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Newsletter Volume 15, Issue 25
Hi FSQA Professional, In FST Soap Box Op-Ed section, Brian Ronholm of Consumer Reports offers CR's opinion on FDA's handling of the Cyclospora outbreak. Last week, we had a very successful Food Safety Consortium and we'll be publishing some follow up articles starting next week. This week, we start the conference cycle over again with the Food Safety Hazards Conference Call for Abstracts.
Click on the headlines to open the links that allow you to read the complete articles, register for the webinar or to download the whitepaper or eBook.
You can always read the most current articles and search archived FSQA articles from FST's Home Page. Thank you for your interest in Food Safety Tech.
Until next week or the next big story, Cheers! Rick Biros, Content Director, Publisher and Founder.
Food Safety Hazards
Organized by Food Safety Tech, this conference will focus on the detection, mitigation, control and regulations of food safety hazards through technology, best practices and data analytics. The Hazards addresses in the program include Listeria, e-Coli, Salmonella, Allergens, Chemicals and Foreign Matter. The conference scope includes both human and pet foods. Submission Deadline: Friday, December 18, 2026.
Beltway Beat
The Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would update infant formula nutrient requirements. Also, the FDA released new chemical contaminant testing data showing that most infant formula samples had low or non-detectable levels of contaminants.
Food Safety Soap Box
By Brian Ronholm, Director of Food Policy, Consumer Reports
The massive Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms is officially over, but key questions remain about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) handling of the crisis. In response to growing scrutiny over its response, the agency recently announced new commitments to help prevent and mitigate future outbreaks.
Food Manufacturing
Recurring food safety incidents often persist because immediate corrective actions do not always eliminate the underlying conditions that allow hazards to return. Effective prevention requires manufacturers to connect evidence across testing, sanitation, maintenance, production, and supplier management, while verifying that corrective actions work under routine operating conditions. The challenge is not simply to detect more problems. It is to translate the available evidence into changes that prevent similar failures from recurring.
Food Safety Resources
Contamination pressures are shifting, detection budgets are tightening, and FSQA teams are being asked to do more with the same equipment. FlexXray’s third annual Foreign Material Contamination Benchmark Report surveys 172 U.S. and Canadian food manufacturers to give the industry a clear, current read on how peers are actually managing the problem.
The report covers how often contamination events occur and whether that’s changing, which technologies plants have in place versus what they’re planning to add, how confident teams are in their own equipment, and who makes the call when product goes on hold. It also includes new data on the specific types of material showing up most often — and what that means for the equipment already on the line.
Built on this year’s survey and benchmarked against 2025, the report is designed to help FSQA and quality leaders see where they stand relative to the rest of the industry, grounded in data rather than assumptions.
Suspect foreign material contamination? Look closer. FlexXray’s third-party FM inspection pinpoints exactly what product is affected — and isn’t — so you can salvage more instead of discarding the full lot. See how FlexXray’s inspection services work → www.flexxray.com
Food Safety eBook
Modern food safety programs require more than routine testing. Learn how HACCP-driven strategies, PCR pathogen detection, and connected diagnostics help food manufacturers improve prevention, strengthen compliance, and respond faster to risk. In this eBook you will learn:
• How to build a HACCP-based testing strategy.
• Environmental vs. product testing best practices.
• Why PCR plays a critical role in modern food safety.
• Key factors that impact PCR performance and reliability.
• How connected diagnostics support faster decision-making.
Thought Leadership and Demand Generation Opportunities for FSQA Technology & Service Providers
