Sunday Edition: The F in FDA

Quick bites from the food safety arena

1. The Food and Drug Administration has recommended the recall of all Rosabella brand moringa powder capsules following amidst a new outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections. This strain of Salmonella is resistant to all first-line antibiotics commonly recommended for the treatment of Salmonella infections. To date, seven people in seven states have reported sicknesses related to the outbreak, with three requiring hospitalization.
2. It’s not unusual for the Food and Drug Administration to close outbreak investigations without identifying a food source or posting a company recall notice, and that’s not good enough according to a consumer watchdog group. The Education Fund of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) says in its Food for Thought report that 60 percent of the outbreak investigations in 2025 did not have a product recall associated with them. Nearly half of the investigations did not find the source of the foodborne pathogen involved.
3. The FDA has launched a review of the food preservative BHA, which was first approved by the agency in 1961. As part of the review of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), the Food and Drug Administration is issuing a Request for Information to the public and industry. The chemical is used in a wide variety of food, including meat products, breakfast cereal, candy and ice cream.
4. Several European countries, including Belgium, France and Spain, have reported possible illnesses connected to a recall of contaminated infant formula. Global recalls of formula products from Nestlé, Lactalis, Danone and others are ongoing following the detection of cereulide – a toxin produced by Bacillus cereus. Cereulide was found in arachidonic acid (ARA) oil, a raw material from a Chinese supplier. 
5. A Norwegian scientist found that some bacteria can survive intensive cleaning and disinfection efforts. The potentially pathogenic bacteria found after disinfection in some facilities included E. coli, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The research report concluded that this may indicate a need for stronger disinfectants in concert with mechanical cleaning.

Today’s Topic: The F in the FDA
This year, at least when it comes to “guidance,” there is an agenda for the “F in the FDA,” which is officially known inside the agency as the Human Foods Program.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “guidance” documents are non-binding recommendations that explain the agency’s current thinking or policy on regulatory issues. They are not laws or enforceable rules, but they help industry, FDA staff, and the public understand how the FDA interprets and applies existing statutes and regulations.