Scott Gottlieb, M.D., commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, on March 5 notified Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, that he will resign from the agency he has led since May 2017.  Dr. Gottlieb said he wanted to spend more time with his family. Since taking the helm at the F.D.A., he… read more

The Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 25 outlined the agency’s strategy for ensuring that imported foods are safe for consumption. Four goals guide the strategy: Food offered for import meets U.S. food safety requirements. F.D.A. border surveillance prevents entry of unsafe foods. Rapid and effective response to unsafe imported food. Effective and efficient food… read more

The Food Safety Modernization Act created a sea change in the relations between government and industry in their collaborative pursuit of ensuring a safer food supply for Americans. With most FSMA rules well into implementation, the food industry has been able to direct increased attention to other regulatory issues it will confront in 2019. Food… read more

Consumers want to know more about the entire journey, from the farm to the store, of food products, according to the International Food Information Council Foundation, which on Jan. 8 listed its top five food trends for 2019. “Consumer interest and awareness of the origins of their food used to start and stop at the… read more

From flying cars to sustainable energy sources, visions of tomorrow’s most life-enhancing technologies invariably revolve around more efficient ways to operate. Although some of these solutions lie in a more distant reality, manufacturing’s pioneers have shaped cutting-edge forms of product inspection technology that help processors make significant gains in food safety while enhancing efficiency. Recent… read more

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Dec. 20 announced the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, which requires food manufacturers, importers and certain retailers to label foods containing genetically modified or bioengineered ingredients. “The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard increases the transparency of our nation’s food system, establishing guidelines for regulated entities on when and how… read more

A look at the most read stories from SmartBrief’s Restaurant and ProChef newsletters over the past year reveals a few key themes. Stories about restaurant revamps — whether that meant a new look or even a new name — caught readers’ attention. In culinary news, many of the dishes that garnered headlines in 2018 fell into one… read more

McDonald’s Corp. has unveiled a new beef antibiotic policy that will apply to 85% of its global beef supply chain. The company developed this policy over the last year and a half while working with veterinarians, public health leaders and the beef producers responsible for the health of animals. “McDonald’s believes antibiotic resistance is a critical… read more

Antibiotics don’t affect the levels of antimicrobial resistance in ground beef, according to a new study conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers that appeared in the Journal of Food Protection. Antimicrobial use in U.S. cattle production has “minimal to no impact on (antimicrobial resistance) AMR in the resident bacteria,” the study said. The World Health Organization and… read more

A nationwide advisory to stop eating romaine lettuce remains in effect this week as federal health and food safety officials scramble to find new suppliers amid an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 32 people and hospitalized 13 in 11 states. The outbreak, announced jointly Nov. 20 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention… read more