Author: McKenna Madison Coveny

There’s something undeniably tempting about a buffet. Endless trays of food, the freedom to build your plate exactly how you want, and the feeling that you’re getting the best bang for your buck. But behind the sneeze guards and serving spoons lurks a less appetizing truth: buffets can be breeding grounds for bacteria and foodborne illness. Temperature TroubleOne of the biggest risks at buffets is improper temperature control. Hot foods need to stay above 140°F, and cold foods should be below 40°F. Anything in the middle—the dreaded “danger zone”—is essentially a spa day for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. Unfortunately,…

Every winter, headlines warn of outbreaks of norovirus—the highly contagious illness often called the “stomach flu.” Unlike influenza, norovirus is not a respiratory disease; it is a gastrointestinal virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fatigue. It is notorious for spreading quickly in schools, cruise ships, nursing homes, and other crowded environments. Why Norovirus Spreads So EasilyNorovirus is one of the most contagious pathogens known. A person can become infected with as few as 18 viral particles—an amount so small it is invisible to the eye. The virus spreads through contaminated food and water, by touching surfaces and then…

College life often means late-night meals, shared fridges, and quick bites between classes. While convenient, these habits can increase the risk of foodborne illness if safety precautions are overlooked. With thousands of students across the country living in dorms or apartments with limited kitchen facilities, it’s crucial to understand how to minimize that risk. 1. Handle Leftovers with CarePizza, Chinese takeout, and dining hall to-go boxes are staples of student life—but they’re also breeding grounds for bacteria if left out too long. As a rule, perishable food should be refrigerated within two hours. Label containers with the date and discard…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently issued a health alert for two popular frozen entrées sold at Walmart and Trader Joe’s. The concern: potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause severe illness and, in high-risk populations, even death. The affected meals include Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs & Marinara, sold at Walmart, and Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo. Specific best-by dates and establishment numbers were listed in the alert, and both retailers encouraged customers to discard the products or return them for a full refund. At the…

Every year, American households throw away billions of dollars’ worth of food simply because it wasn’t stored properly. Beyond the financial waste, spoiled food can harbor dangerous bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, or Listeria, leading to serious health risks. The good news? With a few intentional storage practices, you can dramatically reduce spoilage while keeping your kitchen safer and more efficient. Refrigeration and Freezing Done RightThe refrigerator isn’t just a catch-all box for leftovers—it requires strategy. Perishable items like meat, poultry, and fish should be placed on the bottom shelf in sealed containers to prevent drips from contaminating other foods.…

Food safety is evolving rapidly, and technology is at the center of this transformation. From genetic testing to artificial intelligence, innovations are equipping regulators and companies with new tools to detect and prevent outbreaks before they spread. One of the most significant breakthroughs has been whole genome sequencing (WGS). This technology allows scientists to map the DNA of pathogens with precision, linking cases of illness to specific products or facilities. Outbreaks that once took weeks or months to trace can now be identified within days, saving lives and strengthening legal evidence against negligent companies. Blockchain is another game-changer. By recording…

Food recalls make headlines because of their health implications, but the financial fallout is equally important. Behind every recall lies a web of costs borne by companies, consumers, healthcare systems, and even taxpayers. For corporations, recalls can be catastrophic. Production halts, product destruction, sanitation, and investigation all carry immediate expenses. Add in lost sales, reputational damage, and legal settlements, and the numbers can soar into the millions. The 2015 Blue Bell Creameries listeria recall, for example, forced the company to shut down production and lay off over a third of its workforce. Recovery took years. Consumers also pay. Those who…

Children represent one of the most at-risk groups when it comes to foodborne illness. While adults often recover quickly from mild cases of food poisoning, children’s smaller bodies and developing immune systems make them far more vulnerable to severe outcomes. The biology is clear. Children are less capable of fighting off infections, meaning pathogens like E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella can take hold more aggressively. A small dose of bacteria that might cause a mild upset in an adult can lead to hospitalization in a child. One of the most serious risks is hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication of…

Foodborne illness remains a stubborn problem, sickening millions and costing billions each year. Regulators such as the FDA and USDA set safety standards, but enforcement alone has not been enough to prevent recurring outbreaks. Increasingly, it is the courtroom—not the regulatory agency—that drives significant reform. Litigation has proven to be one of the most powerful forces in improving food safety. Food poisoning lawsuits often uncover systemic failures that would otherwise remain hidden. During discovery, attorneys gain access to internal documents, emails, and safety audits that reveal the truth about how contamination occurred. In the Peanut Corporation of America Salmonella outbreak,…

Walk through any grocery store in America and you’ll see the fingerprints of globalization. Grapes from Chile, shrimp from Thailand, spices from India, and cheese from France all sit side by side, ready to be placed in a single shopping cart. While this global marketplace brings variety and convenience to consumers, it also creates unprecedented risks for food safety. Global supply chains allow a single contamination event in one country to affect consumers thousands of miles away. The 2011 European E. coli outbreak, traced to contaminated fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt, sickened more than 4,000 people across several nations. In…