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Ongoing debates about the use of rapid microbiological test methods in food safety have led to the rise of many questions about the future of this type of testing. This column will explore which methods are being used, food processors' views on what attributes of the tests are most important, how fast is fast enough, and what even faster tests would enable them to accomplish. It also explores where the growth may continue and whether rapid methods used in commercial labs will continue to drive growth, or if a plateau is likely. Growth in regions outside of the U.S. and Europe will also be examined, along with whether rapid testing technology is evolving to the point where it may be acceptable to bring back the analysis to an in-plant lab.

FDA's Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) require importers to verify that their suppliers are producing food in a way that meets domestic food safety standards. Through continuous monitoring, FDA targets high-risk products and supply chains to ensure the most impactful FSVP inspections. 

Temporary employees are defined as "at-will" workers who can work on a part-time, full-time, or seasonal basis. Many food manufacturers utilize temporary employees in their facility, for a wide variety of reasons, which can pose some challenges. This article discusses the possible challenges and strategies for managing them to avoid problems in your food manufacturing facility.

The primary role of FDA's Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Network is to conduct outbreak surveillance, manage the response efforts, and initiate post-outbreak activities for incidents involving FDA-regulated products. This article explores the evolution, work, and perpetual improvement of the CORE Network.

Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to know and adhere to a set of rules that address food safety, basic sanitation, and safety. Plant rules for staff and visitors comprise elements of good hygiene culture and exist to minimize the potential for cross-contamination of foods, equipment, or utensils. Some of these elements have other roles, such as personal safety.

This article discusses the unique challenges faced by food scientists and manufactures in product development, touching on the food safety and quality challenges during upscaling from initial concept to full production, how risks are managed, and how decisions are made for new ingredient selection, formulation, and new processes.

This article delves into the various cross-functional teams and roles within a food manufacturing organization that play crucial parts in maintaining the highest standards for food safety and quality.

This article, authored by speakers summarizing their workshop at the 2023 Food Safety Summit, explores components for food safety professional development and business management to help empower food safety leaders throughout their careers and in their day-to-day work.

The rapid rise of plant-based meat alternatives means that knowledge of the food safety risks of these products is still limited. In particular, microbial growth and inactivation kinetics is not well understood. Additionally, consumers face a learning curve in understanding how to safely handle plant-based meat alternatives. 

At the 2023 Food Safety Summit, a dynamic workshop brought together leading experts to introduce the concepts, methods, and different tools of root cause analysis (RCA). Participants learned how to dig into systems and find meaningful data to identify the root causes of issues develop impactful solutions that prevent problems from recurring. An RCA session at the 2024 Summit will further explore these concepts. This article discusses applied RCA and the Food Safety Summit associated education offered on this topic.