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 FacilitiesFollowing Deadly Listeria Outbreak, USDA Launches Internal Investigation Into How it Handled Boar’s Head’s Unsanitary Production FacilityCongress Members Question USDA About Failure to Prevent Fatal Boar’s Head Listeria OutbreakBoar’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 LiverwurstInspection Reports Show Mold, Insects, Meat Residues, and More at Boar’s Head Facility Responsible for Listeria OutbreakBoar’s Head RTE Deli Meats Recalled After Two Listeriosis DeathsIt'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 SourceMcDonald’s E. coli Outbreak Grows to 104 Illnesses in 14 States; Testing Has Not Yet Found Outbreak StrainFDA Unable to Implicate Grower in E. coli Outbreak Linked to Taylor Farms Onions Served at McDonald'sCDC Names Taylor Farms Onions as Cause of McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak; Patient Count Rises to 90Beef Ruled Out as Source of McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak, Quarter Pounders Return to RestaurantsMajor 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 SamplesCanada 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 webinarHow is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine June/July ’24, by Bob FergusonHow is the Revolution in Technology Changing Food Safety?—Part 2—“Food Safety Insights” column for Food Safety Magazine August/September ’24, by Bob FergusonHow 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 ReviewsFDA Human Foods Program Reveals Work Plans for 2025FDA Introduces Streamlined Complaint Process on First Day of New Human Foods ProgramFDA Outlines its Developing Systematic Post-Market Review Process for Chemicals in FoodFDA Reorganization Officially Approved, Will be Implemented by October 1Food 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 CowsUSDA Begins Five-Part National Milk Testing Strategy for HPAI H5N1As Outbreak Rages On, USDA to Begin Field Trials for HPAI H5N1 Vaccine in CattleUSDA-FSIS to Begin Routine Monitoring for HPAI in Dairy Cows Under National Residue ProgramFDA Publishes Dairy Food Safety Research Agenda for HPAI H5N1More Canadian Milk Testing, New Pasteurization Study Shows HPAI is Not Food Safety RiskUSDA 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 VirusUSDA Testing Retail Ground Beef for HPAI H5N1; Maintains That U.S. Meat Supply is SafeFDA Testing Finds HPAI in Retail Milk Samples; Research Required to Determine Infectivity, Food Safety RiskUSDA 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 DecemberUSDA-FSIS Extends Comment Period for Proposed Salmonella Regulatory FrameworkStudy Supports USDA’s ...
