Some of the Food and Drug Administration’s activities will be disrupted by the government shutdown that began Oct. 1, despite the commissioner’s earlier promise that it would be business as usual at the agency.

OPINION — By Thomas Gremillion

“Government shutdowns have always undermined food safety. USDA inspectors, with starting salaries around $40,000, must work without pay. Many FDA inspectors are furloughed and the agency suspends its routine inspections of food facilities, assigning a skeleton crew inspectorate to conduct solely ‘for cause inspections.’”

Bio-Rad's iQ-Check became the industry standard because they refused to compromise on accuracy. Food manufacturers trusted Bio-Rad to catch contamination before it reached consumers.

Now they’ve done something the industry thought impossible. EZ-Check Salmonella spp. Kit maintains that same AOAC and AFNOR validated precision through a streamlined 2-step workflow. Multiplex amplification with built-in controls delivers reliable detection without the extended protocols.

This isn't about replacing rigor with shortcuts. It's about 20 years of refinement finally making laboratory-grade testing as efficient as your production schedule demands.

Same detection standards. Faster turnaround. That's innovation.

The FDA continues to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks and has updated patient numbers for several. The agency has also closed one investigation.

The Netherlands recorded a rise in foodborne outbreaks in 2024 and has provided details about a multi-country Salmonella outbreak.

Significant increases were observed for Salmonella Enteritidis, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), hepatitis A virus, and norovirus.

Food safety scofflaws are now going to fall under the jurisdiction of the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice. The new unit is housed in the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.

Public confidence in food safety across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland has increased, according to a survey by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The survey, conducted between October 2024 and February 2025 with 5,690 adults, found that 94 percent of respondents are confident that the food they buy is safe to eat.