Bailee Henderson

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.

Researchers from Wageningen University and Research have characterized the toxicological effects and allergenic potential of emerging alternative protein sources in a recent review.

A recent study has characterized the challenges of ensuring food safety in “dark kitchens”—which sell food for takeout or delivery solely via online platforms and may operate out of shared kitchens—from the perspectives of both environmental health officers and the business operators themselves.

If enacted during the New York State budget process in March, the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act would require food companies to disclose their use of any “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) ingredients, and would ban some additives and dyes from foods sold or made in New York or in its schools.

This episode of Food Safety Five covers the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent ban on red dye 3, including the legal and scientific justifications for the decision, as well as external pressures from various parties leading to the ban.

Weather conditions associated with climate change are exacerbating the spread of Salmonella and Campylobacter, suggest researchers at the University of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

According to the latest National Chemical Residue Monitoring Program Annual Report from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), 97.7 percent of the nearly 15,000 tested food samples were compliant with Canadian standards for chemical residues in 2021–2022.

Regulation (EU) 2025/40, also known as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, limits per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging, bans single-use plastics for most produce, sets requirements for single-use containers in foodservice, and makes other changes to EU plastic food packaging rules. 

A recent report from the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) summarizes the development of formal risk assessment models for Listeria monocytogenes in leafy greens, cantaloupe, frozen vegetables, and ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood.