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In the last couple of months, there were very few recalls due to microbial contamination. However, a couple of recalls were announced in the last few days. GreenCore Recall of Sandwiches due to Listeria monocytogenes On September 29, 2017, the FDA announced that GreenCore had recalled a variety of sandwich salads (egg salad sandwiches, ham salad sandwiches, and seafood) because Listeria monocytogenes (LM) was found after a routine inspection by the FDA at the Rhode Island plant environment. LM was not found in any of the products of the company. The sandwiches were distributed to American Food and Vending, Hannaford Brothers, Target, and Turkey...

The Meeting A public meeting is being hosted by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) on Thursday and Friday, October 26 and 27, 2017. The purpose of the meeting is to protect consumers from foodborne illnesses in the USA and countries all over the world by laying the foundation for the use of whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Why Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS) WGS analyses can determine the relationship between different bacterial isolates with higher resolution than other analytical methods, and...

The CDC Report The CDC reported that since the beginning of 2017 to mid-September there have been 988 Laboratory confirmed cases of Cyclospora infected people in 36 states of the USA. The number of cases this year is significantly higher than in 2016. The states with the most cases are Texas 28.8%, Florida 12.0%, and New York (including NYC) 10.6%. Historical View While the number of cases is higher this year, the director of CDC’s Division of Parasitic Disease, Dr. Monica Parise, said: “The numbers from this year were probably not outside the range that we’ve seen for the last five...

In a speech in front of National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), Dr. Scott Gottlieb,the FDA commissioner outlined some immediate steps to facilitate the implementation of the Produce Safety Rule established by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Dr. Gottlieb claims that since being in his post, he gained a deeper appreciation for the challenges and complexity that the globalized farming community is facing. Agricultural Water Compliance Dates He announced that the FDA issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would extend the compliance dates for the agricultural water requirements by an additional two to four years (for...