In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we discuss the top food safety stories of 2024 and their implications. We cover:
The Boar's Head Listeria Outbreak [6:24]
- USDA Announces Immediate Changes to Listeria Rule, Inspections for RTE Food Facilities
- Following Deadly Listeria Outbreak, USDA Launches Internal Investigation Into How it Handled Boar’s Head’s Unsanitary Production Facility
- Congress Members Question USDA About Failure to Prevent Fatal Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak
- Boar’s Head to Face Criminal Investigation Over Listeria Outbreak as Tenth Death is Reported
- Following Outbreak, Boar’s Head Forms Food Safety Council of Top Experts, Closes Facility, Discontinues Liverwurst
- Inspection Reports Show Mold, Insects, Meat Residues, and More at Boar’s Head Facility Responsible for Listeria Outbreak
- Boar’s Head RTE Deli Meats Recalled After Two Listeriosis Deaths
- It's Time to Reformulate Deli Meats to Reduce the Risk of Listeria monocytogenes—Feature story for Food Safety Magazine December ‘24/January ’25, by Kathleen Glass, Ph.D., Wendy Bedale, Ph.D., and Daniel Unruh, Ph.D.
The McDonald's/Taylor Farms E. coli Outbreak [18:53]
- FDA Closes Investigation of McDonald’s E. Coli Outbreak Without Tests Confirming Onions as Source
- McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak Grows to 104 Illnesses in 14 States; Testing Has Not Yet Found Outbreak Strain
- FDA Unable to Implicate Grower in E. coli Outbreak Linked to Taylor Farms Onions Served at McDonald's
- CDC Names Taylor Farms Onions as Cause of McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak; Patient Count Rises to 90
- Beef Ruled Out as Source of McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak, Quarter Pounders Return to Restaurants
- Major Chains Pull Onions Due to E. coli Concerns After Taylor Farms Confirmed as McDonald’s Supplier
- At Least One Death Caused by E. coli Outbreak Linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders
- Food Safety Five Ep. 1: Fatal E. coli Outbreak Linked to Onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders—Food Safety Five Newsreel video
Grimmway Farms E. coli Outbreak [32:31]
- Grimmway Farms Carrot E. coli Outbreak Closed; No Match Found in Environmental Samples
- Canada Recalls Carrots Implicated in Fatal E. coli Outbreak Affecting U.S.
- Death Reported in E. coli Outbreak Linked to Nationally Distributed Organic Carrots
Yu Shang Foods Listeria Outbreak [33:48]
- Another Infant Death Linked to Yu Shang Listeria Outbreak
- Yu Shang Brand RTE Meats Cause Two-Year-Long Listeria Outbreak Resulting in Death of an Infant
Food Safety Technology Developments [36:37]
- How Rapid Development of Technology Has Revolutionized Food Safety—Food Safety Magazine on-demand webinar
- How is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine June/July ’24, by Bob Ferguson
- How is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—Part 2—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine August/September ’24, by Bob Ferguson
- How is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—Part 3—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine December ‘24/January ’25, by Bob Ferguson
- Listeria, Salmonella Represent 40 Percent of FDA Food and Beverage Recalls in Last 20 Years
FDA Human Foods Program Restructuring [42:39]
- FDA Budget Constraints Lead to International Information-Sharing for Chemical Safety Reviews
- FDA Human Foods Program Reveals Work Plans for 2025
- FDA Introduces Streamlined Complaint Process on First Day of New Human Foods Program
- FDA Outlines its Developing Systematic Post-Market Review Process for Chemicals in Food
- FDA Reorganization Officially Approved, Will be Implemented by October 1
- Food Safety Five Ep. 2: How Budget Constraints May Influence FDA Food Chemical Safety Work—Food Safety Five Newsreel video
Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu (HPAI) H5N1 and Dairy Foods [50:30]
- California Declares State of Emergency Over HPAI H5N1 Outbreak in Dairy Cows
- USDA Begins Five-Part National Milk Testing Strategy for HPAI H5N1
- As Outbreak Rages On, USDA to Begin Field Trials for HPAI H5N1 Vaccine in Cattle
- USDA-FSIS to Begin Routine Monitoring for HPAI in Dairy Cows Under National Residue Program
- FDA Publishes Dairy Food Safety Research Agenda for HPAI H5N1
- More Canadian Milk Testing, New Pasteurization Study Shows HPAI is Not Food Safety Risk
- USDA Finds HPAI in Muscle of Sick Dairy Cow; Study Shows Infectious Potential of Contaminated Raw Milk
- USDA Experiments Show Cooking Beef Patties to “Well Done” Kills HPAI Virus
- USDA Testing Retail Ground Beef for HPAI H5N1; Maintains That U.S. Meat Supply is Safe
- FDA Testing Finds HPAI in Retail Milk Samples; Research Required to Determine Infectivity, Food Safety Risk
- USDA Now Requires HPAI Testing for Dairy Cattle, Mandatory Reporting
USDA's Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products [57:35]
- USDA-FSIS to Hold Two Public Meetings on Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry in December
