Food Safety News and Resources | March
Deadly Listeria outbreak, guidance for allergens in ingredients, 3 free webinars and more
23 March | Food Safety News and Free Resources1 |
⚠ 💀 Deadly Listeria outbreak (France)
🥜 Guidance: Allergen declarations for ingredient suppliers
🎓Webinar - Make a Strong Food Safety Culture: From HACCP to Continuous Improvement, 27th March
🎓Webinar - Social Compliance in the Food Sector – Understanding Supply Chain Social Responsibility in the U.S. Food Industry, 30th March
🎓Webinar - Building Blocks of an Effective Food Safety Program, 16th April
💀 Deadly Listeria outbreak (France)
Two people have died and 10 others hospitalised in a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to pâté en croûte and cooked charcuterie. Positive cases first appeared in mid-September 2025. The manufacturer has been shut down, and all products recalled.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2026/03/france-hit-by-deadly-listeria-outbreak/
🥜 Guidance: Allergen declarations for ingredient suppliers
The Allergen Bureau has published best practices for suppliers of ingredients with allergen cross‑contact risks. They address three ways that ingredient suppliers currently approach their responsibilities for cross‑contact allergen declarations and provide a best practice approach. They recommend that suppliers make declarations on cross-contact concentrations in ppm for readily dispersible allergens and also identify particulate cross-contact allergens rather than guessing the final consumer intake needed for reference amounts. This allows manufacturers to determine the final risks to consumers. The concentrations can be calculated using VITAL® risk assessments.
🎓Webinar - Make a Strong Food Safety Culture: From HACCP to Continuous Improvement, 27th March
Hosted by IFSQN, this webinar will equip attendees with practical strategies to measure and enhance workplace culture, engage employees at all levels, and incorporate cultural values into daily operations.
Register here: https://event.webinarjam.com/3qnw0/register/007wgc2w
🎓Webinar - Social Compliance in the Food Sector – Understanding Supply Chain Social Responsibility in the U.S. Food Industry, 30th March
Eurofins Assurance North America is hosting an in-depth webinar exploring how social compliance standards are being implemented across the food sector, with a focus on key considerations for organisations operating in the United States.
Register here: https://www.eurofinsus.com/assurance/food/resources/webinars/social-compliance-in-the-food-sector/
🎓Webinar - Building Blocks of an Effective Food Safety Program, 16th April
In this complimentary webinar hosted by AIB Education & Research, attendees will learn the practical steps for building a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) from the ground up.
Register here: https://info.aibinternational.com/building-blocks-of-an-effective-food-safety-program-webinar
🍊 For more free webinars, visit ASK SONIA FREE Food Safety Webinars 🍊
9 March | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
⚠ Unusual recall: Frozen grated coconut recalled for Hepatitis A (Australia)
⚠ Enormous recall for broken glass (USA)
🧪 New reference dose for gluten risk assessment (Global)
🛍 PFAS exposure
🏢 Major staff losses at agencies (USA)
This is The Rotten Apple, an independent publication dedicated to food safety. Subscribe now to get not-boring, ad-free food safety news straight to your inbox every Monday
⚠ Unusual recall: Frozen grated coconut recalled for Hepatitis A (Australia)
A batch of frozen grated coconut has been recalled from stores due to “the presence of a viral (Hepatitis A) contamination.” The official recall notice does not mention any illnesses and implies that hepatitis A was confirmed to be present, not just “suspected” or “potentially present”.
It is rare for foods to be tested for the presence of foodborne viruses, as confirming the presence of infective viral particles is difficult. For Hepatitis A, it is notoriously difficult to find viral particles in food, even when they are thought to be present following epidemiological investigations.
⚠ Enormous recall for broken glass (USA)
A recall, initially of 3.4 million pounds of frozen chicken and fried rice products, was expanded to include 33 million more pounds of products, including ramen and dumpling dishes that may be contaminated with glass. The glass was present in carrots used in the dishes, according to the USDA investigation. There have been no reports of injuries.
🧪 New reference dose for gluten risk assessment (Global)
A meeting of the Ad hoc Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Food Allergens has recommended that the previously accepted reference dose of 5 mg of gluten and wheat (used for risk assessments) be replaced with 4 mg. Gluten-free labelling remains defined by Codex as 20 mg/kg or less.
