Food safety laboratories are undergoing a significant shift as the food industry faces increasing pressure for speed, accuracy, and transparency. Traditional microbiological methods remain foundational, but they are often too slow to support today’s accelerated production cycles and complex supply chains. As a result, laboratories are adopting rapid microbiological methods, digital data systems, and artificial intelligence to enhance decision-making and reduce risk.
Food fraud, driven primarily by economic gain, can rapidly escalate from quality concerns into serious public health crises when adulteration goes undetected. Modern analytical technologies such as spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry, and PCR are effective tools to authenticate ingredients and detect adulteration before products reach consumers. This article highlights that food fraud prevention is most effective at the ingredient level and explores practical applications, cost considerations, and implementation strategies for building a safer and more transparent food system.
New research is identifying workable solutions to the presence of heavy metals in vegetables and rice that can be applied by all stakeholders from growers to consumers.
New research suggests that the most effective treatments for reducing levels of the toxic metal arsenic in rice are cultivar selection, irrigation management, cooking approach and the application of selenium or silicon soil amendments.
The CCT Tool, an online searchable database providing a consolidated list of contaminant levels (e.g., tolerances, action levels, and guidance levels) that are used to evaluate potential health risks of contaminants in human foods
The new rule establishes requirements for agricultural water assessments, and sets pre-agricultural water testing and mitigation requirements for farms.
Since 2019, the FDA has tested nearly 13,000 food samples for PFAS and developed new, validated methods for measuring 30 different PFAS in a diverse range of food types.
The two-year study looked at Listeria contamination patterns in three produce processing facilities, using whole genome sequencing to link positive samples to possible sources. The researchers also tested biocides against resident Listeria populations to gauge efficacy and potential loss of sensitivity.
There are many ways to build a successful internal audit program. Taking the time upfront to identify the format, structure and team members is critical. In this article we discuss the key elements of a successful program and provide guidance to ensure that audits add value to the daily operations across the facility.
The first course, Food Safety Testing – Above & Beyond PCQI Principles, will include three 90-minute online classes, led by Trish Wester, President of the Association for Food Safety Auditing Professionals.
