The success of PulseNet for tracing the source of foodborne illness outbreaks has become the industry’s own worst enemy as more news coverage has eroded consumer trust, according to an ex-USDA food safety expert.
Lack of federal funding has stalled the CDC’s establishment of five dedicated Food Safety Centers of Excellence, as required under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), according to the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research...
Effective media communication can be crucial to prevent the spread of foodborne illness outbreaks and to avoid misinformation, global government officials said at a meeting to discuss lessons learned from recent outbreaks.
Analyzing the distribution, or epidemiology, of foodborne illnesses is a standard tool in controlling outbreaks, but infodemiology – the analysis of information distributed on the internet – could help minimize the impact of outbreaks in the future.
The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that it will delay the implementation of a controversial programme to test beef products for non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).
The Canadian government is planning cuts to food safety inspection funding put in place following the Maple Leaf listeriosis outbreak – a move that a food safety inspectors’ union claims could increase foodborne illness risk.
The cost of foodborne illness in the United States is about $77.7bn per year, according to Dr. Robert Scharff, an Ohio State University assistant professor and former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) economist – slashing in half his previous, widely...
President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group (FSWG) has made significant progress, reporters were told in a conference call on Wednesday – while a separate study suggested budget cuts were having an impact on food safety.
US and Canadian food safety authorities have issued separate warnings on a brand of jalapeno and Serrano peppers potentially contaminated with Salmonella.
US authorities have awarded over $10m in food safety grants to universities across the country with the aim of boosting research and education and reducing concern.
Dilly-dallying over whether to dish up an extra $1.4bn over five years to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act is not only scandalous – it’s also false economy.
Americans are willing to pay more for safer food – but the amount they are willing to pay is highly dependent on the duration and severity of the illness prevented, as well as cost, according to new research.
As many as one in five Americans are particularly susceptible to foodborne illness due to age or conditions that weaken the immune system, according to a new study published in the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease.
Cargill has assembled a panel of food safety experts to review its enhanced ground turkey safety standards, established in the wake of a nationwide salmonella outbreak.
The incidence of salmonella has not decreased in 15 years – and has increased by 10 percent in recent years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has said it is suspending testing of dry and semi-dry fermented sausages for E. coli O157:H7 after not finding a single positive result for nine years.
The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued draft guidelines to help small ready-to-eat meat manufacturers reduce the risk of harmful bacteria in their products, following related recalls last year.
Speed is essential for pinpointing the source of food contamination and saving lives, according to a new study examining the 2008 salmonella outbreak caused by Mexican peppers, but first linked to US tomatoes.
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) has urged Congress to approve the $1.4bn of funding estimated to be necessary to implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which President Obama signed into law on January 4.
Consumers are willing to pay more than government analyses suggest in order to reduce their risk of becoming ill from foodborne pathogens, according to a new study published in Food Policy.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that its Reportable Food Registry (RFR) is working to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks, in its first annual report on its efficacy.
Food processors must develop a complete culture of food safety that goes beyond such basic measures as regulatory compliance if they are serious about tackling the issue, according to new research.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has reintroduced legislation intended to create a single agency focused solely on overseeing the safety of the US food supply.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised downward its estimate of the number of Americans who become sick due to foodborne illness each year – from 76m to 48m.
Meat processing giant JBS is to roll out around-the-clock video surveillance across its eight US beef plants in a bid to boost food safety, quality and animal handling practices.
Long-stalled food safety legislation could reach the Senate’s agenda this week, while a coalition of 125 organizations continues to push for an amendment to exempt small businesses.
A breakthrough produce wash has been developed that dramatically reduces the presence microorganisms on leafy greens and helps maintain freshness, said Chiquita.
The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) has called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update foodborne illness data that it claims is out of date.
Foodborne illness survivors and consumer organizations met in Washington on Wednesday to urge senators to vote on the food safety bill that has been awaiting consideration since November.
A massive multi-state recall of salmonella-tainted shell eggs has led to renewed calls for food safety legislation to move forward in the Senate, as the number of related illnesses looks likely to grow, according to officials.
Norovirus and salmonella caused the most reported foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States in 2007, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lawmakers released a bipartisan agreement on the Senate’s food safety bill on Thursday, signaling that it is likely to be debated in the Senate when it reconvenes in September.
A new joint project between DuPont Qualicon and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) aims to develop testing to detect hard-to-identify strains of E.coli that are not regulated and have been causing increasing instances of food contamination.
The Food and Drug Administration is not currently equipped to handle food safety problems and needs to switch to a risk based system, argues a report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich) has called for action on the Senate’s food safety bill, which has seen no attempt to move it forward since it passed from Committee with strong bipartisan support in November.
The US federal government has introduced new standards on Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry with the aim of eliminating 65,000 foodborne illnesses a year.
A consumer and public health coalition is urging a US Senator to reconsider exemptions proposed for the Food Safety Modernization Act as they would create a 'loophole' in safety regulations.
Little or no progress has been made in reducing the incidence of foodborne illness in the United States in recent years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Federal inspections of food manufacturing facilities have declined over time, as have regulatory actions triggered by inspections, a government auditor reported on Wednesday.
Many states are struggling to investigate and report foodborne illness outbreaks, according to research from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
Federal agencies in the US have announced two major public meetings later this month will look at progress on the success of food safety measures, including the tracing of E.coli contaminated products.
Acute foodborne illnesses cost the United States a staggering $152bn a year, with almost a quarter of this burden attributed to fresh, canned and processed produce, said a report from Produce Safety Project (PSP).
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich) has criticized the Senate for stalling over food safety legislation that passed from committee in November with strong bipartisan support.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested $4.03bn for food safety and public health promotion as part of President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget – a 23 percent increase on 2010’s $3.3bn budget.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has released a report examining food traceability, with the aim of reducing foodborne illness by making it easier to trace food along the entire supply chain.
Federal agencies in the United States need to increase the speed and accuracy of traceability systems to combat outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, said the FDA as it called a public meeting on the matter.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a $17.5m investment in food and feed safety standards encompassing federal, state, and local partners.
As a high profile food safety bill awaits consideration in the Senate, a new survey shows the number of Americans who are very or extremely concerned about food safety has remained constant since late 2007 – at about a third.
Nestle’s Toll House cookie dough has returned to stores with different packaging than the E. coli-tainted batch that was recalled two months ago, after “helpful discussions” with the FDA, the company said.
