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 C