Marler ClarkSchool Lunch Safety Initiative Launched
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week a number of new initiatives to improve the safety and quality of food purchased for the National School Lunch Program and...
Contributing Writers
Helena Bottemiller
Helena Bottemiller is a Washington, DC-based reporter who covers food policy, politics and regulation for Food Safety News as its Washington Correspondent. After years of being a self-described food policy wonk, Helena delved into the food safety world for the first time while writing her thesis on the politics of food regulation at Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles, where she graduated with a degree in Government. In her spare time, Helena does volunteer media relations for Lumana Credit, a small microfinance non-profit serving rural Ghana.
Articles Written by Helena Bottemiller
Meat Industry Braces for CBS Antibiotics Series
Meat industry groups are bracing for consumer backlash from a much-anticipated CBS Evening News series on antibiotic use in food animal production, scheduled to air this week after experiencing several...
Humane Animal Treatment Petition Filed
Last year, Ohio voters voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin to amend its state constitution and create a Livestock Care Standards Board, made up of veterinarians and agriculture experts, to...
FDA Outreach in Latin America, Part III
As part of our ongoing expert Q&A series: An in-depth look at how the FDA's headquarters in Latin America works to promote safer foodWith over 220,000 foreign food facilities in...
FDA Outreach in Latin America, Part II
As part of our ongoing expert Q&A series: An in-depth look at how the FDA's headquarters in Latin America works to promote safer foodWith over 220,000 foreign food facilities from...
WA to Ban BPA in Food Containers for Kids
Washington state is about to join a growing list of local governments taking Bisphenol A (BPA) regulation into their own hands. Both chambers of the Washington state legislature have passed...
FDA Outreach in Latin America, Part I
As part of our ongoing expert Q&A series: An in-depth look at how one Latin American FDA office promotes safer foodWith over 220,000 foreign food facilities from over 150 countries...
Obama Boosts FDA Food Safety in FY2011 Budget
What Obama's budget means for food safety: FDA gets big bump, but relies on fees in pending food safety legislation; FSIS budget leaves experts concernedPresident Obama's 2011 budget, released Monday,...
Another Call to Add Help for Farmers to S. 510
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued an action alert on Friday urging its members to support an amendment to the pending food safety bill, which would provide training and...
United Fresh to Host Food Safety Demo
The United Fresh Produce Association, a trade group representing the vast majority of the produce industry, announced this week that it will be featuring a showcase of the latest developments...
USDA: Meat Irradiation off Table for Now
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not moving forward on a meat industry request to approve carcass irradiation as a food safety technique, according to Meatingplace.The American Meat Institute...
Pollan: Ruling 'Not Good' for Food Safety
Michael Pollan, best-selling author and thought leader of the burgeoning food and agriculture reform movements, warned an audience in San Francisco last week about the implications the Supreme Court's decision...
Coalition: USDA Traceback Policy Lacking
Food Safety Coalition Seeks Common Sense Change to USDA Meat Traceback PolicyOn Tuesday, members of the Safe Food Coalition (SFC) delivered a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, urging...
BPI Sues to Keep Ammonia Beef Records Private
The ammonia beef saga has taken an interesting twist. Right before the New York Times published an article questioning the pervasive use of ammonia in beef processing, lawyers at Marler...
Mainstream Media Focuses on Food Safety
After months of newspapers, blogs, and food safety experts raising flags about the dilapidated food safety system, cable news has piped into the food safety discussion more than usual in...