A study conducted by researchers from the UK Food Standards Agency suggests that international comparisons of foodborne illness rates are “problematic” due to differences in methodologies used.
A recent study, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA’s NIFA), has estimated the economic burden of foodborne illnesses linked to flour and flour-based food products in the U.S. from 2001–2021 to be as high as $258 million. Salmonella and Escherichia coli were implicated pathogens.
In June, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CTSE) will vote to decide if it will officially recommend adding Cronobacter sakazakii to the list of nationally notifiable diseases to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently published a report that explores the contribution of foods sourced from terrestrial animals on human health, including relevant food safety aspects.
In a recent study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) as one of the top five pathogens contributing to foodborne illnesses in the U.S. Cases of salmonellosis were largely associated with beef products, despite implementation of interventions at slaughter and processing facilities to reduce contamination.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk with Martin Wiedmann, Ph.D., D.V.M., the Gellert Family Professor in Food Safety and Food Science at Cornell University, about his research on Listeria and Salmonella, his work to strengthen foodborne illness surveillance and response, his use of whole genome sequencing (WGS), and other topics.
Researchers have developed a new quantitative risk assessment model for foodborne illness outbreak investigations that takes into account epidemic curves, and demonstrated its efficacy with a case study on a 2019 Salmonella outbreak linked to precut melons.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released an outline of a prevention strategy that is under development for Cronobacter sakazakii contamination of powdered infant formula and enhance food safety. A notable action includes supporting the elevation of Cronobacter sakazakii infection among infants as a nationally notifiable disease.