Civil Law

Firing of thousands of health agency employees will undermine food safety

— OPINION —

The cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services today make a mockery of the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan by arbitrarily decimating new staff in key public health agencies who might actually implement the slogan.  

The firings impact staff across HHS and affect thousands of people on “probationary” status.  

The mass firings will undermine the work of two of the agencies that solve and prevent foodborne outbreaks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the … Read the rest

Civil Law

Leadership, accountability and the toxic baby food crisis

— OPINION —

The toxic baby food crisis is not just a failure in public health. It is a defining moral challenge for an industry entrusted with the most sacred responsibility: nourishing our children.

For years, warnings about heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium, coupled with pathogens such as Cronobacter sakazakii, have sounded loudly, only to be met with insufficient action. The public’s trust has been steadily undermined by corporate inertia and regulatory gaps that prioritize short-term profits over long-term … Read the rest

Civil Law

Hong Kong investigates flight-related food poisoning cases

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) in Hong Kong is investigating reports of food poisoning involving passengers on flights from Nepal.

A total of 36 people have fallen ill on two Cathay Pacific flights from Kathmandu to Hong Kong.

The first cluster of patients developed food poisoning symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and fever, about 10 to 30 minutes after having meals served on a flight on Jan. 8.

After speaking with people on an exchange trip to Nepal, … Read the rest

Civil Law

Publisher’s Platform: What has happened to the “Safest Food Supply in the World?”

“Over the last few months, we have seen a stunning number of outbreaks, and I know because I have been doing this work since the 1993 Jack-in-the-Box E. coli Outbreak,” said William “Bill” Marler. “From Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli and foods as varied as cucumbers, deli meat, chicken, carrots, hamburger, onions, lettuce and eggs, it seems that out food safety net is fraying at best and broken at worst, and we are not even talking about the countless … Read the rest

Civil Law

Guest Blog: FDA issues Food Traceability Final Rule: key takeaways for the industry

Written by: Sharon MaylMatthew Piscitelli

On November 15, FDA issued the long-awaited Final Rule: Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (Food Traceability Rule or final rule), which establishes additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for those that manufacture, process, pack or hold certain foods.

More specifically, the final rule identifies Key Activities or Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) along the supply chain where records containing Key Data Elements (KDEs) will have to be created and maintained for foods on the Food Traceability List … Read the rest

Civil Law

Technology in food driving FDA’s announcements during the past week

During the same week that the Food and Drug Administration re-affirmed its approval of Atlantic salmon with an intentionally altered genome, the agency also permitted the growth of chicken from animal cells in laboratories.

The approval went to a specific company, UPSIDE FOODS. The company is a leader among those wanting to harvest cells from animals and then use the cells to grow meat and poultry in lab settings.

The federal government’s dual regulatory system for cell-grown meat and poultry … Read the rest

Civil Law

UK food microbiology lab notes less contact with the EU

The United Kingdom leaving the European Union has resulted in reduced communication between UK and EU food networks, according to a new report.

The annual report covers work of the UK’s national reference laboratory (NRL) for food microbiology between April 2021 and March 2022.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides this service for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for Listeria monocytogenes, coagulase-positive staphylococci, E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance.

Reduced information sharing

The NRL has had less contact … Read the rest

Civil Law

Kentucky launches new food safety reporting website

This month, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced the launch of a new website where Kentuckians can easily report foodborne issues.

Before the website, foodborne illness was reported to the district or local health departments by phone. The new website allows for quick and easy reporting by consumers. It also allows state public health officials to get the necessary information more efficiently, enabling quicker action to prevent others from becoming sick.

“Protecting the health and safety of our Kentucky families is … Read the rest