It’s Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025. We’re halfway through the week and here with today’s top food safety headlines. Let’s dive in.

We want to hear from you! Today’s Wednesday Weigh-in is all about the FDA staff cuts. Do you think they put food safety at risk? Scroll down to cast your vote and share your thoughts!

What to know: Two former FDA leaders have taken to social media to say that the agency as we know it no longer exists.

Robert Califf, who stepped down from his post as Food and Drug Administration commissioner earlier this year, wrote on LinkedIn that the agency “is finished.” His pronouncement came as the first wave of firings at the agency went into effect. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. oversees the FDA and is firing 3,500 people from the agency.

OPINION — By Sarah Sorscher

“Deadly Listeria in shakes served at nursing homes. Disease-causing E. coli linked to onions served in McDonald’s. Salmonella in cucumbers landing 155 people in the hospital. These are just a few of the disturbing pathogens identified in foods tied to high-profile outbreaks this past year.”

“Americans from across the political spectrum clearly care about food safety. It was this bipartisan interest that led to passage of the 2010 Food Safety Modernization Act, which shifted our national approach from reacting to outbreaks to preventing them.”

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A report on Ireland’s controls on horses and food safety has made several recommendations to improve the system with the relevant authority pledging to make changes.

This followed an “RTE Investigates” documentary in June 2024 highlighting the potential entry of misidentified horses into the food chain.

A consumer survey has revealed dangerous behaviors such as sniffing food to see if it is safe to consume and eating products after their shelf life has expired.

Three-quarters of respondents said they would rely on the sniff test to assess whether raw meat is safe to eat or cook with. A further 73 percent would rely on this test for milk and yoghurt, and this figure was 65 percent for fish.

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