The results of an FDA retail survey have been published, showing that pasteurization effectively inactivates avian influenza in dairy products other than milk, such as butter, ice cream, and cheese. USDA analyzed the samples collected by FDA.
The Alliance for Food and Farming has created an online tool that enables users to view the amount of produce a person would have to consume to experience health effects from pesticide residues.
Major public health, food industry, and consumer protection groups have stated concerns about the recent mass firing of FDA Human Foods Program staff and the resignation of Deputy Commissioner Jim Jones, expressing that layoffs could jeopardize food safety and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is facilitating the establishment of a Regional Food Safety Research Network and Innovation Hub (RFSRNIH) to improve food safety in Near Eastern and North African countries, addressing challenges specific to the region.
Field studies led by Wageningen University have demonstrated the efficacy of two vaccines in reducing mortality in poultry infected with the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus, although it is too early to draw accurate conclusions about transmission.
According to the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), adoption of the most recent version of the FDA Food Code is increasing across the country at a record rate, reflecting a prioritization toward food safety.
Acidification can inactivate Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1), a.k.a. “bird flu,” in milk, according to a UC Davis study. The finding is especially relevant to farmers, who often do not pasteurize waste milk.
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.