FRI FRESH seminars will resume in 2026! As always, if you have suggestions for these seminars/webinars, please contact Adam Borger at adam.borger.wisc.edu.
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FRI affiliate member Keith Poulsen has been in the news recently, talking about Wisconsin’s first detection of HPAI in a dairy herd (discussed more below in this eNews) and the importance of
farm biosecurity in light of the recent finding of New World screwworm near the southern U.S. border.
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Former FRI Applied Food Lab member (and recipient of both FRI’s 2024 John H. Nelson Undergraduate Research Award and FRI’s 2024 Gale Prince IAFP Travel Award) Calvin Slaughter, now a graduate student at Cornell University, is lead author of a new preprint of work that demonstrates how wet
sanitation promotes pathogen growth in dry environments where low-moisture foods (such as powdered infant formula) are produced by increasing the relative humidity in a facility.
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Registration is open for the FRI Better Process Cheese School, which will be held April 14–15 on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
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Registration is open now for IAFP's 2026 Microbial Challenge Testing for Foods Workshop taking
place April 22–23 in Des Plaines (Chicago), Ill. This two-day event is intended for food industry professionals, testing lab personnel, and regulators. Instructors include Kaitlyn Casulli, Ann Charles Vegdahl, and FRI executive committee member (and director of the FRI Applied Food Safety Lab) Kristin Schill.
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FRI is accepting applications for its 2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Food Safety now through Jan. 23. More information and application materials can be found here.
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The first confirmed HPAI H5N1 infection in a Wisconsin dairy herd was announced Dec. 14.
- Wisconsin is now the 18th state in the U.S. with H5N1 detections in dairy cows since the outbreak began in March 2024.
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- The herd is located in Dodge County (between Madison, Milwaukee, and Fond du Lac). Importantly, no cattle have been moved on or off of the affected farm, suggesting that spillover from wildlife was the source of the infection, and no other herds appear to have been infected in association with this event.
- The infection was identified through USDA’s National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS). Learn more here about the role of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic lab, directed by FRI affiliate member Keith Poulsen, in testing at least one milk sample from every dairy farm in Wisconsin each month as part of the NMTS.
- The viral strain was identified as H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype D1.1. While most viral strains infecting dairy herds were H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype B3.13, dairy herds in Nevada and Arizona were infected with the D1.1 genotype in early 2025.
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The Clostridium botulinum Type A outbreak associated with ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula has been linked to more cases and remains under active investigation:
- As of the most recent update on Dec. 17, at least 51 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism and confirmed exposure to ByHeart formula have been identified. The most recent illness onset date was Dec. 1. These numbers reflect an expanded case definition to include 10 cases that occurred from December 2023 to July 2025, where the infant consumed ByHeart formula.
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- All 51 infants were hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. Illnesses started on dates ranging from Aug. 9 until Nov. 19. Symptoms of infant botulism are expected to occur three to 30 days after consumption.
- Although all ByHeart infant formula products were recalled, product was still available on retail shelves as of Dec. 12, resulting in FDA warning letters
to four major retailers for failing to remove product and a Dec. 15 press release reminding industry of its legal duties during food recalls.
- Initial testing reported by ByHeart showed that five of 36 infant formula samples across three lots were positive for C. botulinum Type A. More test results are expected in the coming weeks. Root cause is being investigated but has not yet been confirmed.
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Another large recall of powdered infant formula was announced (and recently expanded) by Nestlé. The recall, involving a number of infant and follow-in formulas, affects lots available in
more than 60 countries (but not the U.S.) worldwide. The detection of cereulide in an ingredient (arachidonic acid oil mix) used in the formula that was obtained from a third-party supplier prompted the recall. Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of Bacillus cereus. No illnesses
have been associated with this recall. Arachidonic acid, found in human milk and a precursor to eicosanoids involved in immune responses, has been added to infant formulas in the U.S. since 2001 (and longer in Europe).
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A new and ongoing U.S. Salmonella Africana outbreak was reported in December. The total case count was 12 as of Dec. 10. No food has been linked to the outbreak yet. Meanwhile, the U.S. outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul first reported by FDA on Dec. 3
has now sickened at least 56 people and is considered to be “ongoing.” No food source has been linked to outbreak yet. The Salmonella Saintpaul serovar is often linked to produce, including
cucumbers, peppers, and melons.
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Government & Regulatory News
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Food safety/regulatory highlights of 2025 and anticipated changes for 2026 have been summarized by a number of groups recently.
- The impact of the new U.S. administration on food safety over the course of 2025 was recently reviewed in a detailed timeline put together by Food Safety Magazine.
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Prompted by the ongoing infant botulism outbreak associated with powdered infant formula (PIF), the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene has asked the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) to conduct a
risk assessment on spore-forming pathogens (C. botulinum and B. cereus) in PIF and to update existing risk assessments and scientific advice for Cronobacter and Salmonella in PIF.
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The new 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been released. While the focus of the guidelines is on “real food”: proteins, dairy, fruits and vegetables, “healthy fats,” and whole grains, the guidelines recommend limiting “highly processed foods, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates.” The recommended sodium intake for adults remains at <2,300 mg Na/day. (Note that the
daily recommended servings from each food group are not directly related to their position within the inverted pyramid (unlike food pyramids of the past); in addition, unlike the old pyramid, which showed foods to avoid at the pyramid apex, all foods in the new inverted pyramid are recommended, including whole grains). Is it time for a
Mulligan Stew reboot?)
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FDA also released new PFAS in food data, obtained from fresh and processed food samples collected in the U.S. food supply since 2019.
