Emerging Food Safety Risks (2025 update)

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Introduction

This special supplement explores emerging food safety risks described by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in a report published in December 2024 titled EFSA’s Activities on Emerging Risks in 2023.

The report has an international perspective, drawing on expertise from countries around the globe and including risks that extend beyond the borders of Europe, such as Nipah virus outbreaks in Bangladesh.

Of the 5 risks defined as emerging in the report, 3 are relevant to food safety, while 2 are not. Of the 27 risks discussed in the report and designated not emerging, 10 are nevertheless of interest to food safety practitioners. I’ve included them in this post.

I’ve organised the risks described in the report according to their relevance to food safety practitioners, as follows:

• Food safety risk (emerging)

• Food safety risk (deemed not emerging)

• Veterinarian or agricultural issue

• Novel food-related risk

In addition, I ask what’s missing, with two hot new topics in food safety notable for their absence.