The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) recently published key takeaways from its 2023 Research Symposium regarding a variety of topics including foodborne pathogens, cleaning and sanitation, floodwater hazard mitigation, and other areas.

Salmonella spp. have long been associated with low-moisture foods such as nuts and nut-derived products, with varying prevalence observed in tree nuts, including cashews, at retail. Virtually all cashews are imported to the U.S. Some nuts, including cashews, are imported as a "raw" product (i.e., one that has not been subjected to a process to adequately reduce pathogens, such as a kill step). Salmonella contamination of such products has resulted in several notable outbreaks in the U.S. in the past ten years, including those in which cashew-containing products have been implicated as a vehicle. This article presents a brief overview of outbreak investigations of Salmonella infections linked to the consumption of cashews and cashew-containing food products. It also presents challenges encountered, lessons learned, and relevant regulatory requirements for importers and manufacturers of cashews and cashew-containing products.

A project funded by the Center for Produce Safety has collected information about, validated, and evaluated the efficacy of the cleaning and sanitation practices for harvest equipment among blueberry harvesters and packers.

Research on plant defense responses against pathogens, specifically E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium, holds insights to preventing foodborne illnesses and improving food safety practices.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently published a summary of a joint investigation of a multi-country foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Seftenberg that was possibly linked to cherry-like tomatoes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced new funding and education opportunities for school nutrition professionals through its Produce Safety University.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has announced a virtual public meeting of the full National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) on August 30, 2023 to discuss a report on Cyclospora cayetanensis in produce and a charge on Cronobacter in powdered infant formula.

Following severe flooding that occurred throughout Vermont and New York, the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) has compiled a collection of resources to help growers impacted by floodwaters ensure produce safety.

The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) has announced its Romaine Test and Learn initiative, a two-year food safety study commencing in October 2023, which will leverage LGMA members’ individual testing data to elicit meaningful, aggregated information to better understand potential microbial risks to leafy greens food safety.

As the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector has grown, so too has its original industry group. In 2022, the CEA Food Safety Coalition became the CEA Alliance, adding multiple workflows and new produce commodities to the group.