In the news

Hormel Foods Sales, LLC recalled a limited number of two PLANTERS® products produced at one of its facilities in April. This recall only impacts two retailers in five states. These products are being recalled because they can potentially be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The products were shipped to Publix distribution warehouses in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina, as well as to Dollar Tree distribution warehouses in South Carolina and Georgia. The recalled product is limited to 4 oz. packages of PLANTERS® Honey Roasted Peanuts and 8.75 oz cans of PLANTERS® Deluxe Lightly Salted Mixed Nuts. There have been no reports of illness related to this recall, and all retailers that received the affected product have been properly notified. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/hormel-foods-sales-llc-recalls-limited-number-plantersr-honey-roasted-peanuts-4-oz-and-plantersr

Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt and Kiel University have developed a novel sensor for detecting bacteria. The information was published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Article ASAP. The sensor is a covalent nanolayer system that consists of a conductive and biorepulsive base layer topped by a layer carrying biorecognition sites. The polypyrrole backbone makes the resulting nanolayer systems conductive, opening the opportunity for constructing an electrochemistry-based sensor system. The basic concept of the sensor exploits the highly selective binding of carbohydrates by certain harmful bacteria. The sensor can detect dangerous bacteria with a high sensitivity level and determine their concentration. The selectivity and sensitivity of the sensing remained the same even in the presence of a large excess of nonbinding bacteria, making the system useful for the rapid and selective detection of pathogens in complex matrices. @ https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.3c14387

On May 2, 2024, the FDA published a final rule on agricultural water, representing an important step toward enhancing produce safety. The revised requirements are intended to enhance public health by improving the safety of water used in produce cultivation. The revisions are also designed to be practical across various agricultural water systems, uses, and practices while remaining adaptable to future agricultural water quality science advancements. The new rule establishes requirements for agricultural water assessments that evaluate various key determinants of contamination risks associated with pre-harvest agricultural water. Including an evaluation of the water system, water use practices, crop characteristics, environmental conditions, potential impacts on water from adjacent and nearby land, and other relevant factors. The new rule requires farms to implement effective mitigation measures within specific timeframes based on findings from their assessments. Hazards related to certain activities associated with adjacent and nearby land uses are subject to expedited mitigation. The new rule adds new options for mitigation measures, providing farms additional flexibility in responding to findings from pre-harvest agricultural water assessments. Farms must conduct assessments of their pre-harvest agricultural water annually and identify any conditions likely to introduce known or reasonably foreseeable hazards into or onto covered produce or food contact surfaces whenever a significant change occurs. The revisions will more comprehensively address a known route of microbial contamination that can lead to preventable foodborne illness.@ https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-publishes-landmark-final-rule-enhance-safety-agricultural-water?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

The USDA/FSIS announced on May 01, 2024, that Cargill Meat Solutions (Hazleton, PA) recalled approximately 16,243 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The raw ground beef items were produced on April 26-27, 2024. The items were shipped to Walmart retail locations nationwide. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/cargill-meat-solutions-recalls-ground-beef-products-due-possible-e–coli-o157h7