In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Phil Kafarakis, President and CEO of IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, about traceability, training, lessons learned from foodborne illness outbreaks, and other topics related to the foodservice sector.
Classical approaches to environmental monitoring through "seek-and-destroy," while useful, can be enhanced with source tracking approaches applied in food production facilities. Such approaches have great potential to enhance food safety. However, these methods will look different when applied by academia and government, in contrast to the approaches recommended for industry.
FDA has delayed the compliance date for its Food Traceability Final Rule, fulfilling Section 204(d) of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA 204), by 30 months, due to concerns about industry unpreparedness. Consumer advocacy groups have expressed disapproval.
A Boston University study has shown that Escherichia coli exposed to microplastics form strong biofilms and develop increased levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and multi-drug resistance.
FDA is launching “Operation Stork Speed,” comprising a series of actions like increased contaminant testing, to better ensure the safety and adequacy of the U.S. infant formula supply. Consumer Reports, which says Operation Stork Speed was announced one day after it shared contaminant testing results with the agency, has questioned whether FDA is adequately resourced to deliver on its new promises.