Calls for GMO Labeling Keep Cropping Up

Like a persistent mosquito that keeps coming back no matter how many times you bat it away, the controversial issue of mandated labeling for genetically engineered foods in the United States just won't go away.The latest example of that persistence...

  • Discuss (7)

French Visitors to Turkey Infected With E. Coli O104

A group of French tourists returned home from Turkey last fall with diarrheal illnesses, and two of them developed a life-threatening kidney disease linked to the foodborne pathogen E. coli.Now French health officials have completed an investigation into this illness...

  • Discuss (0)

Committee Approves Colorado Cottage Food Bill

After home bakers organized on Facebook and went to the state capitol bearing tasty treats Thursday, a Colorado House committee gave its unanimous support to a cottage food bill.If enacted, the bill would allow the sale of "nonpotentially hazardous" food...

  • Discuss (1)

Panel: Acrylamide in Food Unlikely to Pose Health Risk

Dietary levels of acrylamide, the chemical compound and known carcinogen naturally produced from cooking food, cannot be shown to pose any health risk to humans, according to an expert panel organized by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) for a...

  • Discuss (0)

Turkey and Ham Sub Sandwiches Recalled Due to Listeria

M.E. Thompson of Jacksonville, FL is recalling ham and turkey sub sandwiches that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.No illnesses have been reported.Routine sampling by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services detected Listeria in some sandwiches.  The recall is...

  • Discuss (1)

No Raw Milk Link, No Brucellosis in Massachusetts

A Massachusetts resident who first tested positive for brucellosis has now been confirmed to not have the infection, according to an email from the assistant commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR)."While initial test results did show up...

  • Discuss (1)

Beer Wholesalers Join Public Health to Oppose Four Loko Settlement

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission took public comments on a proposed settlement with the alcohol company Phusion Projects, which makes a beverage line called Four Loko. You might recall in 2010 how that product gained much notoriety for sending scores...

  • Discuss (2)

Administration 'Not Confirming' Food Safety Consolidation

The Obama Administration "is not 'confirming'  food safety consolidation," the subscription news service The Hagstrom Report now says. The newsletter reports:"Although Jeff Zients, who is now White House Office of Management and Budget director, said recently that consolidation of food...

  • Discuss (0)

Minnesotan Recovering from Rat Lungworm Disease

A Watertown, MN man will make a full recovery from paralyzing rat lungworm disease acquired during his visit to Hawaii's Big Island last November and December, his doctors now say.Eric Reinert, 22, visited the Big Island's Puna District to learn...

  • Discuss (1)

Webinar to Help Small Scale Meat Processors With Food Safety

The Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network, which works to expand small-scale meat processing, will host a free webinar Feb. 1 on microbiology basics.The webinar will delve into N-60 sampling, multi-drug resistance, non-O157 STECs and multi-drug resistant Salmonella strains, according to...

  • Discuss (0)

Animal Drug Widely Used in US Meat the Focus of Trade Dispute

A controversial animal drug, fed to a majority of pigs raised in the United States, has become the focus of a long-running trade dispute centered on meat exports. Ractopamine hydrochloride - used to keep swine lean and boost their growth...

  • Discuss (3)

USDA Revamps School Nutrition Standards

In an effort to lower childhood obesity rates - which have been climbing rapidly over the past 3 decades - the Obama Administration is raising the bar on school nutrition. With the help of First Lady Michelle Obama, the U.S. Department...

  • Discuss (4)

Jason's Deli to Drop Sprouts for 2012 and Possibly 2013

Citing food safety concerns, national restaurant chain Jason's Deli has announced it will not serve sprouts in its 230 locations for the remainder of 2012 and possibly 2013. The announcement, reported by The Packer's Mike Hornick on Tuesday, follows years...

  • Discuss (0)

FDA Orders Smoked Salmon Held After Listeria Detected

Maine company agrees to destroy product

Using its newly expanded authority under the Food Safety Modernization Act, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered the detention of cold-smoked salmon in Maine after inspectors found Listeria monocytogenes in equipment and in areas throughout a food-processing and storage...

  • Discuss (0)

Researchers to Look at 8 Harmful E. Coli Strains

A $25 million grant has been awarded to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study how to reduce the risk of 8 pathogenic E. coli strains that can contaminate beef and cause human illness.The five-year research project, announced Monday by the...

  • Discuss (0)

Consmer Bell: Food Recalls