FSTR is being launched in conjunction with its anchor research study: The Food Safety Digital Maturity Benchmark, giving food manufacturers an independent way to measure the impacts of digital transformation, technology adoption, and operational performance. The study findings will debut at the 15th Anniversary Food Safety Consortium Conference & Expo, October 21-23, in Washington DC.
For food brands, processors, and exporters, aflatoxins represent a dual risk: severe public health consequences and strict regulatory enforcement. In 2024 alone, the EU rejected 127 shipments from Africa due to aflatoxin levels exceeding 2 ppb for AFB1. For consultants and auditors, understanding aflatoxin risk is now a core compliance skill for food safety, sustainability, and ESG(Environmental, Social and Governance) audits.
Growth, continuous improvement, and increased throughput should never come at the expense of robust food safety practices. Instead, food safety programs must evolve alongside manufacturing operations to ensure both objectives advance together. The challenge arises when operational excellence begins to outpace the food safety systems designed to protect both consumers and brands.
On the same day the SCOTUS sided with the Trump administration and the maker of the weedkiller Roundup, Trump issued an executive order aimed at reducing pesticides in the food supply and studying the health risks they pose but with no new federal funding, and it does not call for new regulations or legislation.
The 2024 annual report highlights a few noteworthy outbreaks: a large outbreak of E. coli linked to carrots, a historical outbreak of illnesses associated with cheese, and a novel series of adverse events linked to certain chocolate bars, cones, and gummies.
The planned activities include Food Chemical Safety, Nutrition and Microbiological Food Safety. In line with these 2026 priorities, HFP is also publishing its proposed 2026 guidance agenda to increase transparency of their work and processes.
Repeated oral exposure to H5N1 influenza virus in pasteurized milk does not cause adverse responses to subsequent influenza infection
From food safety and quality to food defense, integrity, and physical and digital security, the system continues to operate in silos. More than ever, there is the need for a unified, risk-based U.S. food protection system.
Director Monarez, the first Senate-confirmed director of the CDC, brings decades of frontline experience in disaster preparedness, biosecurity, and health innovation.
This plan elevates American agriculture as a key element of our nation’s national security, addressing urgent threats from foreign adversaries and strengthening the resilience of the nation’s food and agricultural systems.
