Domestic sales of medically important antibiotics for use in food-producing chicken, turkey, cattle, and swine fell by 2 percent in 2023, according to the latest report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Combining genomic sequencing data and artificial intelligence (AI), researchers have demonstrated the efficacy of a new approach for the untargeted detection of contaminants, antibiotics, and other food safety anomalies in bulk milk samples.  

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a new document that weighs the food safety risks against the nutritional benefits of fish consumption.

Combining multiplex PCR and DNA barcoding, Chapman University researchers successfully detected fraudulent adulteration in half of ginseng supplement samples tested. With 28 percent of samples still unable to be identified, the researchers call for future studies combining DNA- and chemical-based testing methods. 

UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) surveillance of food purchased at retail in 2023–2024 found 87 percent of samples to be compliant with food safety and authenticity standards. Undeclared allergens, adulteration, mislabeling, and other noncompliances were reported.

Published in CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases, one of the largest-ever whole genome sequencing (WGS) analyses of Campylobacter in Africa found antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 75 percent of human and poultry isolates from Tanzania and Kenya.

U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Cory Booker recently wrote a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging the agency to revoke its authorization for phthalates in food contact materials, arguing that the chemicals are proven to be toxic. 

Babylife Organics has become the second U.S. baby food producer to announce a product testing initiative guided by EU standards; specifically, for toxic heavy metals, tested at four points along production, and measured in parts-per-billion.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has launched its new Thermo Scientific™ iCAP™ MX Series ICP-MS designed for environmental, food, industrial, and research labs to simplify trace element analysis with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a research project to develop methods for the detection of microplastic contamination, which will be used to assess the prevalence of and exposure levels to micro- and nanoplastics in Indian food.