Food Safety Magazine Editorial Team

The EU has adopted a new regulation requiring Member States to conduct whole genome sequencing (WGS) on the isolates of five important pathogens during the investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks, and sets data-sharing parameters.

Recently reintroduced to Congress, the bipartisan Protect Infant Formula From Contamination Act aims to strengthen FDA’s oversight of infant formula manufacturers by expanding certain authorities, allowing the agency to better ensure the safety and resiliency of the country’s infant formula supply. 

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released two new resource documents: a new compilation of the Food Standards Code, and a guidance document on how the agency conducts dietary exposure assessments.

A new toolbox offered by FAO describes the risk assessment process used by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) regarding veterinary drug residues in animal-derived food products consumed by humans. FAO will also host a virtual launch event in February.

Fortress Technology has launched a new, easy-to-clean, durable conveyor range for the food and beverage industry.

A recent report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted the complex and fragmented oversight of the U.S. food supply, concluding that a national food safety strategy could help ensure federal agencies are working together to more successfully reduce foodborne illnesses.

Reintroduced to U.S. Congress on February 3, the Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act seeks to grant FDA the authority to collect microbial samples from concentrated animal feeding operations, also referred to as “factory farms,” during foodborne illness outbreak investigations.

The Tucson Environmental Justice Task Force has sued FDA for failing to act on a petition urging the agency to set limits for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in foods.

The UK Government is proposing the addition of several foodborne and waterborne viruses, bacteria, and parasites to the list of notifiable causative agents under the Health Protection Notification Regulations, for which laboratories testing human samples are required to report positive test results.

EU agencies are recommending actions the agriculture sector should take toward the more responsible use of azole-based fungicides, due to the risk of Aspergillus becoming azole-resistant, making treatment for human infections less effective.