A new reference dose for ‘may contain’ gluten labels - Allergen Bureau;
🛍 PFAS exposure
A review of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in foods and the health risks they pose has revealed that fish, particularly freshwater fish, and shellfish are the primary sources of dietary exposure for humans, frequently exceeding European safety thresholds. Other animal foods, including eggs and milk, are important contributors, while plant-based foods from areas near industrial sites can also contain high levels of PFAS.
🏢 Major staff losses at agencies (USA)
Since January 2025, the United States federal workforce has decreased by almost a quarter of a million people, with the USDA being the hardest hit. More than 17,400 staffers were lost from the USDA in the past year. The FDA lost 4,332 and the CDC was reduced by 2,889.
FDA, USDA, CDC Continue to Lose Staffers in Fiscal Year 2026 | Food Safety Magazine
In this week’s food fraud news
📌 Methods for sparkling wine and Scotch whisky
📌 Major fraud alleged in fruit juices
📌 Warnings for meat and dairy in the US and South Africa
📌 Incidents with probiotics, fertiliser, coconut water and more
2 March | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
⚠ Unusual recall: Pastueriser exercises highlight cottage cheese gap (USA)
🦠 Multi-drug resistant Salmonella recall goes international
🤮🚽Updated foodborne infection estimates: Shigella ⬆
📖 Guidance: FDA guidance for the traceability rule (USA)
🎓Webinar - FDA-iRISK version 5.0, 12th March
This is The Rotten Apple, an independent publication dedicated to food safety. Subscribe now to get not-boring, ad-free food safety news straight to your inbox every Monday
⚠ Unusual recall: Pastueriser exercises highlight cottage cheese gap (USA)
On 25 February, cottage cheese sold under Walmart’s Great Value brand in 24 states was recalled because some liquid dairy ingredients may not have been fully pasteurised.
“Pasteurizer troubleshooting exercises” conducted by the manufacturer in conjunction with the California Department of Food and Agriculture led to the identification of a possible issue, prompting the recall. No illnesses have been reported.
Saputo USA Recalls Great Value Cottage Cheese Because of Possible Health Risk | FDA
🦠 Multi-drug resistant Salmonella recall goes international
Moringa powder, a herbal supplement, has been linked to Salmonella outbreaks more than once. An outbreak investigation and recall is underway in the United States, with 7 recorded illnesses. The Salmonella strain associated with the outbreak is resistant to all antibiotics used to treat Salmonella infections.
The FDA has recently updated its information page, saying the product has been distributed internationally. The FDA lists 82 countries, from Algeria to Zimbabwe, where the contaminated product, Rosabella-brand moringa powder capsules, was sold to consumers (the full list can be found on the FDA site at the link below).
“The Salmonella strain associated with this outbreak is resistant to all first-line and alternative antibiotics commonly recommended for the treatment of Salmonella infections” US FDA
🤮🚽Updated foodborne infection estimates: Shigella ⬆
The World Health Organization is revising its estimates of which pathogens cause foodborne diarrheal disease. Recent research suggests that Shigella is linked to far more cases than the 2015 Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group report indicated, while norovirus now appears to contribute less than previously estimated.
📖 Guidance: FDA guidance for the traceability rule (USA)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published new guidance on the Food Traceability Rule, also known as FSMA Section 204, which establishes specific recordkeeping requirements for businesses that manufacture, process, pack or hold foods.
The rule’s enforcement deadline has been extended, with the date moved from January 2026 to July 2028.
🎓Webinar - FDA-iRISK version 5.0, 12th March
The University of Maryland is hosting a webinar on FDA-iRISK® 5.0, an enhanced, free online risk assessment tool from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Human Foods Program. This tool allows users to analyse food safety hazards, rank risks from microbial and chemical sources, and compare prevention measures. It also encourages collaboration among risk assessors and food safety professionals through information sharing.
Register here: https://app.certain.com/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x3469591abcd
🍊 For more free webinars, visit ASK SONIA FREE Food Safety Webinars 🍊
In this week’s food fraud news
📌 Help for cocoa and chocolate traders
📌 Bizarre (and disturbing) food fraud with live sheep
📌 Fake peppercorns
📌 Coconut fibres used to adulterate powdered teas (+ more)
Past Issues of Food Safety News
Food Safety News, February 2026
Food Safety News, January 2026
Food Safety News, December 2025