More than 100 people have been sickened and three have died as the result of a foodborne illness outbreak linked to food served at four Italian nursing homes sharing the same meal production center. Investigations are underway.
In a February 17 resignation letter, James (Jim) Jones, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, stated that 89 “indiscriminate” firings in the Human Foods Program, including layoffs of employees with “highly technical expertise in nutrition, infant formula, food safety response,” would render his job to protect food safety “fruitless.”
This episode of Food Safety Five covers a new EU regulation that limits PFAS in food packaging and bans single-use plastics for fruit and vegetables under a certain weight, among other changes. Also discussed is a bill introduced to the New York State legislature to ban certain food additives and tighten requirements for GRAS ingredients.
On February 13, Boar’s Head designated a companywide ‘Boar’s Head Food Safety Promise Day’ and unveiled new safety and sanitation controls and processes, following the fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to its products in 2024.
Changes are coming to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the recent confirmation of President Trump's nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) as Secretary, amid talks of major workforce reductions at HHS agencies including FDA and CDC.
President Trump's nominee Brooke Rollins, J.D. was confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on February 13, 2025. She will oversee USDA, and has alluded to an “aggressive plan” to “eliminate positions that are no longer necessary” at the agency.
An analysis conducted by German consumer protection group ÖKO TEST demonstrated that bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) are often found in pizza takeout boxes and can migrate into pizzas.
A rodent study using real-world non-typhoidal Salmonella strains, conducted by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers, has shown the potential of a developing vaccine that is based in a novel, nontraditional delivery method.
According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s (PIRG’s) Food for Thought 2025 report, hospitalizations and deaths linked to foodborne illnesses doubled in 2024. Illnesses also increased, 98 percent of which were attributed to just 13 outbreaks. The number of USDA and FDA recalls decreased by 5 percent.
A partisan House bill sponsored by U.S. Representatives Tracey Mann (R-KS) and Steve Womack (R-AK) aims to block USDA from using federal funds to implement its proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry products, the goal of which is to reduce foodborne salmonellosis cases.
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