The majority of samples from the Total Diet Study (503 of 542) showed no detectable PFAS. Among foods that showed trace but detectable levels of at least one PFAS compound were cod, shrimp, clams, tilapia, salmon, catfish, pepperoni, beef steak, ground beef, half & half, whole milk, skim milk, and kale. Non-trace levels were found only in shrimp, clams, catfish, and tilapia. Although FDA stressed that samples sizes were small and should not be used to draw any definitive conclusions about PFAS in the general food supply, these results could be used to identify foods at higher risk for PFAS contamination and, therefore, might be subject to larger or more targeted surveys.
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USDA announced a recall of ~2,855 lbs. of raw ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli O26. The recall was made be Mountain West Food Group, LLC, of Heyburn, Idaho. No illnesses
due to consumption of these products have been reported.
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FDA rescheduled the virtual public meeting on food allergen thresholds (postponed from its original November date due to the government shutdown). The new dates for the meeting are Feb. 18–20. FDA invites the public to register for this meeting here
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Mindy Brashears was confirmed again by the U.S. Senate to serve as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety and will oversee the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Brashears previously held this role in 2020–2021.
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The controversy over the safety of the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) is again in the news following the retraction
of a key 2000 paper on the safety of herbicide. The paper was retracted due to concerns that the paper was ghost-written in part by Monsanto and suffered other potential biases as a result of the named authors’ conflicts of interest.
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Read or listen to this article that talks about the importance of food safety on a nuclear submarine during the Cold War, the role that irradiated foods played, and the use of “preventive controls” and “risk assessments” before HACCP was formalized.
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The application deadline for IAFP travel awards is Tuesday, Feb. 10. The IAFP annual meeting will be held July 26–29 in New Orleans.
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Do you really need to wash your hands for a full 20 seconds? And are hand sanitizers better than just soap and water? A new report provides some insights. The hands of 27 volunteers were inoculated with a test organism (E. coli
ATCC 10536), handwash lathering times of 5, 15, or 20 seconds. No significant differences between lathering times were found, with all times resulting in ~3 logs of reduction in bacterial numbers. The transfer of bacteria to melon balls
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after handling melon balls after handwashing did not differ based on lathering times, with all three resulting in ~5 log transfer. Compared to handwashing, the use of a common alcohol-based hand rub resulted in significantly higher reductions in bacteria from hands (~4 log reductions with a single dispense of hand sanitizer and ~5 log reductions with two dispenses of hand sanitizer plus the use of a paper towel). Similarly, hand sanitizer was more effective than handwashing at minimizing subsequent transfer of bacteria to melon balls, with less transfer when two dispenses of sanitizer + a paper towel was used (~2 log) than when a single dispense of sanitizer (~2.5 log transfer). Importantly,
however, all handwashing and sanitizing methods resulted in >99.9% reduction in bacterial load and significantly reduced transfer of bacteria to RTE foods.
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For over 100 years, reports of rare individuals who appear drunk after a meal but who did not consume any alcohol have been made. “Autobrewery” syndrome (ABS) was long thought to result from the fermentation of carbohydrates by excess gut fungi. However,
a new study with many more ABS cases and housemate “controls” points towards bacteria, specifically Klebsiella and E. coli, as the culprits.
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The gut microbiomes of ABS patients were enriched with Klebsiella and E. coli compared to controls. Meanwhile, gut fungal compositions were similar between ABS patients and controls. Fecal microbiota transfers were effective at reducing the abundance of the Proteobacteria phylum (to which Klebsiella and E. coli belong) and in treating ABS in at least one patient. Klebsiella and E. coli
are, of course, not unique to the gut microbiomes of ABS patients, so more work is needed to understand what leads to the condition and to identify more specific therapies for ABS patients.
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Toxic shock syndrome is a rare but life-threatening condition usually associated with high absorbency tampon use in menstruating women (but sometimes wounds) that is caused by the TSST-1 toxin by some Staphylococcus aureus and S. pyrogenes strains. In contrast, foodborne S. aureus poisonings are associated with enterotoxin-producing strains. However, rare foodborne outbreaks of
S.
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aureus TSST-1 causing toxic shock syndrome (preceded, at least in some cases, by typical Staphylococcal food poisoning symptoms) have been reported. A new review
summarizes the occurrence of S. aureus TSST-1 strains in foods. These strains are most commonly found in foods of animal origin, especially raw milk (for example, 36% of raw cow milk samples in an Italian study), artisanal cheeses, meat (13% in U.S. pork samples in one study), chicken, fish and seafood. The prevalence of preformed TSST-1 toxin in foods has not been investigated but is of concern due to the stability of the toxin within foods.
A detailed case study of how a RTE food manufacturer (whose cold-smoked salmon products had been linked to several L. monocytogenes outbreaks) was able to control the pathogen within its facility can be read here.
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Wheat flour has been associated with numerous outbreaks of Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli. A new study investigated the use of aqueous chlorine dioxide (at laboratory scale) to temper wheat. A 12-hour treatment at 82.2 mg/kg resulted in a 3-log reduction of
Salmonella enterica (inoculated as a four-strain cocktail at ~9 log CFU/g) with minimal impacts on milling or flour quality. Residual chlorine-based species were within regulatory limits.
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UW–Madison and Wisconsin News
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Are you a UW-Madison student or postdoctoral researcher with an artistic bent? Your research-inspired artwork could be on a special-edition beer label if you win a competition, sponsored by UW-Madison’s Catalysts for Science Policy, in collaboration with Madison brewery Delta Beer Lab. Submissions are due Feb. 6. More information, including how to submit and winning design from previous years, can be found
here.
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Upcoming training opportunities on the UW-Madison campus include the following:
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