Food Pathogens
Ensuring Ready-to-Eat Food Safety from Processing to Retail
Food Safety Magazine 2026
"Ready to Eat? Know the Food Safety Challenges that Ready to Eat Foods Present” – by IAFNS Scientific Program Manager Dr. Caitlin Karolenko.
"It’s Time to Reformulate Deli Meats to Reduce the Risk of Listeria monocytogenes” – by IAFNS Food Microbiology Committee Academic Advisor Dr. Kathleen Glass (with others).
IAFNS Annual Meeting
IAFNS June 24-25 Summer Science Symposium - - at the National Press Club
The IAFNS Annual Summer Science Symposium is a unique gathering of scientific and regulatory experts. The focus of all sessions is on science that supports credible decision making by government regulators, industry professionals, academic researchers and other stakeholders across the food and beverage ecosystem.
Risk Assessment
Balancing Food Safety and Sustainability: Trade-Off Risk Assessments and Predictive Modeling
Frontiers in Science, 2026
Food safety is not an isolated objective but is closely tied to broader public health and sustainability goals. Holistic approaches and trade-off risk assessments are needed, accounting for the interrelationship between the health of humans, animals and the environment.
IAFNS at National Nutrient Databank Conference
Advancing Data and Quality Standards for Branded Food Products: USDA’s Public-Private Partnership
IAFNS supports two talks at the National Nutrient Databank Conference. Partners of USDA’s Global Branded Food Products Database will highlight recent initiatives that advance data quality standards and align product attributes with regulations. The second presentation is on an iPhone app developed by an IAFNS summer graduate research assistant that displays food additive information while in a grocery aisle.
Foodborne Illness
Information Exposure and Economic Losses during Food Safety Outbreaks: Evidence from Onion Markets and Google Trends
Food Policy, 2026
Two major multistate foodborne illness outbreaks stemming from fresh onions in 2020 and 2021 resulted in over 2,000 reported illnesses and substantial economic losses. This study examines consumer and market responses to onion-related foodborne outbreaks occurring between 2017 and 2021.
Food Classification
Comparison of Food Processing Classification Frameworks in the NHANES 2017–2018
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2026
A comparison of the NOVA, International Agency for Research on Cancer, International Food Information Council, and University of North Carolina classification systems by evaluating their characteristics, reliability and associations with nutrient intake and cardiometabolic risk factors.
Heavy Metals
Assessing Causal Evidence Beyond Correlation: Linking Cadmium Exposure to Disease, Using Bradford Hill Framework
Exposure & Health, 2026
This study suggests that bone and kidney endpoints should be prioritized when assessing the risks of dietary Cadmium exposure. The results underscore the value of integrating epidemiological, mechanistic and toxicological evidence under the Bradford Hill Criteria.
Food Packaging
Recent Advances in Biopolymer Aerogels for Food Packaging: A Design Perspective across Different Formats
Food Packaging & Shelf Life, 2026
Biopolymer aerogels have increasingly been explored as functional components in food packaging systems, where lightweight structures, moisture management, active protection, and intelligent sensing are required.
Chemical Contaminants
Comprehensive Study on the Migration of Non-Intentionally Added Substances from Food Contact Films of PBS, PLA and their Blends
Food Packaging & Shelf Life, 2026
This study investigated the migration of non-intentionally added substances from the biodegradable polymers polybutylene succinate, polylactic acid and their blends. The findings show that a comprehensive analysis of the migrated compounds is important for the in-depth risk assessment of biodegradable polymers.
Caffeine
Habitual Coffee Consumption Poorly Correlates with Sleep Quality and Daytime Sleepiness: A Cross-Sectional Study
PLOS One, 2026
While studies have shown a deleterious immediate effect of caffeine on sleep, less is known about the effects of chronic caffeine exposure. In the present cross-sectional study, researchers investigated this relationship across a large cohort of 30,154 individuals participating in the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study.
Food Allergens
Microbial Metabolism of Food Allergens Determines the Severity of IgE-Mediated Anaphylaxis
Cell Host & Microbe, 2026
The human microbiota is known to influence oral tolerance, but the microbial mechanisms directly involved in IgE-mediated anaphylaxis remain unknown. This study demonstrates that human microbiota modulates IgE-mediated reactions to foods through allergen metabolism, highlighting potential avenues to prevent or reduce the severity of IgE-mediated anaphylaxis.
Emerging Science - Research Needs
Identification of Evidence Gaps and Future Research Needs in Food Safety
Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2026
Establishing research priorities to support evidence-based regulatory goals requires cross disciplinary collective expert input. This paper reviews the application of expert elicitation to identify and prioritize research questions in food safety regulation, an approach that offers regulators and research funders a rapid, reliable and cost-effective method for assessing evidence gaps.