Food Safety News and Research

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How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

Microplastics can change how bacteria form biofilms and develop antibiotic resistance. Maria Jazmin Silvero Compagnucci explains.

From Pittcon 22 Oct 2026

Blue light treatment kills food poisoning bacteria on raw chicken

A low-power blue light could be the key to significantly reducing food poisoning caused by raw chicken in the UK, scientists at the University of Reading have found.

6 Oct 2026

EU project calls for strict regulations to stop forever chemicals

Chemical pollution from so-called "forever chemicals" poses major challenges to human health and the environment. For five years, an EU funded research and innovation project has investigated the scale of the problem and possible solutions for persistent, mobile and toxic chemicals, including PFAS.

1 Oct 2026

University of Liverpool study tracks long-term impact of non-nutritive sweetened soft drinks

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have conducted the longest and most comprehensive randomized controlled trial on non-nutritive sweetened (NNS) soft drinks.

29 Sep 2026

Why scientists still cannot say how much plastic infants are actually consuming

A systematic review of 22 primary studies and four reviews found plastic-derived contaminants across infant foods and feeding equipment, but major differences in sampling, analytical methods, and quality control made exposure estimates difficult to compare. The authors found substantial evidence gaps for nanoplastics and oligomers and concluded that better-standardized exposure assessment is needed before infant health risks can be reliably evaluated.

22 Sep 2026

Fruit fly brain inspires energy-efficient scent classification algorithm

In the animal kingdom, energy conservation is essential for survival. That's why our brains have evolved to be extremely energy and resource efficient at storing and processing information.

24 Aug 2026

Voltammetry and machine learning for real-time neurotransmitter detection

Anne Andrews (UCLA) explains how voltammetry and machine learning can track multiple neurotransmitters in real time, even with overlapping signals.

From Pittcon 10 Aug 2026

Stuffed toys can release short-chain PFAS into saliva, study finds

Researchers tested 18 stuffed toys and found that all released at least one targeted PFAS into artificial saliva under mouthing-relevant conditions, with PFHxA driving much of the variation between products. Modeled intake of the four PFAS covered by EFSA’s group tolerable weekly intake remained below that benchmark, but some high-PFHxA toys had reduced margins of exposure, and water rinsing produced mixed results.

22 Jul 2026

Directed enzyme evolution and the Nobel Prize: Making enzymes evolve in the lab

Frances Arnold on directed enzyme evolution: random mutation plus smart screening, and why it changed enzyme engineering and industry.

From Pittcon 14 Jul 2026

How agentic AI is reshaping laboratory workflows

Gary Stimson of LabVantage explains how agentic AI and CORTEX support connected laboratory workflows, from UI guidance to autonomous agents.

From Pittcon 3 Jul 2026

Dutch study shows why plant-based eating can miss key nutrients

A Dutch dietary modeling study found that replacing major animal-based protein sources with plant-based substitutes reduced protein, EAA, vitamin, and mineral intake across age groups. Older adults, adolescents, children, and women were especially vulnerable to shortfalls, highlighting the need for planned substitutions, fortified foods, and age-specific dietary guidance.

3 Jul 2026

Foodborne threats demand stronger pandemic planning, review says

A Perspective review in npj Science of Food argues that pandemics can weaken food safety systems even when the pathogen is not foodborne. The authors call for One Health planning that integrates food safety into pandemic preparedness, surveillance, laboratory capacity, workforce readiness, and regulation.

2 Jul 2026

Experts urge neglected tropical disease status for ocular toxoplasmosis

One third of the world's population is infected with the Toxoplasma parasite, which can cause ocular toxoplasmosis, an eye infection that can damage the retina and result in permanent vision loss.

25 Jun 2026

Colorectal cancer cases rise among younger adults in Germany

Colorectal cancer is generally considered a disease of older adults. However, a new analysis of German cancer registries shows that the number of new colorectal cancer cases among younger adults has risen slightly over the past two decades.

23 Jun 2026

AI could help food systems detect pathogens, fraud, and contamination faster

A systematic review of 161 peer-reviewed publications found that AI research in food safety has expanded rapidly, rising from one study in 2012 to 46 in 2023. The review shows that machine learning and deep learning are being studied for pathogen detection, chemical contamination prediction, food fraud screening, outbreak surveillance, and regulatory decision-making, but data gaps, class imbalance, privacy limits, and model interpretability remain major barriers.

15 Jun 2026

One Health framework guides sustainable control of global bacterial zoonoses

Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Bacterial zoonoses such as brucellosis, salmonellosis, leptospirosis, anthrax, campylobacteriosis, and listeriosis remain major global health threats with substantial economic and social effects.

11 Jun 2026

Study: Antibiotic resistance is increasing in Shiga toxin-producing E. coli

Resistance to antimicrobial agents is rising among human infections with Escherichia coli bacteria that produce the Shiga toxin, according to a study analyzing data from nearly 2,000 infections in the United States between 2010 and 2021.

8 Jun 2026

WHO's new estimates of foodborne diseases may improve global prevention

Researchers from DTU have contributed to the international scientific work behind the WHO's new estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases, providing countries with a stronger evidence base for preventing illness and prioritising action.

8 Jun 2026

Bio-Rad receives MicroVal validation for EZ-Check™ Listeria testing kits

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., a leader in life science research and clinical diagnostics products, today announced that MicroVal, the international certification organization for the validation and approval of alternative methods for the microbiological analysis of food and beverages, has approved EZ-Check Listeria spp. and EZ-Check Listeria monocytogenes Kits for the detection of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in food products and environmental samples.

From Bio-Rad Laboratories 5 Jun 2026

EU-funded project launches digital campaign to explain climate-driven food safety threats

To mark World Food Safety Day on 7 June, the EU-funded HOLiFOOD project is launching a digital campaign with six European influencers to help consumers better understand how climate change may affect food safety, and how science can support earlier detection and prevention of emerging risks.

4 Jun 2026