Food Safety NewsHelena Bottemiller is a Washington, DC-based reporter covering food policy and politics for Food Safety News. Helena first delved into the world of food safety while writing her thesis on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles. At Food Safety News, she has covered Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court and several high-profile food safety stories, including the half-billion Salmonella egg recall and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Helena has appeared on BBC World and been featured in USA Today and her work is widely cited by mainstream and niche media. She tweets about food and agriculture policy at @hbottemiller.
In a move that is sure to please sushi lovers everywhere, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Food Drug Administration (FDA) announced an interagency partnership this week to ramp up seafood safety inspections.The new agreement formalizes an existing relationship between NOAA's Fisheries Service Seafood Inspection Program and the FDA to improve the inspection of fish, fishery products,...
Canadian farmers and industry officials are feeling even more pressure from global trade restrictions over food safety concerns sometimes viewed as trade barriers.Canadian raw-material products, from cattle feed to vegetable oil to hot dogs, have recently been shut out of several countries, a reality that is causing prices to dip.China, which accounts for a third of Canada's canola seed exports,...
Leading foodborne illness litigators, industry counsel, scientists, and public health officials met in Chicago this week for the American Conference Institute's (ACI's) 3rd National Forum on Foodborne Illness Litigation.The meeting covered a wide variety of topics--from emerging trends in food safety litigation to crisis management, to understanding the interplay between federal and state food safety regulations.Participants in all sectors viewed...
USDA Leaders Promote Local Food in Georgia This Week--Is Local Food Safer?Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan visited the University of Georgia Monday to discuss the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative.The stop is part of Merrigan's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food,' college tour, which aims to educate "the next generation of farmers,...
Yesterday a meat packing plant in Brockton, Massachusetts issued a ground beef recall after the Massachusetts Department of Health (DPH) confirmed a positive sample for E. coli O157:H7. The DPH found the E. coli in samples taken from Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, Rhode Island during its investigation into the illnesses of 20 students and chaperones from Lincoln Middle School who all...
November 3rd voters in Ohio will decide whether to amend the state constitution to set up a an Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to set state policy on livestock handling, farm management, and food safety practices.If the measure passes, the board would be appointed by the governor and legislature. The panel of 13 would include family farmers, veterinarians, a food...
New Zealand's Ministry of Health is worried that pending changes to the country's Food Act are too sensitive to business concerns and are not focused enough on critical food safety issues, according to the New Zeland Herald.The Herald reported yesterday that an email made available by an Official Information Act revealed the Ministry is concerned that Cabinet-level review on the...
Fishermen in the oyster business are not pleased with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) announcement that it will reformulate its policy on processing raw oysters to reduce Vibrio vulnificus, a naturally occurring bacterium that can be fatal.Michael Taylor, senior advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA, announced last week that the FDA will change HACCP rules to require...
Halloween is just around the corner--pumpkins are sitting on patios, kids are trying to decide on a costume, and parents across the country are dreading the inevitable sugar highs that follow trick-or-treating.As Halloween approaches, state and federal agencies are reminding parents that there are a number of simple steps they can take to ensure this holiday is fun and safe.Here...
When U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg Thursday told a U.S. Senate hearing about an ongoing criminal investigation into the Peanut Corporation of America over the nationwide Salmonella outbreak that began late last year, many suddenly sat up and listened. PCA allegedly shipped peanut butter products into interstate commerce, with knowledge that it was contaminated with Salmonella. The...
Yesterday Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack previewed the Obama Administration's priorities for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which addresses Federal Child Nutrition Programs.The Child Nutrition Act reauthorization is currently being considered by Congress. The legislation is renewed every five years and provides an outline for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs which serve more than 31 million school...
Amidst the ongoing health care reform circus and a busy legislative agenda, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) took time to hold a hearing on food safety reform yesterday.The hearing is the first major action in the Senate on legislation to overhaul the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) role in the piecemeal federal food safety...
Australia's government announced that it will lift its ban on beef imports from Britain and other countries that have had cases of mad cow disease. The decision stemmed from the results of a scientific study on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that found that imported beef presented an extremely low risk to the public with proper safeguards in place."The independent review...
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will hold a public meeting along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide information and receive comments on agenda items for the 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), which will be held in San Diego, CA in mid November.CCFH, a committee hosted by...
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that Lone Star Brisket Company, of Thorndale, TX, is recalling approximately 14 pounds of smoked beef product due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The problem was discovered through the FSIS microbiological sampling program. Following the discovery, the firm initiated a Class I Recall, which means the...
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