Food Safety Resources

Foodborne illness

Reviews on foodborne illness and attribution

Note that most newer Food Safety Reviews require sponsor login.

Mar 2024

Cereulide in Dairy Matrices

Summarizes studies conducted on cereulide in dairy matrices, focusing on the toxin itself or any chemistry of the toxin and with less emphasis on Bacillus cereus growth and toxin production.

Jan 2024

Response to Questions Posed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service: Enhancing Salmonella Control in Poultry Products

The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria in Foods (NACMCF) responds to questions posed by USDA FSIS on enhancing Salmonella control in poultry products.

Aug 2023

Examples of Antimicrobial Hurdles Used to Control Pathogens in Chilled Foods

Jun 2023

Modified Atmosphere Packaging of Ready-to-Eat Meats

Discusses which gas mixtures are best for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to store ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products

Mar 2023

Pathogens associated with extra hard raw milk cheeses

Discusses the pathogens of concern in raw milk extra hard cheese varieties such as Parmesan, Grana Padano, and similar types

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Mar 2023

Nutritional content of vegetables after microwave vs. conventional pasteurization

A review of published studies that investigate how industrial microwave treatments affect the nutritional content of food (vs. conventional pasteurization methods)

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Feb 2023

Microbiological concerns of rice starch

This review by FRI science writer Wendy Bedale discusses the possible microbiological concerns associated with rice starch.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Feb 2023

Dairy spoilage: Organisms, mechanisms, and modeling

A review on spoilage microorganisms, spoilage mechanisms in raw and pasteurized milk, and factors associated with spoilage. Includes a list of microbiological spoilage models, highlighting those which focus on dairy and dairy-based data. By FRI science writer Wendy Bedale.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Oct 2021

Summary of 2021 IAFP Roundtable Discussion on “Opportunities and Challenges: Developments in Clostridium botulinum Challenge Studies"

FRI associate scientist Kristin Schill moderated an IAFP roundtable discussion on “Opportunities and Challenges: Developments in Clostridium botulinum Challenge Studies” at the 2021 IAFP Annual Meeting. The discussion featured international experts from industry, academia, and government discussing the unique challenges that face food companies who need to conduct C. botulinum challenge studies and highlighted progress in the development of new surrogates for the organism.

Sep 2021

Validating a Method to Ensure the Destruction of Salmonella on Product Surfaces During Impingement Cooking

This study investigated the effectiveness of cooking processes that incorporated hydrated surface lethality (HSL) steps for ensuring the reduction of Salmonella on the surfaces of small-dimension meat and poultry products cooked using short-duration, high-temperature impingement oven processes. Published in Meat and Muscle Biology.

Jul 2021

Prevalence and Levels of Pathogens, Coliforms, and Generic E. coli Found in Grains, Flour, and Related Products

Chart compiled by Wendy Bedale, FRI Science Writer

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Apr 2021

Prevalence and Levels of Spore-forming Pathogens in Spices

The purpose of this research is to provide food companies with microbiological profiles of different spices that have been reported previously in the scientific literature. We focused on three key spore-forming bacteria: Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, and Clostridium botulinum. This information may be of use to the food industry when they evaluate potential hazards associated with spices used in their products as part of their Food Safety Plans. View the Excel chart here.

Mar 2021

Hydrated surface lethality: Validation of a new processing method to ensure the destruction of Salmonella on product surfaces during impingement cooking

This study investigated the effectiveness of cooking processes that incorporated hydrated-surface lethality steps for ensuring the reduction of Salmonella on the surfaces of meat and poultry products cooked using short-time, high-temperature impingement oven processes.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Mar 2017

How Well Does the U.S. Food Recall System Work?

by Wendy Bedale, FRI Science Writer; published in Food Safety Magazine EDigest

Nov 2015

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Food Research Institute 2015 Annual Meeting Highlights

by Wendy Bedale, FRI Science Writer; published in Food Protection Trends, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 472-474, Nov 2015

Feb 2015

Human Illness Caused by Campylobacter spp. from All Food and Non-Food Vectors

This review summarizes much of the latest information on campylobacteriosis and interventions being used or investigated to reduce contamination of food and water.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Sep 2013

Review of Epidemiology of Foodborne Listeriosis

Pathways for introduction of Listeria into different foods and strategies for preventing contamination and growth in foods are reviewed. Recent data from surveillance studies, outbreak investigations, and economic costs are presented.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Apr 2013

White Paper on Human Illness Caused by Salmonella from all Food and Non-Food Vectors, Update 2013

This update to the February 2009 FRI white paper on Salmonella discusses important food and non-food vehicles for outbreaks of salmonellosis during the past five years, routes of infection, interventions, current surveillance reports, and antimicrobial resistance.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Apr 2010

Non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli from meat and non-meat sources

Epidemiology, detection, outbreaks, infection routes, and interventions

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Feb 2009

Human Illness Caused by Salmonella from all Food and Non-Food Vectors

Food and non-food vehicles of infection for human outbreaks of salmonellosis, surveillance strategies, and industry initiatives to control Salmonella spp.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Oct 2006

Human Illness Caused by E. coli O157:H7 from Food and Non-food Sources

Epidemiology, outbreaks, infection routes, surveillance, regulations, interventions.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief

Oct 2001

Virulence Characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes

Strain variation; Invasion and Spread; Host Defenses; Virulence factors.

import_contacts Food Safety Brief