| Laboratory accreditation required by FSMA finally becoming a reality By News Desk on Dec 10, 2021 12:05 am A decade after the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law, the FDA’s final rule on Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (LAAF) for a laboratory accreditation program for the testing of food in certain circumstances is becoming a reality. Under the LAAF program, the Food and Drug Administration will recognize accreditation bodies (ABs)... Continue Reading EU sees large drop in food illnesses in 2020 partly because of COVID-19 By Joe Whitworth on Dec 10, 2021 12:03 am A decline in foodborne infections ranged from 7 percent to 53 percent in 2020 in Europe largely because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) report also saw Yersinia retake third place from E. coli for the number of... Continue Reading Researchers use survey to evaluate food safety challenges of blueberry harvesting By News Desk on Dec 10, 2021 12:02 am Researchers led by Jinru Chen, Ph.D., with the University of Georgia, are using an anonymous survey to better understand the current cleaning and sanitation methods used on blueberry harvest containers and machine harvesters. Based on the survey results and with the help of a blueberry industry advisory board, the researchers hope to identify cleaning and... Continue Reading E. coli outbreak involving thousands in Japan traced to red seaweed By News Desk on Dec 10, 2021 12:01 am E. coli was behind a large-scale food poisoning outbreak that involved about 3,000 school students and staff in Japan this past year, according to a study. The investigation found the 2020 outbreak was caused by red seaweed used in a salad contaminated with E. coli O7:H4. The seaweed had been imported in 2017. E. coli O7:H4 carrying... Continue Reading FDA steps up to better investigate foodborne illness outbreaks and find root causes By Guest Contributor on Dec 09, 2021 01:38 pm – Opinion – Editor’s note: The following is attributed to Frank Yiannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, and Stic Harris, D.V.M. director of the FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a longstanding commitment to strengthening food safety and better protecting consumers, as part of... Continue Reading |
