On April 23, the science journal Nature published a paper titled “Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture,” by Verena Seufert et al. The mainstream press waded into the paper’s implications but had a hard time packaging them in a headline. CNN announced “Organic yields 25% lower than conventional farming,” while the Los Angeles [...]
A resuable grocery bag was traced to an outbreak of norovirus
May 9, 2012 By
Oregon public health officials have traced a nasty outbreak of norovirus infections in a group of soccer players to an unlikely source: a reusable grocery bag contaminated with what some experts are calling “the perfect pathogens.” The incident is raising questions, once again, about the cleanliness of the portable shopping bags that many consumers use [...]
N.C. County Health Officials Emphasize Food Safety Measures
May 7, 2012 By
Buncombe County, North Carolina health officials are emphasizing that strict food safety measures should be followed during the current outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B to prevent further person-to-person transmission. As of May 4, 2012, 46 people in five states (Georgia, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) have been sickened, and seven of those patients have [...]
Food-safety rules in limbo at Office of Management and Budget
May 4, 2012 By
More than a year after President Obama signed a landmark food-safety bill, the key provisions are hung up at a unit of the White House that is in charge of reviewing proposed policy changes. The delay at the Office of Management and Budget baffles consumer advocates and industry groups, which joined forces to lobby for [...]
Univ. of Minn. Update: Two Salmonella outbreaks, Campylobacter-fighting compound
May 2, 2012 By
Tuna-linked Salmonella outbreak grows to 258 cases The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that a Salmonella outbreak linked to tainted sushi tuna has sickened 58 more people, raising the total so far to 258. The outbreak has also affected patients in 3 more states (California, Nebraska, and Tennessee), raising that [...]
Plan to Let Poultry Plants Inspect Birds Is Criticized
May 2, 2012 By
Federal food safety inspectors said a proposal by the Agriculture Department to expand a pilot program that allows private companies to take over the inspections at poultry plants could pose a health risk by allowing contaminated meat to reach customers. Currently, the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors are stationed along the assembly [...]
Opinion: Salmonella Import Problem
April 30, 2012 By
Are there 5,860 sickened? What are Salmonella complications? Opinion Collaborative investigation efforts of state, local, and federal public health agencies indicate that a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product imported from India, known as Nakaochi Scrape, from Moon Marine USA Corporation is the likely source of this Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga outbreak. According to the [...]
Mad Cow in U.S. Raises Food Safety Questions
April 28, 2012 By
There’s no threat from the single California dairy cow yesterday reported to have mad cow disease. But what about other cows? The USDA says the detection of the California cow and its removal from the food chain shows that our food safety program is working. But critics say we’ve just been lucky. Since 2006, the [...]
Mad-Cow Case Confirmed in Central California Says USDA
April 25, 2012 By
By Alan Bjerga – Apr 25, 2012 The first U.S. case of mad cow disease in six years has been found in a dairy cow in central California, detected before it could enter the human food chain and pose any threat to consumers, officials said. The cow was identified as part of routine testing for [...]
State Senate Committee Rejects Reusable Grocery Bag Warnings
April 24, 2012 By
Read expert testimony supporting SB 1106 here. The California Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality yesterday voted down SB 1106 which would have warned California consumers that soiled reusable grocery bags have the potential to carry bacteria leading to foodborne illness. Only the author, Tony Strickland, voted aye. Unimaginably, the California Grocers Association was in [...]
