Kathleen Merrigan, who recently left her role as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said this week she is concerned about the negative impact the Food Safety Modernization Act could have on small- and medium-sized farms. According to a report by AgriPulse, Merrigan made the remarks at CropLife America’s National Policy… Continue Reading
Down in Pass Christian at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, as the adjoining waters of the Gulf of Mexico warm, Crystal Seas Seafood is offering its customers something new that the seafood company is calling “Crystal Clear Oysters.” The “live,” in-shell oysters are kept cold from reef to table for a promised reef-fresh flavor. Oh, and they’ve… Continue Reading
No one wants customers to get sick. That was the message that University of Vermont Extension food safety specialist Londa Nwadike used to start off her recent webinar presentation about food safety tips for farmers market vendors and managers. With an eye toward the benefits of following good food safety protocol at markets, Nwadike was quick… Continue Reading
Raw milk bills have already passed in the lower houses of the Montana and Arkansas legislatures, and now appear to be headed for up-or-down votes on final passage in the Senate of each of those states. Overall, though, legislative attempts to loosen raw milk regulation are not getting far this legislative season. In Montana,… Continue Reading
Always a controversial topic, raw milk has landed smack dab in the middle of a tug-of-war policy disagreement between two major farm groups. Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been pasteurized to kill harmful, and at times deadly, pathogens such as E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and Campylobacter. Pulling on one end of the rope in favor… Continue Reading
It got a final 50-to-1 favorable vote in the Hawaii House, but House Bill (HB) 174 could not have taken a more tumultuous road to today’s public hearing in the Senate. And its future remains very much in doubt. The Senate almost skipped the hearing entirely, which would have killed the proposed law to require… Continue Reading
A lifelong Marin County resident, Bob La Belle, thinks nothing short of a “harmonic convergence” may be responsible for saving that Drakes Bay oyster business that former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar tried to shut down. It seems that since the oyster farm located at the Point Reyes National Seashore won an emergency injunction allowing it… Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s number two in command, Kathleen Merrigan, a longtime advocate of local and regional food systems, announced yesterday she will be leaving her post. Deputy Secretary Merrigan, who led the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative throughout President Obama’s first term, did not say when she would step down… Continue Reading
For farmers who sell fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, food safety will be business as usual, despite the federal Food and Drug Administration’s new proposed rules governing produce. “Business as usual,” because most market farmers are exempt from the new rules, just as they’re exempt from the Food Safety Modernization Act, which was signed… Continue Reading
A new report published by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor questions whether inspection of restaurants and other retail food establishments are doing enough to prevent foodborne illness in the Bayou State. With its $9.5 billion tourist industry mostly built around food and music, the safety of Louisiana restaurant food is a subject of interest far beyond… Continue Reading
Opinion
William Strannix, the character Tommy Lee Jones played in 1992’s “Under Seige” was a rogue CIA agent who took over a retiring battleship for its cruise missiles. Tom Breaker was his handler back at Langley, setting up this exchange: Breaker: “Look, Bill, if this is about reliving the 60s, you can forget it, buddy. The… Continue Reading