Consumer Reports (CR) has called on USDA to remove certain Lunchables food kits from the National School Lunch Program due to high levels of sodium and heavy metals found in the products. USDA currently allows two Lunchables kits—Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Stackers and Extra Cheesy Pizza—to be served to nearly 30 million children through the National School Lunch Program. To meet the program’s requirements, Kraft Heinz added more whole grains to the crackers and more protein to the Lunchable kits designed for schools, compared to store-bought versions. CR recently compared the nutritional p ..read more

On April 10, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented first-ever restrictions on the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances in drinking water, a pivotal move in shielding public well-being from waterborne hazards. EPA’s cap target six PFAS compounds, including two of the oldest and most widespread PFAS—PFOA and PFOS—at 4 parts per trillion. The rule also sets limits of 10 ppt for PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA (also known as GenX), thereby establishing a benchmark for the most stringent health thresholds concerning these impurities in potable water. Under the new rule, pu ..read more

A Texas dairy worker has tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, according to the CDC. The person inflicted has a mild case and is believed to be just the second human ever to have contracted the virus. The news comes on the heels of USDA confirming detection of HPAI in seven dairy herds in Texas, two in Kansas, and one a piece in Idaho, Michigan, and New Mexico. The National Veterinary Services Laboratories is performing additional tests on presumptive positive results from Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, and Texas. “This infection does not change the H5N1 bird flu h ..read more

Food delivery is entering a new era. Improvements in online platforms, triggered in large part by the COVID-19 pandemic, have made it easier than ever for consumers to order groceries and prepare food. This new accessibility means that delivery needs have increased at a rapid pace. For companies that provide food delivery services, food safety is a top concern. Improving the efficiency and affordability of deliveries while also ensuring food safety is a complex challenge, especially as companies seek to scale their operations. To meet the challenge, a growing number of companies are relying o ..read more

Food waste is a serious and growing problem that affects all aspects of sustainability: the economic, the environmental, and the humanitarian. It’s an overarching societal issue with global reach. Nearly one-third of all food produced each year is squandered or damaged before it can be consumed. While this spoilage can happen at any node along the food supply chain, the vast majority of food loss happens when perishable items spoil as they move through the cold chain. In the U.S. alone, more than 119 billion pounds of food are discarded between harvest and the family dining room table. That e ..read more

Detecting foodborne bacteria has never been easy. Pathogenic bacteria are often sparsely distributed throughout food batches and can be present in very low numbers in randomly collected food samples. Further, the diversity of normal flora found in various food matrices creates a complex and dynamic microbial ecosystem that could interfere with the detection of target pathogens. Microbial dynamics are also influenced by food’s microstructure and chemical composition, which adds additional complexity to the detection process. Consequently, the detection of foodborne pathogens requires, first an ..read more

This week, FDA issued an import alert for human food products with detectable levels of chemical contaminants that may present a safety concern to human health. The Import Alert 99-48, Detention without Physical Examination of Foods Due to Chemical Contamination, gives the agency the ability to help prevent entry of human food products into the U.S. if they are found to be contaminated with a broad range of human-made chemicals including benzene, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), among others. PFAS are a diverse group of thousands of ..read more

A California assembly member has introduced legislation that would prohibit the state’s public schools from serving foods that contain certain additives. In particular, Assembly Bill (AB) 2316, introduced by Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), would prohibit schools from serving foods containing six synthetic food dyes—Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3. Currently, products containing these dyes are required by the EU to carry a warning label. The introduction of AB 2316 follows the 2023 passage California Food Safety Act – which banned the use of four chemicals from foods sold in ..read more

USDA has finalized a rule to align the voluntary “Product of USA” label claim with consumer understanding of what the statement means. Tom Vilsack USDA agriculture secretary, also says the agency is awarding $9.5 million to 42 projects through the Local Meat Capacity grant program to expand processing options for the meat and poultry industry and new actions to ensure transparency and a fair and competitive market in the U.S seed industry. These actions build on President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy and the Biden-Harris Administration’s Action Plan ..read more

On March 6, FDA sent a letter to all cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors, and facility operators in the U.S. reminding them of the requirement to implement controls to prevent contamination from potential chemical hazards in food, including ground cinnamon products. The agency is also recommending the voluntary recall of certain ground cinnamon products sold by a number of brands at six different retail chains that were found to contain elevated levels of lead. The agency also notified the distributors and manufacturers of six specific products found to contain elevated levels of ..read more