The Tennessee House today will vote to make it a crime to videotape animal cruety or abuse and then fail to make that evidence available to law enforcement within a 48-hour period. Yesterday, the sponsor of a similar bill in California pulled his measure from the agenda about three hours before it was supposed to… Continue Reading
The May 2012 Shigella outbreak traced to a private bridge club in California’s Los Angeles county was found to be the first involving Shigella bacteria with a decreased susceptibility to azithromycin, an antibiotic that is usually effective against multi-drug-resistant Shigella, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week. Cases of shigellosis with… Continue Reading
Agriculture officials in California are currently investigating cases of bovine tuberculosis in a dairy cow herd first reported last Wednesday. The bacteria that causes bovine tuberculosis (TB) can spread to humans via raw milk, but the cow belonged to a dairy in Tulare County which pasteurizes all of its milk, thus eliminating the risk of… Continue Reading
A family-owned deli in Northern California was closed for two days last week after its food was linked to at least 45 potential norovirus infections. North Park Deli of Concord, CA shut its doors Tuesday after people who had attended an event catered by the business that weekend began to report gastrointestinal symptoms, reported the… Continue Reading
The failed California Right to Know campaign says it will be back in 2014 with another ballot initiative for labeling genetically engineered foods. It lost last November when a majority of California voters opposed Proposition 37. In an email to its supporters and members, the six-member steering committee blamed their loss on being outspent by… Continue Reading
Opinion
This article is authored by leadership of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement which includes Ryan Talley of Talley Farms, Chairman; Jamie Strachan of Growers Express, past Chairman; Ron Ratto, Ratto Bros, Vice Chairman; and Victor Tognazzini, Tri Valley Vegetable Harvesting, Secretary. As farmers and producers and as parents and grandparents, food safety is the… Continue Reading
At the stroke of midnight on January 1, California joined at least 25 other states by enacting its Homemade Food Act, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown last September. The act makes California the largest state with a cottage food law covering anything produced by the state’s more than 11.5 million home kitchens and marks… Continue Reading
Poisonous mushrooms have killed five people and sickened over 1,500 in California since the beginning of the year, according to the state health department. Four of those deaths occurred in November. The California Department of Public Health issued a public health advisory Wednesday warning people not to pick and eat wild mushrooms. “It is very… Continue Reading
The California Deaprtment of Public Health is warning consumers not to eat Harry’s Berries Salsa or Harry’s Berries Dilled Beans, produced by Gean Farms Inc. in Oxnard because they may be susceptible to contamination of Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that causes botulism. Gean Farms is voluntarily recalling their products after state health officials discovered the… Continue Reading
Opinion
California’s Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of GMO foods, died a painful death Tuesday night. Despite polling in mid-September showing an overwhelming lead, the measure lost by 53 to 47 percent, which is relatively close considering the No side’s tactics. As I’ve been writing about, the opposition has waged a deceptive and ugly campaign, fueled by more than $45… Continue Reading
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is adding sport-harvested clams and whole scallops to the list of Del Norte County bivalve shellfish that consumers should avoid. The advisory is in addition to the annual mussel quarantine that was extended Oct. 31 for both Del Norte and Humboldt counties, according to CDPH. “Dangerous levels of… Continue Reading