Sunday Edition: Fowl plague

Quick bites from around the food safety arena

1. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is continuing to investigate an outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections that has sickened at least 68 people. However, the agency has not yet reported what food it is tracing or what is being tested, nor has it reported the age or location of those affected. The number of people affected rose from 38 at the time the FDA first reported the outbreak.
   The FDA also withheld key information about an outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul linked to mangoes. Information about states involved, the name of the mango importer, the country where the fruit was grown and the names of all firms involved in the outbreak were redacted from a report on the 2025 incident. Fifty-six people were affected.
2. Testing of raw milk sold from farms in Switzerland has detected E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, and Yersinia. The results came from samples from raw milk vending machines across Switzerland. The European nation does impose controls designed to promote regular hygiene and quality standards for raw milk at the bulk tank level, and raw milk cannot be advertised or offered for direct consumption. The vending machines are a way for farms to sell unpasteurized raw milk directly to consumers, but that puts the burden on the buyers to follow instructions for safe handling.
3. Scientists are exploring ways to minimize the risk of exposure to biogenic amines in meals served to children. Amines, including histamine and tyramine, are often present in food, but their concentration increases as hygienic quality decreases. Eleven outbreaks in nursery schools in Spain in 2023 and 2024 were linked to the presence of biogenic amines in chicken served to the children. The scientific committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition issued recommendations aimed at reducing microbiological contamination of carcasses in the processing and storage of chicken.
4. In an unusual rapid turnaround, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) retracted a public health alert issued less than a week previously. The alert flagged elevated levels of lead in Walmart’s Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets. Follow-up testing at the producer’s facility found no elevated levels of lead in the product. The initial result was due to a false positive caused by sporadic lead contamination at the laboratory.

Today’s Topic: Fowl plague
The United States is now in its fifth year of playing defense against an outbreak of avian influenza, the most significant threat to global animal health and food security. It has also become the costliest avian influenza response in U.S. history.

And the offense is still winning.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, is a disease caused by a virus that mainly affects birds but can also affect mammals, including humans.