Publisher’s Platform: Hepatitis A and the Food Service Industry: A Case for Universal Vaccination
Bill Marler’s op‑ed urges universal Hepatitis A vaccination for food‑service workers, noting that the CDC removed the vaccine from the routine childhood schedule. He stresses that the virus spreads during the two weeks before symptoms appear, turning a single unvaccinated employee into a potential outbreak source. Outbreak investigations and post‑exposure treatments can cost millions, while the vaccine itself is only $100‑$200 per dose. Marler calls for a national mandate requiring employers to cover vaccination costs for their staff.
Little Voluntary Movement by Companies to Remove Artificial Food Dyes Spurs Action by Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports warns that major food manufacturers have not acted on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s call to voluntarily eliminate synthetic food dyes. Companies such as Coca‑Cola, Mondelez and Unilever still list artificial colorants in their...
Online Food Platforms Fined in China
Chinese regulators have fined seven major e‑commerce platforms for food safety breaches linked to ghost‑kitchen operations. The State Administration for Market Regulation imposed total penalties of 3.6 billion yuan (about $530 million), ordered the removal of illegal listings, and suspended new shop...
Cantaloupes Recalled because of Salmonella
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that Ayco Farms Inc. recalled 8,302 cartons of whole cantaloupes due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recall, first launched on March 24, was upgraded on April 20 to a Class I recall, the highest severity level,...
Scientists Say Nanoplastics Can Cause Salmonella to Become Stronger
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign discovered that nanoplastics embedded in food‑packaging can boost the virulence of Salmonella bacteria. Laboratory experiments showed the pathogen becomes more aggressive when exposed to nanoplastic particles commonly found on ground‑turkey packaging. The study,...
EFSA Rolls Out 2026 Food Safety Campaign
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has unveiled its Safe2Eat campaign for 2026, targeting the entire EU. The initiative spotlights safe food practices, additive transparency, and flavoring information to help consumers make healthier choices. By deploying educational tools and outreach...
Your Loyalty Cards Could Save Your Life
Direct-to-consumer food recall alerts in the U.S. remain fragmented, with no legal requirement for brands to notify purchasers directly. A recent PIRG Education Fund report highlights delays and gaps, noting that agencies like the FDA often omit lower‑profile recalls from...
Sunday Edition: King Raw
Federal inspectors confirmed E. coli contamination in raw‑milk cheddar cheese from Raw Farm LLC in Fresno, prompting a protest‑filed recall after the product was linked to an outbreak that has sickened nine people across three states. Similar raw‑milk cheese outbreaks...
Oysters, Clams From Certain Washington Harvest Areas Recalled because of Norovirus
The Washington State Department of Health notified the FDA on April 10 of a recall of all shellstock harvested by Gomez Shellfish LLC from a portion of Hammersley Inlet between March 22 and April 9, after raw oysters were linked...
Ice Cream Recalled because of Undeclared Allergens, Colors
Silver Moon LP, operating as Loard’s Ice Cream in San Leandro, California, has issued a voluntary recall of every retail‑size ice‑cream container it sold after an FDA inspection revealed missing ingredient statements. The omission left allergens such as milk, nuts,...
Denmark Solves 4 of 10 Recent Listeria Outbreaks
Denmark reported 199 invasive Listeria monocytogenes infections from 2023 to 2025, averaging 66 cases per year and an incidence of 1.1 per 100,000 residents. Annual case counts varied between 54 and 84. The Statens Serum Institut identified ten outbreak clusters,...
Seafood, Cantaloupe, Canned Foods Subject to Increased Import Enforcement
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has revised its import alerts, tightening enforcement on several high‑risk food categories, notably seafood, cantaloupe, and canned goods. The changes, posted on April 13, affect shipments from multiple foreign sources and reflect recent alerts...
Norway Checks Compliance with Salmonella Import Conditions
Norway’s Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) completed a year‑long audit of imports subject to its Salmonella guarantee, covering June 2025 through March 2026. The review uncovered systematic weaknesses in both sampling protocols and the accompanying documentation that importers must provide. While...
Report Shows Shortcomings in Recall System
A new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group finds that food recall announcements have slipped, with only about 320 recalls reported in 2025 and many issued months or years after the first illness. The analysis highlights that FDA...
UK Analysis Reveals Little Change in Consumer Food Safety Behavior
The UK Food Standards Agency's latest analysis shows that consumer food safety practices have remained largely unchanged between 2020 and 2025. Self‑reported data indicate stable rates of hand‑washing, cross‑contamination avoidance, cooking temperatures, refrigeration, and adherence to use‑by dates. The report...