Quick bites from around the food safety arena
- Food safety attorney and Food Safety News publisher Bill Marler has identified Trader Joe’s Tarragon Chicken Salad wraps as the likely source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak affecting at least 50 patients. As of Oct. 23,neither the FDA nor the USDA have reported what brand is involved or which regions of the country are being investigated in connection with the outbreak.
- An outbreak of Salmonella Telelkebir connected to oysters harvested in the Little Wicomico River in Virginia has prompted a closure of the river to shellfish harvesting. The Virginia Health Department is reporting 55 patients across 19 states. The Little Wicomico Oyster Company has recalled certain oysters and worked with the CDC to notify restaurants and retailers where the oysters were distributed.
- Dutch authorities are ramping up efforts to reduce the risk of Salmonella contamination in poultry. New measures will take effect at the beginning of 2027, including monitoring aimed at faster detection of cases and a compulsory vaccination requirement. The prevalence of Salmonella detected in laying hens in the Netherlands is above the EU target of two percent.
- A federal judge has imposed a stay on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s reorganization plan. The department announced plans in April to close some offices and facilities and move others out of Washington to USDA offices across the country. Government employee unions sought the order after filing a lawsuit that contends only Congress can decide how and where appropriated funds are spent. The court order runs through Dec. 1, corresponding to the expiration of the current continuing resolution allowing the federal government to operate.
Today’s Topic: UPF Defined
More than a year ago, the Food and Drug Administration and USDA issued a Request for Information to solicit public input to establish a federally recognized, uniform definition of ultra-processed foods (UPF).
Since then, it’s become clear that defining ultra-processed foods is no easy task. So far, the FDA and USDA have not given up by adopting the phrase "I know it when I see it," which United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart used in 1964 to describe his threshold test for obscenity.