This Week!
November 6 Fresh Take Fridays Webinar Covers New World Screwworm
AFDO’s free Fresh Take Fridays series is back this fall. Register below for future sessions.
New World Screwworm: What Food Safety Professionals Need to Know
Friday, November 6
This Fresh Take Fridays webinar will provide an overview of the New World screwworm, including how the parasite affects animals, the current situation in North America, ongoing prevention and response efforts, and what regulators and food industry professionals need to know. Registerhere.
From ChatGPT and Claude to Desktop Agents: The Next Step in Putting AI to Work
Friday, November 20
This session, part of AFDO’s Fresh Take Fridays spinoff focused on artificial intelligence and tech, introduces the shift to AI tools such as Codex, which are working environments where AI can access files, execute code, analyze data, and more. Registerhere.
Beyond the Label: What Food Safety Professionals Need to Know About Kosher and Halal Foods
Friday, December 4
Learn what makes food kosher or halal, discuss key production and certification considerations, and explore strategies for building effective working relationships between food safety professionals and kosher and halal operations. Register here.
🚨Newly Added!
Using Super Intelligence for Food Safety at the FDA
Friday, December 11
This session, part of AFDO’s Fresh Take Fridays spinoff focused on artificial intelligence and tech, will explore practical, real-world applications of super intelligence (SI) across the food industry, e.g., product identification, labeling and information review, monitoring, data analysis, and food safety decision-making. The webinar also will share examples of how FDA is using the technology. Register here.
All one-hour sessions start at noon ET, so grab your lunch and listen in. You can also catch past Fresh Take Fridays webinars here.
AFDO Board Meets in Baltimore
The AFDO Board of Directors met last week in Baltimore, Maryland. The board members met with consumer group representatives as well as staff from FDA and USDA to discuss topics such as the BRIDGE project, the summer 2026 cyclospora outbreak, artificial intelligence in food safety, training, and more. The board also discussed planning for next year’s AFDO AEC, June 5-9, 2027, in Glendale, Arizona, and received updates from regional affiliates AFDOSS, NCAFDO, WAFDO, and more.
AFDO Committee’s Nov. 13 Webinar Shares How LFFM Advances Laboratory Readiness
Building Stronger Partnerships: FDA Laboratory Flexible Funding Model Successes and APHL Support for Public Health Laboratories, the Friday, November 13, 2026, webinar hosted by AFDO’s Laboratory, Science, and Technology Committee, will explore how the FDA Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (LFFM) helps strengthen state laboratory capacity and capabilities. Experts from FDA and the Association of Public Health Laboratories will share updates, including how LFFM supports a more integrated approach to food safety surveillance and response.
Register for the webinar here.
Become an AFDO Member or Renew for 2027
The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) works hard to ensure that state and local regulatory voices are heard at pivotal times in public health. Membership signifies your support of the AFDO mission and the value you see in the significant outreach the association provides.
All memberships provide access to high-value training, needed resources, and opportunities to engage with peers working on similar issues. It also offers the chance to be part of a network where everyone learns from each other and contributes to meaningful progress.
Learn more about the types of AFDO memberships and join or renew for 2027 here.
AFDO Presents at the OC Food Safety Advisory Council in California
Attendees of the Orange County Food Safety Advisory Council meeting October 27, 2026, in Santa Ana, California, heard about the AFDO Retail HACCP Plan Review Service, learned about other AFDO resources, and got a micro course on meat curing for preservation from AFDO Scientific Affairs Director Sally Flowers.
National Sampling Finds Opportunities to Strengthen Listeria Prevention
FSIS experts analyzed a year’s worth of outbreak investigation data to more accurately identify risk factors and improve how the agency will target its resources for better prevention of Listeria monocytogenes.
Based on the analysis, FSIS-trained inspection personnel piloted expanded sampling for food contact and non-food contact surfaces in RTE establishments, updated inspection tasks to target Listeria risk factors, and developed new data visualization tools to support earlier risk identification.
National implementation rolls out in phases beginning January 2027.
$5 Billion Guaranteed Loan Program Expands Processing for Meat Producers
On October 23, 2026, USDA announced it’s making at least $5 billion available in guaranteed loans to meat, poultry, and seafood processors through the new Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers (SPUR) Guaranteed Loan Program. Funds are available to help small, independent, and regional processors expand, improve, and diversify processing capacity.
Additional support includes more than $57 million in tentative awards for 147 projects across 40 states through Round 4 of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP).
USDA is also investing in state inspection capacity through the Stand-Up Program, offering up to $50 million to help states cover the start-up costs of launching or expanding their own inspection programs.
