Category Science & Research

A study on Campylobacter in Norwegian broiler flocks older than 50 days at slaughter has indicated age and outdoor access are important risk factors. The research work in 2018 shows that 43.3 percent of flocks tested positive for Campylobacter jejuni when sampled at slaughter. Broilers more than 50 days of age at slaughter were last... Continue Reading Read More

Environmental factors impacting the risk of produce becoming contaminated in the Yuma growing region of Arizona are the subject of a new study. University of Arizona (UA) Cooperative Extension scientists are partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Yuma growers, local irrigation districts, and the Arizona Department of Agriculture on a multi-year study of... Continue Reading Read More

Future Salmonella outbreaks are likely to become more severe, according to researchers from an Australian university. The team from the University of Sydney used more than 17,000 Salmonella Typhimurium isolates collected from 2008 to 2016 to demonstrate that genetic networks of Salmonella are linked through a few degrees of separation, likely indicating an increasing severity... Continue Reading Read More

Its critics say the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has “doubled down” on the active ingredient in Roundup, the popular weed killer. But that’s probably an overstatement. On April 30 the EPA changed Roundup’s label requirements with suggested application measures to reduce glyphosate drift and disclosure about herbicide resistance. New instructions will advise against spraying Roundup... Continue Reading Read More

Disease researchers say infections from foodborne pathogens increased in 2018 when compared with 2015-17, with the increasing use of culture-independent diagnostic tests. The overall safety of food eaten in the U.S. is not trending in a positive direction according to an article published in the weekly Morbid and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for... Continue Reading Read More

Climate change is likely to have considerable impact on food safety, placing public health at risk, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In its first publication on the topic, WHO officials said changing rainfall patterns and increases in extreme weather events and the annual average temperature are impacts of climate change. This will affect... Continue Reading Read More

Cross-contamination during transportation and slaughter of poultry plays an important role for Campylobacter, according to researchers. The study investigated the prevalence of Campylobacter in birds from three farms at different ages and corresponding carcasses and poultry products, as well as the effect of certain stages in the poultry slaughter process. Campylobacter-infected flocks may be a... Continue Reading Read More

Nordic nations had a seasonal campylobacteriosis peak in mid- to late summer while most other European countries had a smaller rise earlier in the year, according to a study. Researchers in Eurosurveillance examined how the seasonality of campylobacteriosis varied across Europe from January 2008 to December 2016, looked at associations with temperature and precipitation and... Continue Reading Read More

A cellular recycling process can help combat Salmonella, according to researchers at the University of Warwick. This process, called autophagy, could also prevent other bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Shigella, and Staphylococcus from developing. The analysis of the complex molecular interactions between bacteria and human cells provides clues as to what makes bacteria successful invaders.... Continue Reading Read More

Dung beetles and soil bacteria on farms could help suppress E. coli and other harmful pathogens, according to research. The study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology found improved food safety may be enhanced by on‐farm biodiversity and the current view that farm simplification helps may undervalue natural resistance to human-pathogen survival. Growers are... Continue Reading Read More