Posting health department restaurant inspection scores at restaurants and using letter grades for restaurant inspection results are linked with fewer foodborne illness outbreaks, found a study partly funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Livsmedelsverket, known in English as The Swedish Food Agency, has commenced its 2022 Food Basket Survey, which will assess the presence of nutritive and harmful substances in the Swedish food supply. Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) will be one focus of the survey.
New EU legislation restricts the amount of green tea extract containing (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) that can be present in food and sets labeling requirements, for food safety reasons. EGCG is a catechin, which are flavinols that may lead to liver damage.
To strengthen federal food safety regulation, the Reagan-Udall Foundation has published its independent review of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Human Foods Program, focusing on organizational culture, structure, resources, and authorities. The evaluation will be used to “inform a new vision for the FDA Human Foods Program.”
The European Food Safety Authority’s European Scientific Network on Microbiological Risk Assessment recently convened for its 22nd meeting to discuss various national efforts related to microbial food safety hazards such as prevalent foodborne pathogens, mycotoxins, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and other risks.
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting in Microbial Risk Assessment (JERMA) convened in response to a Codex Alimentarius Committee request to develop microbiological risk assessment models for Listeria monocytogenes, and to provide recommendations to inform possible future revisions to Codex guidelines on hygienic controls for L. monocytogenes.
Researchers have built a new One Health-based risk model for possible human Campylobacter outbreaks that leverages data on weather patterns and the presence of Campylobacter on broiler farms.
After conducting new research on the survival of the COVID-19 virus on food and food packaging, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has determined that, while the likelihood of catching the virus from food varies by surface type, the risk is “very low” overall.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled to annul the European Commission’s 2019 classification of titanium dioxide, which is also known as E171 and is used to add white color to foods, as a carcinogen.