Following the historically large cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to lettuce that swept the U.S. this summer, FAO highlighted the importance of pre-harvest water safety, sanitation, and hygiene to prevent microbial contamination of food in a new fact sheet resource.
Contamination varied by pathogen, host species, and production conditions. The findings suggested that environmental and management conditions, rather than whether wildlife is farmed or wild-caught alone, likely influence zoonotic hazards.
Only 65 percent of U.S. adults said they were very or somewhat confident that food sold at most grocery stores is safe to eat. Confidence in the federal government's ability to ensure food safety also reached a new low, at 47 percent.
Under the draft policy, FDA would not enforce requirements for retailers and restaurants selling less than $1 million worth of food in a three-year period. FDA will also hold a public meeting to discuss potential flexibilities related to Traceability Lot Codes, Key Data Elements, and other issues.
An analysis of multinational WGS surveillance data suggests that multidrug-resistant lineage of Campylobacter coli has circulated across human, animal, food, and environmental sources in Europe for years, highlighting the need for coordinated One Health genomic surveillance.
At the highest tested dose, every isolate, even those exhibiting antimicrobial resistance (AMR), underwent at least a 2-log reduction in viable cells. Modeling suggested that such a reduction could decrease public health risk of infection by up to 90 percent.
The latest Annual Report from the Office of Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness (CORE+EP) summarizes its response to outbreaks and adverse events associated with FDA-regulated human foods, and details notable incidents.
On the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, WPO convened UNIDO, FSSC, and Wageningen University and Research to discuss the Sustainable Packaging Assessment Methodology (SusPAM) and explore how packaging decisions can protect food, help prevent avoidable loss, and support broader sustainability goals.
FDA found Indonesia’s Cs-137 import certification program for shrimp and spices, launched because cesium-contaminated shipments of shrimp and spices were detected in the U.S., “substantially meets requirements” after the certifying entities corrected deficiencies identified through an in-country assessment.
Food industry leaders shared that they recognize the potential benefits of pooling confidential food safety data, such as strengthening predictive modeling and enabling earlier identification of emerging risks, but concerns about trust, liability, confidentiality, and competitive disadvantage continue to hinder data-sharing.
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