A consortium of public and private industry and academic partners is carrying out a multi-year research project aimed at investigating the potential food safety and quality risks of microbial contaminants in novel plant-based food products. 

Recent flooding in California included many ranches in the Salinas Valley, which grow leafy greens and other crops. Floodwaters have the potential to contain various pathogens that can directly cross-contaminate future product grown in those fields, as well as nearby fields. Bringing land back into production is an area of great concern.

A recent review of available scientific literature outlined the food safety aspects of edible insects and suggests that, when cooked or processed in certain ways, edible insects can be a safe food product.

Recent studies have found that microplastics and nanoplastics move upward through the food chain and land in the human gut, and have also demonstrated the ability of the particles to encourage biofilm formation, harbor pathogens, and affect microbial growth in ways that may affect human health.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently published the report, “Ranking of Low-Moisture Foods in Support of Microbiological Risk Management.”

A University of Arkansas study provides insight into the food safety risks of microgreens production and discusses measures for mitigating microbiological contamination in indoor farming environments. 

The EU experienced more food safety notifications through its online Rapid Alert System for Food and Food Network in 2021 than in years prior, with pesticides, food contact materials, and fraud highlighted in a Administrative Assistance and Cooperative Network report.

PerkinElmer Inc. has announced the global availability of its ready-to-use, AOAC-certified, Microfast^TM microbial count plates for food safety testing

The French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published a report on the microbiological risks associated with raw milk cheeses.

The Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia has improved the accuracy of DNA sequence analysis when testing for microbial contamination.