Ep. 184. Hottest Topics of 2024: Outbreaks, Food Chemicals, FDA Changes, and More

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we discuss the top food safety stories of 2024 and their implications. We cover:

The Boar's Head Listeria Outbreak [6:24]

• USDA Announces Immediate Changes to Listeria Rule, Inspections for RTE Food Facilities
• Following Deadly Listeria Outbreak, USDA Launches Internal Investigation Into How it Handled Boar’s Head’s Unsanitary Production Facility
• Congress Members Question USDA About Failure to Prevent Fatal Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak
• Boar’s Head to Face Criminal Investigation Over Listeria Outbreak as Tenth Death is Reported 
• Following Outbreak, Boar’s Head Forms Food Safety Council of Top Experts, Closes Facility, Discontinues Liverwurst
• Inspection Reports Show Mold, Insects, Meat Residues, and More at Boar’s Head Facility Responsible for Listeria Outbreak
• Boar’s Head RTE Deli Meats Recalled After Two Listeriosis Deaths
• It's Time to Reformulate Deli Meats to Reduce the Risk of Listeria monocytogenes—Feature story for Food Safety Magazine December ‘24/January ’25, by Kathleen Glass, Ph.D., Wendy Bedale, Ph.D., and Daniel Unruh, Ph.D.

The McDonald's/Taylor Farms E. coli Outbreak [18:53]

• FDA Closes Investigation of McDonald’s E. Coli Outbreak Without Tests Confirming Onions as Source
• McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak Grows to 104 Illnesses in 14 States; Testing Has Not Yet Found Outbreak Strain
• FDA Unable to Implicate Grower in E. coli Outbreak Linked to Taylor Farms Onions Served at McDonald's
• CDC Names Taylor Farms Onions as Cause of McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak; Patient Count Rises to 90
• Beef Ruled Out as Source of McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak, Quarter Pounders Return to Restaurants
• Major Chains Pull Onions Due to E. coli Concerns After Taylor Farms Confirmed as McDonald’s Supplier 
• At Least One Death Caused by E. coli Outbreak Linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders 
• Food Safety Five Ep. 1: Fatal E. coli Outbreak Linked to Onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders—Food Safety Five Newsreel video

Grimmway Farms E. coli Outbreak [32:31]

• Grimmway Farms Carrot E. coli Outbreak Closed; No Match Found in Environmental Samples
• Canada Recalls Carrots Implicated in Fatal E. coli Outbreak Affecting U.S.
• Death Reported in E. coli Outbreak Linked to Nationally Distributed Organic Carrots 

The Yu Shang Foods Listeria Outbreak [33:48]

• Another Infant Death Linked to Yu Shang Listeria Outbreak 
• Yu Shang Brand RTE Meats Cause Two-Year-Long Listeria Outbreak Resulting in Death of an Infant 

Food Safety Technology Developments [36:37]

• How Rapid Development of Technology Has Revolutionized Food Safety—Food Safety Magazine on-demand webinar
• How is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine June/July ’24, by Bob Ferguson
• How is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—Part 2—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine August/September ’24, by Bob Ferguson
• How is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—Part 3—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine December ‘24/January ’25, by Bob Ferguson 
• Listeria, Salmonella Represent 40 Percent of FDA Food and Beverage Recalls in Last 20 Years

FDA Human Foods Program Restructuring [42:39]

• FDA Budget Constraints Lead to International Information-Sharing for Chemical Safety Reviews
• FDA Human Foods Program Reveals Work Plans for 2025
• FDA Introduces Streamlined Complaint Process on First Day of New Human Foods Program
• FDA Outlines its Developing Systematic Post-Market Review Process for Chemicals in Food
• FDA Reorganization Officially Approved, Will be Implemented by October 1
• Food Safety Five Ep. 2: How Budget Constraints May Influence FDA Food Chemical Safety Work—Food Safety Five Newsreel video

Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu (HPAI) H5N1 and Dairy Foods [50:30]

• California Declares State of Emergency Over HPAI H5N1 Outbreak in Dairy Cows
• USDA Begins Five-Part National Milk Testing Strategy for HPAI H5N1
• As Outbreak Rages On, USDA to Begin Field Trials for HPAI H5N1 Vaccine in Cattle
• USDA-FSIS to Begin Routine Monitoring for HPAI in Dairy Cows Under National Residue Program
• FDA Publishes Dairy Food Safety Research Agenda for HPAI H5N1
• More Canadian Milk Testing, New Pasteurization Study Shows HPAI is Not Food Safety Risk
• USDA Finds HPAI in Muscle of Sick Dairy Cow; Study Shows Infectious Potential of Contaminated Raw Milk 
• USDA Experiments Show Cooking Beef Patties to “Well Done” Kills HPAI Virus
• USDA Testing Retail Ground Beef for HPAI H5N1; Maintains That U.S. Meat Supply is Safe
• FDA Testing Finds HPAI in Retail Milk Samples; Research Required to Determine Infectivity, Food Safety Risk
• USDA Now Requires HPAI Testing for Dairy Cattle, Mandatory Reporting

USDA's Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products [57:35]

