Microbiological

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A researcher from Southern Illinois University Carbondale has received a $150,000 grant from USDA-NIFA to develop an AI-based rapid detection method for Salmonella on onions.

An Oxford University researcher was awarded £5 million to develop a Campylobacter vaccine for livestock, which will be made possible by data gathered through a global metagenomic surveillance network that is established through collaboration with 19 partner countries.

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that USDA-FSIS’ work on several proposed standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in meat and poultry has suffered, as the agency has focused on developing a regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry.

Funded by the Center for Produce Safety, researchers with the University of Barcelona and the Spanish Research Council are developing novel testing protocols for norovirus and hepatitis A on berries and leafy greens, enabling faster analysis and reducing false positives. 

A recent report from the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) summarizes the development of formal risk assessment models for Listeria monocytogenes in leafy greens, cantaloupe, frozen vegetables, and ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood.

This episode of Food Safety Five discusses a recent report showing that FDA has not met its mandated food inspection targets since 2018. Also covered are FDA’s new action levels for lead in foods for babies and children, and the success of Canadian regulations to control Salmonella in raw, frozen and breaded chicken products.

FDA has released a new commodity-specific prevention strategy for norovirus and hepatitis A virus contamination of fresh and frozen berries.

Following the deaths of pet cats who ate raw food contaminated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1, raw pet food manufacturers must now consider the virus as a hazard in their food safety plans, under FDA’s FSMA Preventive Controls for Animal Food rule.

In response to USDA-FSIS’s proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry products, Consumer Reports has called the agency’s suggested enforceable standards “too lax,” and suggests specific changes, such as including S. Infantis as a serotype of public health concern. 

Uncovered through a FOIA request, an FDA Form 483 sent to Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility documented questionable food safety and hygiene observations. The release of the FOIA-requested form comes from increased scrutiny following the facility's implication as the supplier of McDonald’s onions that caused an E. coli outbreak in late 2024.