Good morning! It’s March 20th, 2025. Spring has sprung, but food safety doesn’t take a season off. Let’s check today’s top stories.

What to know: The U.S. food industry is firmly opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s aggressive effort to eliminate artificial dyes, following his March 10 meeting with executives from major companies like PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and General Mills.

As U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, Kennedy demanded that companies remove dyes from their products by the end of his 2029 term — or face federal intervention.

New research shows there were 9.9 million domestically acquired foodborne illnesses in the United States in 2019. The most recent data available before this was published in 2011.

Norovirus caused the most illnesses with 5.5 million cases followed by Campylobacter spp. with 1.9 million illnesses, and nontyphoidal Salmonella serotypes with 1.3 million illnesses.

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A woman is under investigation in Spain for poisoning several people during the past five years.

Victims attended the same bar in Zaidín, Huesca, and were chosen at random, according to investigators.

Guardia Civil said the woman is the alleged perpetrator of a crime against public health for the intentional poisoning of eight people between 2020 and 2025.

Experts have met to discuss the risks and knowledge gaps around Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium perfringens.

At a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) meeting in Rome in February, experts reviewed recent scientific developments, data, and evidence, including a review of the disease burden, attribution to food commodities of high public health concern, analytical methods in food commodities, and control measures.

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An audit in Norway has revealed progress in the system for import checks of products of animal origin but some areas still need further attention.

The objective of the audit in November 2024 was to verify compliance with legislation on official controls for imports of products of animal origin, composite products, which are of mixed animal and plant origin such as ready-to-eat meals or pastries with cream, and live animals from other countries.

OPINION — By Roger Hancock

“Food recalls aren’t just a headline or an industry issue — they affect real people every day. Maybe it’s a bag of salad you already ate, a snack your child took to school, or a frozen meal you planned for dinner. By the time many consumers hear about a recall, the product has already made it into restaurants, grocery stores and homes.”