Management

FAO, Wageningen Researchers Review Broad Range of AI Food Safety Applications

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:22:47 -0400

Potential uses include pathogen and chemical hazard detection, food fraud identification, outbreak surveillance, risk forecasting, and regulatory decision-making. Barriers to wider adoption remain, such as data quantity, quality, and accessibility; confidentiality; and transparency.

UK Sees Significant Decline in Cryptosporidium Infections in 2025

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 10:54:31 -0400

Cases decreased by 27.2 percent from the previous year. Although Cryptosporidium can be transmitted through routes other than food, the parasite can enter the food supply through contaminated irrigation water and contact with excrement during cultivation, harvesting, and handling.

FDA Begins Inspection at Taylor Farms Mexico as Official Cyclospora Outbreak Case Count Nears 10,000

hendersonb@bnpmedia.com (Bailee Henderson) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:41:27 -0400

There are an additional six cyclosporiasis outbreaks under investigation and thousands more Cyclospora cases reported by CDC and states. Two deaths have been reported. Stakeholders are urging an end to the Food Traceability Rule delay.

Congress Urged to Prevent FDA Traceability Rule Delay, Which Could Have Helped Cyclospora Outbreak Investigation

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0400

The appropriations bill for FY 2026 prohibits FDA from using federal funds to implement FSMA 204 before the delayed July 2028 compliance date. Earlier implementation of the Traceability Rule could have enabled faster, more effective response to the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to Taylor Farms lettuce.

Repeated European Salmonella Outbreaks Traced to Polish Egg Firm

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:31:38 -0400

Four Salmonella Enteritidis ST11 outbreaks identified in France between May and July 2026 were linked to homemade egg-based foods and traced to a common egg distribution network in Poland. The same Polish food group was implicated in another multinational salmonellosis outbreak in 2016–2020.

EU Survey of Pathogens in RTE Plant-Based Foods Suggests Microbial Growth Potential, Need for Regulatory Attention

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:27:45 -0400

The microbiological quality of most ready-to-eat (RTE) plant-based meat, dairy, and fish substitutes was satisfactory, but elevated levels of pathogens and indicators in some commodities raised process and hygiene concerns. An analysis of the products’ physico-chemical properties suggested they could support microbial growth.

Food Safety Representation at the Board Level

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Food safety, once considered the responsibility of technical and production functions, should be recognized as a company-wide, end-to-end business imperative. At the same time, food safety risk management is becoming increasingly complex and represents a growing threat to food companies, and should be regularly addressed by the Board of Directors.

The Missing Link in Outbreak Response: Why Distributors Need Real-Time Supplier Intelligence, Not Just Recall Notices

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Automated, risk-tiered supplier monitoring does not prevent an outbreak (like this summer's cyclosporiasis event) or replace the traceback work done by FDA and CDC, but it can change how fast and how precisely a distributor can act while that investigation unfolds.

Beyond the Smoking Gun: Why Food Safety Needs Systems Thinking

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0400

The recent Cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce is a reminder of just how difficult modern foodborne outbreak investigations have become. In reality, food safety investigations rarely depend on a single "smoking gun." The future of ensuring food safety lies not in simply improving any one test or technology, but in integrating them into a comprehensive decision-support system.

What if We Treated Food Like Medicine? Bringing Pharmacovigilance Thinking to Food Safety in the Age of AI

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 10:00:00 -0400

Taking a page out of the pharmaceutical industry's pharmacovigilance playbook, this article discusses why Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) teams need to monitor product performance after reformulation or process changes—and how to start.

State Counts for U.S. Cyclospora Cases Pass 21,000; Michigan Reports Two Deaths

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:38:00 -0400

Michigan and Ohio recently updated their case counts in a massive Cyclospora cayetanensis outbreak, bringing state-reported totals for all 50 states to at least 21,775 cases. Michigan also reported two deaths tied to the outbreak.

From Farm Signal to Supply Chain Shield: Preharvest Biosurveillance in a National Biosurveillance Ecosystem

nortora@auburn.edu (Robert A. Norton Ph.D.) — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Food safety begins in the field, the barn, and the watershed, not at the processing plant. The concept of preharvest biosurveillance—the systematic, continuous monitoring and management of biological threats before harvest—is now central to building safer and more resilient food systems.

Waiting for Certainty: What Outbreak Investigations Reveal About Strategic Communications

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Science and decision-making rarely operate on the same timeline. While scientists continue evaluating new evidence, people across the food system are making decisions based on the best information available at that moment. This creates a natural tension, as the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak investigation has demonstrated

International Collaboration Drives Food Safety Systems Development in Latin America

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Ten Latin American countries are developing national initiatives to strengthen food safety systems by integrating risk analysis into public policy and regulatory decision-making, through a regional project led by UN organizations and assisted by the University of Minnesota.

