Food Safety Top Stories

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In today's advanced manufacturing environment, food processing offers a great career and many opportunities for people to experience. So, how can the food industry attract youth to food manufacturing careers?

While recommendations to reduce sodium consumption align with promoting public health, they may also challenge current food safety uses of sodium in products on the market. The solutions are more complicated than just cutting back on sodium levels in foods like meats and cheeses.

The challenge of mitigating E. coli in leafy greens calls for a rigorous, multifaceted approach that includes stringent sanitation practices, facility design optimization, and the use of advanced microbial control methods.

Treating melons as food as soon as possible—even though they will be peeled—is needed to mitigate the risks associated with the three contamination mechanisms for cantaloupe. Zero risk is impossible, but can industry do better?

Temperature monitoring is more than writing numbers on a form or entering data into a spreadsheet. Personnel must be properly educated on not only how to do the work, but also why it is important—as well as the ramifications of failing to properly do the work.

By fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, food businesses reduce risks and gain agility, positioning themselves as industry leaders. This proactive approach enables companies to manage food safety risks more effectively while staying competitive and responsive to evolving demands.

Marking the intersection between human decision-making and biosecurity, deliberate attacks present risks like the poisoning or adulteration of food products, or cyberattacks targeting control or process systems. Collectively, "cognitive security"—or protecting the human decision-making process—needs to be a consideration for industry, government, and academia as an element of food security. 

Regarding food safety systems efficacy, this article suggests that "better is possible," and re-affirms the necessity of ongoing confirmation of the efficacy of food safety proposals, pursuits, and programs to ensure the safety and quality of food and avoid repeating preventable failures.

The final installment in this three-part article series on PFAS discusses how the food industry might look at areas of potential exposure to PFAS, steps it might take to test for and mitigate those risks, and an update on the latest developments in PFAS litigation.
 

The regulation of food science innovations is complicated by the vast number of agencies and departments overseeing food in the U.S. This article argues for a “clean-up” of the current regulatory scheme, as disparate funding and priorities create inconsistency, food safety risks, and poor enforcement outcomes.