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Some retailer names released in relation to outbreak traced to soft cheeses

March 5, 2021

The FDA has posted lists of retailers that may have received queso fresco cheeses that are linked to a deadly outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections. The lists may not include all retailers that received the cheeses but are current as of today. Investigators with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who are working with state agencies are reporting that the cheeses made by El Abuelito Cheese Inc. in Paterson, NJ, have been distributed in at…

Food Safety News

Becerra’s nomination is in line with many well known past picks to run HHS

By Dan Flynn

March 5, 2021

If there was a long history of only prominent physicians being named secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, then the nomination of lawyer/politician Xavier Becerra might look like the administration has a weak candidate is in line as HHS boss, especially during a pandemic. But the fact is that among the 24 HHS Secretaries that came before Becerra, most were like him — major state politicians — not leaders in health, or medicine,…

Food Safety News

Austria checks producer hygiene; reviews cheese and produce safety

By News Desk

March 5, 2021

Austria has verified hygiene and self-controls at sites handling and processing food of animal origin. The review published by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) looked at general and specific hygiene requirements at these high risk companies in 2019. A total of 1,501 samples were taken from 175 companies as part of the campaign. Of these, 276 were of food and 1,225 were environmental samples. Of the food samples from across the country,…

Food Safety News

A seat at the enforcement table: ‘I wish I would have acted sooner’

By Guest Contributor

March 5, 2021

Contributed Opinion By Joseph A. Levitt I will soon be retiring after 42-plus years, first 25 years at the Food and Drug Administration, and then 17 years in private practice, and I wanted to share the most important lesson I have learned from food companies facing food safety and compliance challenges. In one phrase, the lesson is: “I wish I’d acted sooner.” This spans a lot of examples, from: “I wish I’d recalled product sooner” to “I wish I’d called…

Food Safety News

Foreign travel linked to a third of intestinal pathogen disease in Canada

By News Desk

March 5, 2021

A recent report out of Canada shows Salmonella and Campylobacter as the top two pathogens involved in intestinal diseases in the country, with retail meats as one of the likely sources. FoodNet Canada, a program within the Public Health Agency of Canada, complied the data used for its annual report from its surveillance program. Officials collected the data in 2019. “Sentinel sites” in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario provided the data. The report also includes…

Food Safety News

NAMI petitions SCOTUS for writ of certiorari over California’s Prop 12

By Dan Flynn

March 4, 2021

The State of California has until April 2 to respond to a Petition for a writ of certiorari filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). Attorneys for NAMI say enactment of California’s Proposition 12 demands the Supreme Court answer a question raised by the so-called Farm Animal Confinement Initiative. That question is this: “Whether the Constitution permits California to extend its police power beyond its territorial borders by banning…

Food Safety News

Norway analyzes COVID-19 impact on other infections

By Joe Whitworth

March 4, 2021

The decline in testing referrals for certain diseases during the coronavirus pandemic was greatest for foodborne and waterborne infections, according to an analysis in Norway. The project compares the number of referrals for diagnostic testing of selected notifiable pathogens and the proportion that tested positive during six months of the COVID-19 pandemic — March to September 2020 — with normal laboratory work before it started, defined as October 2019 to February 2020. Results showed COVID-19…

Food Safety News

Virtual conference to explore consumer food safety behavior

By News Desk

March 4, 2021

The Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE) is hosting the Consumer Food Safety Education Virtual Conference, March 9-12. The conference is dedicated to consumer food safety education. “COVID-19 has us shining a spotlight on home meal preparation, hand hygiene and food delivery,” said Shelley Feist, executive director of PFSE. “This event offers up new data points and new ideas for connecting with people on the importance of home hand hygiene and food safety.” Attendees can…

Food Safety News

FSAI records rise in illegal food business investigations

By News Desk

March 4, 2021

Irish officials investigated almost 50 unregistered food businesses in 2020 which is more than double the figure from the year before. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) was part of enquiries into 47 unregistered firms this past year compared to 19 in 2019. Investigations resulted in 17 tons of unfit or unsafe food taken off the market. Most cases involved the sale of meat or ready-to-eat products. Home-produced food sold online Officials found many…

Food Safety News

Sources for 2 out of 3 outbreaks so far this year remain unknown

By News Desk

March 4, 2021

The table below shows outbreak investigations being managed by FDA’s CORE Response Teams so far this year. The investigations are in a variety of stages. Some outbreaks have limited information with investigations ongoing, others may be near completion. The Food and Drug Administration will issue public health advisories for outbreak investigations that have resulted in specific, actionable steps for consumers — such as throwing out or avoiding specific foods — to take to protect themselves, according…

Food Safety News

Breaking news for everyone's consumption

Blog Authors

Some retailer names released in relation to outbreak traced to soft cheeses

Becerra’s nomination is in line with many well known past picks to run HHS

Austria checks producer hygiene; reviews cheese and produce safety

A seat at the enforcement table: ‘I wish I would have acted sooner’

Foreign travel linked to a third of intestinal pathogen disease in Canada

NAMI petitions SCOTUS for writ of certiorari over California’s Prop 12

Norway analyzes COVID-19 impact on other infections

Virtual conference to explore consumer food safety behavior

FSAI records rise in illegal food business investigations

Sources for 2 out of 3 outbreaks so far this year remain unknown

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