Bailee Henderson

The FY 2026 appropriations bill, approved by Senate to end the U.S. government shutdown, sets forth FDA’s Human Foods Program budget for FY 2026. It also prohibits the use of federal funds to enforce certain FSMA rules within designated timeframes or for specific commodities.

Researchers have developed a new, farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model to evaluate the risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in fresh-cut cantaloupe.

As of November 11, 15 infants have been hospitalized with botulism in 12 states after consuming ByHeart-brand powdered infant formula. The 15 infants who were confirmed to have consumed ByHeart are part of a broader outbreak comprising 84 total cases. A recall has been issued. 

A UK-based study, led by Quadram Institute researchers, underscores the limitations of traditional enumeration methods for foodborne pathogen surveillance and highlights the need for whole genome sequencing (WGS) to better assess the food safety risk posed by commensal or opportunistic Escherichia coli lineages.

After receiving significant pushback from the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) has eliminated from his draft bill a preemptive provision that would render state-level food laws ineffective—a goal of the new “Big Food” lobby group, Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT).

Foreign food safety inspections conducted by FDA have hit a historic low due to Trump Administration budget and staff cuts, according to an investigative report by ProPublica.

A new study has demonstrated that antimicrobial peptides derived from Lactobacillus rhamnosus can effectively reduce Salmonella in chickens under industry-relevant conditions. Adoption of the novel intervention could potentially help mitigate the growing public health threat that is antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Wageningen University researchers conducted an experimental evolutionary study to explore the genetic and phenotypic mechanisms that drive the enhanced biofilm formation ability of evolved L. monocytogenes strains, identifying the overexpression of a certain protein as a key contributor. 

This episode of Food Safety Five discusses hoses as reservoirs for biofilms in food processing facilities, the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter on retail beef and chicken, a new Salmonella serovar database, and microplastics release from food contact materials.

Despite increased regulatory efforts, Salmonella outbreaks linked to chicken remain a significant public health threat in the U.S., reaffirms a new study by CDC and USDA-FSIS researchers. The majority of outbreaks involved chicken parts and five serotypes of concern.