TL;DR
Food Safety News’ Nov. 1, 2026, Sunday edition focuses on hunting season, including the food-safety responsibilities hunters and anglers take on when handling their own food. The report also summarizes current developments involving infant formula, E. coli investigations, Salmonella and a Cornell risk-assessment project.
Food Safety News published its Nov. 1 Sunday edition on hunting season, describing how hunters and anglers manage food safety themselves and outlining other current developments, including investigations into reported E. coli and Salmonella cases. The article frames the season as both a recreation and food-handling issue, while noting broader changes in participation and the economic reach of outdoor retailers.
The report says hunters and anglers take direct responsibility for the food safety of what they catch or harvest, a task it calls complicated. It does not provide a specific set of handling instructions, case figures tied to game meat, or data on hunting-related foodborne illness. Its central point is that the season involves a distinct food-safety culture alongside changing demographics and economic activity.
The edition cites about 15.2 million state-licensed hunters in the United States and says twice as many people are licensed to fish. It describes retailers such as Scheels and Bass Pro Shops as evidence of hunting season’s commercial footprint, and notes that Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s Inc. for $4.5 billion in 2016. The report also says women are fueling a resurgence in hunting and fishing, though it gives no figures or survey details to quantify that trend.
Other items in the edition include a reported 13 cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli potentially linked to a pumpkin patch in San Luis Obispo County, California. Brookshire Farms was closed while public health officials investigated. Separately, a petting zoo at a farm in Homer Glen, Illinois, was closed after five children who had visited the farm were hospitalized with E. coli infections. The report does not establish the source of either group of infections.
Food Safety Beyond the Store
The hunting-season focus draws attention to a part of the food chain where consumers may handle food from the point of harvest onward. Hunters and anglers can have responsibilities that differ from buying food through a commercial supply chain, making safe handling relevant to people who plan to eat what they catch or harvest. The report identifies the issue but does not detail specific hazards, practices or recommendations.
The edition’s wider food-safety roundup shows why outbreak investigations and regulatory developments remain relevant beyond the hunting community. Families visiting farms, food-service providers and people buying prepared products may all be affected by the reported investigations and agency actions. The distinction between a reported link and a confirmed source matters: several investigations described in the article were still underway.
The participation figures and retailer references also place hunting season within a larger economic and social setting. The report points to women’s growing role in hunting and fishing, but offers no underlying survey or trend series. Readers should treat that description as the publication’s characterization rather than a quantified finding.
The Edition’s Food-Safety Roundup
The Sunday edition also reported that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an update to infant formula nutrient requirements, described as the first in 30 years. The report said the announcement did not specify new standards and that the FDA had not yet made a proposed rule available, although it was accepting public comments. It also said the announcement did not address cases of Cronobacter and botulism affecting babies since 2021.
On E. coli, the FDA had declared an outbreak associated with chicken wraps over. The agency did not identify Trader Joe’s as the source, but the report says the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service confirmed that connection to USA Today. The FDA’s investigation remained open as it traced ingredients and inspected potentially involved sites. In Italy, Emilia-Romagna ordered food-service providers in schools and care facilities, hospitals and nursing homes not to serve uncooked cherry tomatoes after Salmonella reports; a national task force was investigating multiple outbreaks.
The report also described Cornell University professor Martin Wiedmann’s work on a computerized quantitative microbial risk assessment tool. The model is intended to standardize how food-safety risks are described and assessed during the “last mile” of the supply chain, including physical damage or defects as part of the assessment.
“Hunters and anglers manage their own food safety, and it’s complicated.”
— Food Safety News, describing the hunting-season topic
Open Questions in the Report
The Sunday edition does not supply detailed guidance on safe handling of hunted or caught food, nor does it report hunting-season illness data. The scale and supporting evidence for the stated rise in women’s participation are also not provided.
The causes of the California and Illinois E. coli cases were not confirmed in the report. The FDA’s chicken-wrap investigation was continuing despite the agency’s declaration that the outbreak was over. The proposed infant formula rule had not been made public, and the report did not specify what standards it might contain. The Salmonella investigations in Italy and the Cornell model’s development were also ongoing.
Investigations and Rulemaking Continue
Public health officials were expected to continue investigating the reported E. coli cases at the California pumpkin patch and Illinois farm. The FDA said it was still tracing ingredients and inspecting sites connected to the chicken-wrap outbreak. In Italy, a national task force was investigating multiple Salmonella outbreaks, while the restriction on uncooked cherry tomatoes applied to the listed institutions and food-service providers in Emilia-Romagna.
The FDA’s proposed infant formula rule remained a pending step: the agency was accepting public comments, but the rule was not yet available according to the report. Cornell’s risk-assessment tool was still being developed. For hunters and anglers, the edition raises food safety as a seasonal responsibility but does not announce a new regulation or provide a specific next milestone.
Key Questions
What is the main news in this Sunday edition?
Food Safety News’ Nov. 1 edition focuses on hunting season and the food-safety responsibilities of hunters and anglers, alongside a roundup of other food-safety developments.
How many licensed hunters does the report cite?
The report cites about 15.2 million state-licensed hunters in the United States and says the number of people licensed to fish is twice as large.
Were the pumpkin-farm E. coli sources confirmed?
No. The report says officials were investigating a possible link between 13 E. coli cases and a California pumpkin patch. It separately reports that five children hospitalized with E. coli had visited an Illinois farm. It does not confirm the source in either investigation.
What remains pending on infant formula requirements?
The FDA was accepting public comments on a proposed rule, but the report said the agency had not yet made the rule available. The announcement described an update to nutrient requirements but did not identify new standards.
Source: foodsafetynews.com
