Food Safety Magazine Editorial Team

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the appointment of 21 new members and nine returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF). A virtual public meeting will be held in November to welcome the committee members and introduce a new charge on the genomic characterization of pathogens.

A new coalition between various food safety stakeholders has been formed with the purpose of advocating for a modernized, effective Human Foods Program at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has put out an alert regarding an international outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis in chicken, involving 335 cases across 14 European countries plus the UK, as well as the U.S.

Building upon a December 2022 report on the levels of toxic heavy metals in dark chocolate, Consumer Reports recently published new findings about the contaminants in other kinds of chocolates, suggesting that one-third of chocolate products contain high levels of heavy metals.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Food Allergens recommended allergic threshold values for common allergens in foods. 

In this bonus episode of Food Safety Matters, we are joined by two experts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the agency’s enforcement of allergen requirements for foods, allergen recall trends, and the implications of the FASTER Act officially making sesame a major food allergen.

An ongoing study funded by the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) is looking to fill knowledge gaps about the potential for microbial cross-contamination in dry produce packinghouse environments to inform risk assessments and mitigation strategies.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the report for its fiscal year (FY) 2021 pesticide residue monitoring program, summarizing findings from FDA testing of human and animal foods for pesticides and industrial compounds. 

A protocol for the collection of honey reference samples for the creation of authenticity databases has been developed by the UK Government. Honey is one of the food commodities most subject to food fraud.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we are joined by Dr. Lise Korsten—a leading researcher in the areas of food safety, water quality, and post-harvest intervention strategies for produce—to discuss her work to prevent microbial contamination of crops in Africa, global regulatory trends and future challenges affecting the food system, and the potential of emerging technologies to ensure food safety and security in an ever-changing world.