• USDA-FSIS to Hold Two Public Meetings on Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry in December
• USDA-FSIS Extends Comment Period for Proposed Salmonella Regulatory Framework
• Study Supports USDA’s Serotype-Specific Regulatory Framework for Salmonella in Poultry
• USDA-FSIS Publishes Proposed Regulatory Framework for Salmonella in Raw Poultry 
• USDA-FSIS: Salmonella Officially an Adulterant in Breaded, Stuffed Raw Chicken Products at 1 CFU/g or Higher
• NACMCF Reports on Reducing Salmonella in Poultry, Advises FSIS on Proposed Regulatory Framework
• Esteban and Eskin: On the Frontlines of the Food Safety Fight Against Salmonella in Poultry—Food Safety Matters podcast

FSMA 204/Food Traceability Rule Compliance [1:04:09]

• Leading Food Industry Associations Join Forces to Form FSMA 204 Collaboration 
• Public-Private, Sector-Neutral Partnership for Food Traceability Aims to Advance Industry Toward FSMA 204 Compliance 
• Report Highlights Industry Concerns With FSMA 204 Compliance, Barriers to Implementation
• World’s Largest Food Distributor Sysco Unveils its FSMA 204 Traceability Plan
• Kroger’s Traceability Policy Goes Beyond FSMA 204 by Including All Foods
• FDA Updates Human Foods Priorities; Releases FSMA 204, Foodservice Employee Health Resources
• Second Bill Introduced to Weaken FSMA 204; Safe Food Coalition Voices Opposition 
• Legislation Would Delay FSMA 204 Compliance Date, Ease Retailer Recordkeeping Requirements
• FSS '24: Regulatory, Industry Experts Share Best Practices Around FSMA 204 and Traceability Efforts
• Ep. 179. Dr. Takashi Nakamura: Ensuring Fresh Produce Safety From Field to Fork—Food Safety Matters Podcast 
• Better Food Traceability Can't Wait—Editorial piece by Frank Yiannas

Legislation Targeting Food Additives and “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) Substances [1:13:13]

• FDA Could Decide Whether to Ban Red Dye 3 in Food ‘In the Next Few Weeks,’ Officials Reveal in Senate Hearing 
• Congress Members Urge FDA to Ban Red Dye 3 in Food 
• FDA Budget Constraints Lead to International Information-Sharing for Chemical Safety Reviews 
• FDA Outlines its Developing Systematic Post-Market Review Process for Chemicals in Food
• BVO No Longer Authorized for Food Use by FDA
• The Evolving Landscape of Food Additives Regulation in the U.S., from the States to FDA
• California Bill Banning Some Artificial Colors in School Foods Advances, Awaits Signature Into Law 
• FDA Reviewing Safety of Food Chemicals of Concern, Like PFAS, BPA, Red Dye 3, and More 
• FDA Files Petitions to Rescind Approvals for Four Carcinogenic Food, Color Additives 
• ‘Toxic Free Food Act’ Would Close FDA GRAS ‘Loophole’ Allowing Potentially Toxic Additives in Food 
• Illinois Food Safety Act Banning Four Food Additives Passes State Senate, Amended to Include Manufacturers
• Pennsylvania is Latest State to Introduce Food Additives Legislation, While Kentucky Urges FDA to Take Control
• Missouri, Washington Introduce Bills to Ban Same Food Additives as California Food Safety Act

Another Bill Introduced in New York to Expand State Regulation of Food Additives

• ‘Safe School Meals Act’ Addresses Pesticides, PFAS, Food Dyes, and More in School Lunches
• Food Safety Five Ep. 2: How Budget Constraints May Influence FDA Food Chemical Safety Work—Food Safety Five Newsreel video 
• Ep. 162. Brian Sylvester: How the California Food Safety Act is Shaping U.S. Food Additives Regulation—Food Safety Matters Podcast

Environmental and Chemical Contaminants [1:24:42]

• FDA Defends Revoking Authorizations for Most Phthalates; Remaining Uses Under Review
• High Levels of Toxic Plasticizers Phthalates, Bisphenols Found in Nearly All Foods in U.S. 
• EU Considering Bisphenol Ban in Food Packaging Based on Nontraditional Risk Assessment; Scientists Show Support 
• EU Moves Closer to Possible Ban on BPA in Food Contact Materials 
• USDA Testing for 2023 Shows 99 Percent of Foods Do Not Exceed Pesticide Residue Tolerances 
• EFSA: Pesticide Residues Below Legal Limits in More Than 96 Percent of EU Food Samples
• EPA Immediately Suspends Use of Herbicide Dacthal With Emergency Order
• EPA Cancels Agricultural Use of Harmful Pesticide Acephate 
• Pesticide Chlormequat is Being Detected More Frequently in Humans, EPA Poised to Allow its Use on Food Crops
• California Assembly Passes Bill Expediting Review of Herbicide Paraquat
• Center for Food Safety Petitions EPA to Ban PFAS in Pesticides, Pesticide Containers
• EWG Publishes 2024 Dirty Dozen List of Produce Most Contaminated With Pesticides 
• Kraft Heinz Voluntarily Pulls Lunchables from School Lunch Program Following Consumer Reports Petition 
• Baby Food Safety Act Would Give FDA Authority to Limit Toxic Heavy Metals in Food for Children 
• Maryland Introduces Bill to Require Toxic Heavy Metals Testing for Baby Foods, Disclosure of Results
• Recall Rethink: Food Recall Vulnerabilities Exposed by the Cinnamon Applesauce Incident—Cover story for Food Safety Magazine August/September ’24, by Steven Mandernach, J.D. and Carrie Rigdon, Ph.D.

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