food system are making decisions based on the best information available at that moment. This creates a natural tension, as the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak investigation has demonstrated

This article discusses the regulatory aspects of food additives, along with how and why they are needed and developed. 

Companies making products containing allergens should pay close attention: FDA's approach to allergen regulation is actively evolving.

Following the global infant formula recall linked to cereulide contamination, Elena Medo discusses vulnerabilities in infant formula supply chains, infant-specific food safety risks, surveillance gaps, donor milk safety, and the lessons regulators and manufacturers can take away from this unprecedented event.

This article focuses on frozen and fresh tuna used in sushi and sashimi applications and, as such, describes processing as it pertains to Big Eye, Yellowfin, and Bluefin tuna. 

Modern investments in applied food safety research infrastructure are essential to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world implementation.