Bailee Henderson

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a Long-Term National Strategy to Increase the Resiliency of the U.S. Infant Formula Market, building upon actions taken by the agency and implementing learnings from research conducted since the 2022 infant formula supply crisis.

In Canada, the presence of Salmonella in raw, frozen and breaded chicken products, as well as human salmonellosis cases, decreased significantly after a specific requirement for these products was implemented in 2019, according to a recent study.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order that mandates state agencies explore the safety of ultra-processed foods, food dyes, and "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) ingredients, and recommend actions to mitigate the adverse health effects.

The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) most recent report on emerging risk activities identifies food safety issues on the horizon posed by chemical and biological hazards, and new processes and technologies.

This episode of Food Safety Five previews the top three food safety innovations of 2024, based on the advancements that gained the most attention from Food Safety Magazine readers. These include a first-of-its-kind antimicrobial preharvest agricultural water treatment, as well as novel PFAS detection and remediation techniques.

This year’s Top Ten Food Safety Innovations list was chosen based on which discoveries and technologies attracted the most attention from Food Safety Magazine readers, including new detection methods for chemical and microbiological contaminants, novel processing technologies, preharvest interventions for microbial risks, and others.

A new study led by USDA-ARS and Oklahoma State University showed that oregano and cinnamon essential oils can be reused multiple times to effectively wash organic leafy greens contaminated with E. coli without losing antimicrobial activity. 

A recent study estimated the economic impact of foodborne campylobacterosis contracted from chicken consumption in Australia to be more than $110 million USD annually, with chicken consumption linked to 30 percent of all Campylobacter infections recorded in the country.

Earthjustice sued FDA on behalf of consumer advocates that previously petitioned FDA to revoke food contact authorizations for 28 phthalates, and were denied. Although FDA since revoked authorizations for many of those phthalates and says the rest are under review, the plaintiffs hope their lawsuit will force a long-overdue safety reassessment.

On December 19, the European Commission officially adopted a sweeping ban on the use of Bisphenol A (BPA), as well as some other bisphenols considered harmful, in all food contact materials. Industry will be allowed an 18-month transition period.