Codex Receives Work Proposal to Establish Risk Analysis Framework for Diet-Related Diseases

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 05:30:00 -0400

Going beyond the “ultra-processed foods” debate, the proposal, submitted by observer organization IFT, asks Codex to develop a framework to discern which foods are promoting chronic disease risk from those that are not, building upon existing Codex food categories and risk analysis methods.

UK Food Safety Incidents Increased 14 Percent in 2025–26

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 05:15:00 -0400

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) attributed the increase to growing food systems complexity driven by global supply chains, cross-border distribution, and online marketplaces.

Congress Oversight Committee Probes Taylor Farms’ Alleged Attempts to Influence FDA’s Cyclospora Outbreak Investigation

hendersonb@bnpmedia.com (Bailee Henderson) — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Democratic Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia cited media reports about alleged private meetings between Taylor Farms and White House and FDA officials, the company’s donations to Trump PACs ahead of the Food Traceability Rule delay, and its “contradictory and confusing” public statements about the cyclosporiasis outbreak.

First Dedicated Forum for Advancing AI in Food Safety Slated for 2027

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:51:05 -0400

Organized by a team from Wageningen University and Research, the inaugural AI for Food Safety Conference (AIFS) is set to take place on April 8–9, 2027 in Ede, the Netherlands.

England Saw 2,500 STEC Cases in 2025, Holding Steady with Previous Year

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:58:20 -0400

UKHSA said the relatively stable number of STEC notifications in 2025 marked a departure from the steady annual increases observed since 2021, when larger outbreaks contributed substantially to case counts.

Ep. 222. Elena Medo: Food Safety Lessons From the Global Infant Formula Cereulide Recall

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 02:30:00 -0400

Following the global infant formula recall linked to cereulide contamination, Elena Medo discusses vulnerabilities in infant formula supply chains, infant-specific food safety risks, surveillance gaps, donor milk safety, and the lessons regulators and manufacturers can take away from this unprecedented event.

EFSA Cites Significant Data Gaps in Risk Assessment for Emerging Brominated Flame Retardants in Food

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:47:36 -0400

The European Food Safety Authority published an updated scientific opinion on emerging and novel brominated flame retardants in food. Insufficient data prevented full risk assessments for most of the 27 chemicals evaluated.

WHO Identifies 18 Priority PFAS for Future Health Assessment Based on Dietary Exposure

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:49:01 -0400

The review also identifies six health effect categories for further evaluation as part of efforts to support the development of health-based values for the “forever chemicals.”

Nearly 100 Sick in Multistate Salmonella Outbreak, Millions of Eggs Recalled

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:26:47 -0400

Patients have fallen ill in 17 states, with 26 hospitalizations. Laboratory, epidemiological, and traceback investigations point to eggs produced by Texas-based Midwest Poultry Services as the likely vehicle of illness.

Taylor Farms Lettuce Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Expands to Nine States; CDC Reports Nearly 2,000 Cases, State Counts Exceed 10,000

hendersonb@bnpmedia.com (Bailee Henderson) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:47:50 -0400

At least 1,947 people infected with Cyclospora who had exposure to Taco Bell have been reported in nine states. Michigan and Ohio are together reporting more than 10,000 cyclosporiasis cases. FDA is investigating three other outbreak clusters.

Food Safety Doctor Launches Self-Paced International HACCP Alliance Certificate Training for Juice Producers

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:32:10 -0400

The Self-Paced IHA HACCP Training for Juice is a 14-module online course developed specifically for producers of 100 percent juice products.

Michigan, Ohio Together Report More than 9,000 Cyclosporiasis Cases; CDC Outbreak Count Exceeds 4,000

hendersonb@bnpmedia.com (Bailee Henderson) — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:16:59 -0400

By the same time last year, CDC had only reported 249 confirmed, domestically acquired Cyclospora infections across the entire U.S. States’ reports may include both probable and confirmed cases.

NomadX: Preventing Food Safety Crises—A New Approach to Detection, Decontamination, and Intervention

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:30:00 -0400

In this bonus episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to NomadX CEO Lyle Probst about developments in pathogen detection, artificial intelligence, and industry mindsets are shaping the future of food safety management and incident response.

UC Davis Researchers Find Widespread Authenticity Issues with Avocado Oil in Processed Foods

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Of the products (including chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings) labeled to contain avocado oil as the sole declared edible oil, 89 percent contained fatty acid and sterol profiles indicating the presence of other oils.

Recall Litigation and Regulatory Trends: Worrisome Changes Bring Similar Results—For Now

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Given the headlines coming out of 2025, it would be reasonable to expect a shift in recall patterns in the food industry. Yet, looking past the headlines and into the numbers, 2025 remained remarkably consistent with the past decade of recall trends, in terms of count and cause.

FDA Says a Taco Bell Iceberg Lettuce Supplier is Source of Five-State Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

hendersonb@bnpmedia.com (Bailee Henderson) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 08:08:21 -0400

The outbreak cluster includes more than 1,600 people in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. Outside of the outbreak cluster, Michigan and other parts of the U.S. continue to experience elevated rates of Cyclospora infections compared to previous years.