- USDA-FSIS Extends Comment Period for Proposed Salmonella Regulatory Framework
- Study Supports USDA’s Serotype-Specific Regulatory Framework for Salmonella in Poultry
- USDA-FSIS Publishes Proposed Regulatory Framework for Salmonella in Raw Poultry
- USDA-FSIS: Salmonella Officially an Adulterant in Breaded, Stuffed Raw Chicken Products at 1 CFU/g or Higher
- NACMCF Reports on Reducing Salmonella in Poultry, Advises FSIS on Proposed Regulatory Framework
- Esteban and Eskin: On the Frontlines of the Food Safety Fight Against Salmonella in Poultry—Food Safety Matters podcast
FSMA 204/Food Traceability Rule Compliance [1:04:09]
- Leading Food Industry Associations Join Forces to Form FSMA 204 Collaboration
- Public-Private, Sector-Neutral Partnership for Food Traceability Aims to Advance Industry Toward FSMA 204 Compliance
- Report Highlights Industry Concerns With FSMA 204 Compliance, Barriers to Implementation
- World’s Largest Food Distributor Sysco Unveils its FSMA 204 Traceability Plan
- Kroger’s Traceability Policy Goes Beyond FSMA 204 by Including All Foods
- FDA Updates Human Foods Priorities; Releases FSMA 204, Foodservice Employee Health Resources
- Second Bill Introduced to Weaken FSMA 204; Safe Food Coalition Voices Opposition
- Legislation Would Delay FSMA 204 Compliance Date, Ease Retailer Recordkeeping Requirements
- FSS '24: Regulatory, Industry Experts Share Best Practices Around FSMA 204 and Traceability Efforts
- Better Food Traceability Can't Wait—Editorial piece by Frank Yiannas
- Ep. 179. Dr. Takashi Nakamura: Ensuring Fresh Produce Safety From Field to Fork—Food Safety Matters Podcast
Legislation Targeting Food Additives and “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) Substances [1:13:13]
- FDA Could Decide Whether to Ban Red Dye 3 in Food ‘In the Next Few Weeks,’ Officials Reveal in Senate Hearing
- Congress Members Urge FDA to Ban Red Dye 3 in Food
- FDA Budget Constraints Lead to International Information-Sharing for Chemical Safety Reviews
- FDA Outlines its Developing Systematic Post-Market Review Process for Chemicals in Food
- BVO No Longer Authorized for Food Use by FDA
- The Evolving Landscape of Food Additives Regulation in the U.S., from the States to FDA
- California Bill Banning Some Artificial Colors in School Foods Advances, Awaits Signature Into Law
- FDA Reviewing Safety of Food Chemicals of Concern, Like PFAS, BPA, Red Dye 3, and More
- FDA Files Petitions to Rescind Approvals for Four Carcinogenic Food, Color Additives
- ‘Toxic Free Food Act’ Would Close FDA GRAS ‘Loophole’ Allowing Potentially Toxic Additives in Food
- Illinois Food Safety Act Banning Four Food Additives Passes State Senate, Amended to Include Manufacturers
- Pennsylvania is Latest State to Introduce Food Additives Legislation, While Kentucky Urges FDA to Take Control
- Missouri, Washington Introduce Bills to Ban Same Food Additives as California Food Safety Act
- Another Bill Introduced in New York to Expand State Regulation of Food Additives
- ‘Safe School Meals Act’ Addresses Pesticides, PFAS, Food Dyes, and More in School Lunches
- Food Safety Five Ep. 2: How Budget Constraints May Influence FDA Food Chemical Safety Work—Food Safety Five Newsreel video
- Ep. 162. Brian Sylvester: How the California Food Safety Act is Shaping U.S. Food Additives Regulation—Food Safety Matters Podcast
Environmental and Chemical Contaminants [1:24:42]
- FDA Defends Revoking Authorizations for Most Phthalates; Remaining Uses Under Review
- High Levels of Toxic Plasticizers Phthalates, Bisphenols Found in Nearly All Foods in U.S.
- EU Considering Bisphenol Ban in Food Packaging Based on Nontraditional Risk Assessment; Scientists Show Support
- EU Moves Closer to Possible Ban on BPA in Food Contact Materials
- USDA Testing for 2023 Shows 99 Percent of Foods Do Not Exceed Pesticide Residue Tolerances
- EFSA: Pesticide Residues Below Legal Limits in More Than 96 Percent of EU Food Samples
- EPA Immediately Suspends Use of Herbicide Dacthal With Emergency Order
- EPA Cancels Agricultural Use of Harmful Pesticide Acephate
- Pesticide Chlormequat is Being Detected More Frequently in Humans, EPA Poised to Allow its Use on Food Crops
- California Assembly Passes Bill Expediting Review of Herbicide Paraquat
- Center for Food Safety Petitions EPA to Ban PFAS in Pesticides, Pesticide Containers
- EWG Publishes 2024 Dirty Dozen List of Produce Most Contaminated With Pesticides
- Kraft Heinz Voluntarily Pulls Lunchables from School Lunch Program Following Consumer Reports Petition
- Baby Food Safety Act Would Give FDA Authority to Limit Toxic Heavy Metals in Food for Children
- Maryland Introduces Bill to Require Toxic Heavy Metals Testing for Baby Foods, Disclosure of Results
- Recall Rethink: Food Recall Vulnerabilities Exposed by the Cinnamon Applesauce Incident—Cover story for Food Safety Magazine August/September ’24, by Steven Mandernach, J.D. and Carrie Rigdon, Ph.D.
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