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Globally, foodborne illness is a significant public health challenge. Food safety inspection plays a crucial role in the regulation of food businesses to prevent foodborne illnesses. To be an effective health protection measure, however, food safety inspections must facilitate the thorough evaluation of food safety risks. Our research examined how food safety inspectors from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. assessed food contamination control during food premise inspections. Data were collected via an online survey of environmental health practitioners who routinely conduct food safety inspections. The findings indicated that inspectors are generally aware of food safety hazards that can be present at food businesses and have deployed a variety of relevant data-gathering methods to inform their examination of the extent of contamination control. The findings also indicated a prevailing methodological incongruence stemming from the absence of a robust inspection methodology. We propose that these shortcomings be addressed by solutions that are formulated based on established hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) principles and qualitative field research. The development of a clear and appropriate methodology will support food safety inspections to provide a robust and reliable means for evaluating food safety risk and ultimately reduce the incidence and burden of foodborne illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the systemic inequities in the U.S. highlighted by the infant formula shortage. It shows the impact of infant formula shortage on families in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and stresses the need for WIC optimization and modernization. It suggests pediatric providers to advocate for paid family leave, lactation accommodations in the workplace and public spaces, and health-care based lactation support.

Background and aims: US tobacco companies owned leading US food companies from 1980 to 2001. We measured whether hyper‐palatable foods (HPF) were disproportionately developed in tobacco‐owned food companies, resulting in substantial tobacco‐related influence on the US food system. Design: The study involved a review of primary industry documents to identify food brands that were tobacco company‐owned. Data sets from the US Department of Agriculture were integrated to facilitate longitudinal analyses estimating the degree to which foods were formulated to be hyper‐palatable, based on tobacco ownership. Setting and cases: United States Department of Agriculture data sets were used to identify HPF foods that were (n = 105) and were not (n = 587) owned by US tobacco companies from 1988 to 2001. Measurements: A standardized definition from Fazzino et al. (2019) was used to identify HPF. HPF items were identified overall and by HPF group: fat and sodium HPF, fat and sugar HPF and carbohydrates and sodium HPF. Findings Tobacco‐owned foods were 29% more likely to be classified as fat and sodium HPF and 80% more likely to be classified as carbohydrate and sodium HPF than foods that were not tobacco‐owned between 1988 and 2001 (P‐values = 0.005–0.009). The availability of fat and sodium HPF (> 57%) and carbohydrate and sodium HPF (> 17%) was high in 2018 regardless of prior tobacco‐ownership status, suggesting widespread saturation into the food system. Conclusions: Tobacco companies appear to have selectively disseminated hyper‐palatable foods into the US food system between 1988 and 2001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic compromised access to essential meals for many children. In response, a public/private partnership known as the Emergency Meals-to-You program was established to deliver meals in affected rural areas of the United States. This study builds on this using a scorecard approach adapted from the United Nations Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient to identify and prioritize actions for strengthening food system resilience. A pilot food system resilience scorecard facilitated data collection from five workshops with professionals familiar with the program, emergency management, public health, or food systems. Data analysis and interpretation identified nine priority actions. These included integrating the food sector and schools within emergency management, mapping local food sector capacities, working with schools to receive de-identified data about nutritional, allergy and other health needs, developing disaster plans for sustaining food access at the school district level, and protecting ecosystem services and agricultural areas. There is an urgent need to embed the food sector and schools within emergency management. These systems are local, designed to coordinate complicated tasks in crises, multidisciplinary, and are used in many countries. Providing a ready-made framework for locally driven initiatives to strengthen food systems now and into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on an article by T. L. Fazzino and colleagues which combined previously secret tobacco industry documents and U.S. Department of Agriculture data sets capturing the food supply to estimate the likelihood that some consumer food brands have reformulated to be hyperpalatable. Topics include finding of a 2019 randomized clinical trial on people on ultraprocessed food diets and a growing need and interest in understanding a commercial determinants of health (CDoH) framework.