Read more about SPUR here.
FoodSHIELD training starts Monday, November 2
Live training sessions start Monday, November 2. Each one is 30 minutes and covers what changed in the new portal and how to find things faster. Sessions run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2 p.m. ET, and each session repeats the following week. Recordings will be posted in the training catalog.
Week 1 Schedule:
- Wed, November 4: Navigation Mastery: Finding Anything in Under 30 Seconds
- Fri, November 6: Your Profile & Notification Center
To see the full schedule and register for the class you want, visit the training catalog.
AFDO.org Pro Tips
Risk-Based Inspections Maturity Model
In this regularly updated eNews section, AFDO staffers will share their pro tips on how to get the most from afdo.org. Retail Food Safety Director Deanna Copeland offers a pro tip on using the Risk-Based Inspections Maturity Model.
“Every retail program is somewhere on a risk-based inspection journey, and no two start from the same place. That’s why I love sharing the Risk-Based Inspections Maturity Model. It’s a flexible self-assessment tool that helps leaders see where their program is to map where it can go next, from inspection frequency or staff standardization to program metrics. It’s not a checklist – it’s a guide that works for programs of any size, and it keeps the focus right where it belongs: reducing foodborne illness risk factors.”
Pro Tip: Don’t try to tackle the entire model at once! Each element is evaluated on its own, so pick the one that will make the biggest impact in your program and make that your next step.
ICYMI: Worth Another Look
New Initiative From FDA Guides Manufacturers of Baby Food
FDA’s Closer to Zero initiative is focused on reducing dietary exposure to heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury to as low as possible, while maintaining access to nutritious foods that support healthy development.
The agency is proposing new action levels intended to guide manufacturers of processed food intended for babies and young children in taking steps to lower the levels of cadmium in their products.
Read the full update here.
Results Released for Economically Motivated Lemon Juice Adulteration Testing
On October 19, FDA released the results from a 2022-2025 sampling assignment to test domestic and imported lemon juice samples for economically motivated adulteration (food fraud).
This sampling assignment tested samples of domestically produced and imported lemon juice for ingredients that are inconsistent with the lemon juice standard of identity, such as added sweeteners, citric acid, excess water, or juices from non-lemon sources. Of the 195 samples collected and tested by the agency, seven of the samples of the imported products were violative and none of the domestic products were violative. Find the full report, including test results, here.
State Manufactured Food Student Internship Program Application Window Open
Submissions are being accepted now from state manufactured food safety programs for a grant to host college-level student interns during summer 2027. This initiative is designed to cultivate the next generation of food safety professionals by offering hands-on experience in a food regulatory program.
The immersive experience not only builds valuable skills but also opens doors – past interns have gone on to secure full-time positions with their host agencies.
For full details, including agency/intern requirements, download the Funding Opportunity Announcement. The application deadline is December 11, 2026.
If you have any questions, visit the AFDO website grant page.
Weekly Short Order of Inspiration Sparks Ideas to Grow Soft Skills
AFDO’s weekly Quick Bites update delivers fast fact learning opportunities focused on soft skills for food safety professionals. Each edition will feature one short, practical resource designed to spark ideas for change and action — whether applied individually or within an organization.
Curated by AFDO staff, Quick Bites include easy-to-digest videos, podcasts, etc., that support the essential skills food safety professionals need — critical thinking, active listening, time management, problem solving, decision making, emotional intelligence, conflict management, de-escalation, and more.
You can subscribe right here. Share your mobile phone number to receive Quick Bites via text.
RFFM Grant Program Offers Pathway for Retail Food Regulatory Programs
The 2027-2028 NEHA-FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model (RFFM) Grant Program application cycle is approaching. The application portal opens December 9, 2026. All applications must be submitted by 7:59 p.m. ET on January 27, 2027.
RFFM supports state, local, tribal and, territorial retail food regulatory programs as they advance conformance with FDA’s nine Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. The program reaches agencies of different sizes and resource levels that collectively regulate millions of retail food establishments nationwide.
Learn more about RFFM and the National Environmental Health Association here. Interested programs may reach out to retailgrants@neha.org or phone 833-575-2404.
Regional Affiliate News
Save the Date: 2027 MCAFDO Annual Educational Conference, March 22-25, 2027
Planning is underway for the 2027 MCAFDO Annual Educational Conference, March 22-25, 2027. The conference will be at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Springfield in Springfield, Missouri. A draft agenda is forthcoming and will eventually be made available on the MCAFDO website. The affiliate is also welcoming awards nominations. Find more information here.
