Preventing foods from the contamination of foodborne pathogens is an important strategy to ensure food safety. Reports have demonstrated that microorganisms could enter the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state when they respond to various environmental stresses. This paper gives an overview of recent findings on the VBNC state of foodborne pathogens with emphasis on the universality, induced conditions and characteristics of VBNC state of bacteria cells as a response to different environmental stresses (including natural stresses and those during food process and preservation). In addition, the limit of current bacteria detection methods based on bacteria’s culturability but not on their viability and its potential challenge to food safety assessment were discussed.