Opinion
A few weeks ago I was giving a talk at the Association of Health Care Journalists conference in Boston. My talk was primarily an overview of where food safety has come since the Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in 1993. At one point I introduced an article I found in 1993 at… Continue Reading
A Bloomington, Illinois McDonald’s restaurant that voluntarily closed down while being investigated as a possible link to a 12-person Salmonella outbreak, has been cleared to reopen, the McLean County Health Department (MCHD) announced on Sunday. According to MCHD, the restaurant was closed for Thanksgiving on Nov. 22 and then the owners chose to keep the… Continue Reading
Owners of a Bloomington, Illinois McDonalds voluntarily shut the establishment down last week after it was linked to a series of Salmonella infections. Bob and Julie Dobski, who own 9 McDonalds franchises in the Bloomington-Normal area, were informed by health officials Wednesday night that the South Main Street location had been connected to a cluster… Continue Reading
The trend in labeling calories on menus got super sized Wednesday when McDonald’s announced that it will include calorie information next to all menu items starting next week. The company says it will now provide calorie counts across the board in all of its 14,000 U.S. locations, making it the first nationwide fast food chain… Continue Reading
Opinion
Today the New York City Board of Health approved Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to limit the size of sugary soft drinks. Motivated by rising diet-related chronic diseases (along with healthcare costs), the Mayor’s attempt to rein in out-of-control portion sizes caused quite a media firestorm. Predictably, the soda lobby has come out swinging, complete with… Continue Reading
An employee of a McDonalds in San Diego, California was infected with Hepatitis A in late August and may have passed the virus on to consumers, warns the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency. The McDonalds where the individual works is located inside the Walmart at 3412 College Avenue. Customers who ate at… Continue Reading
Opinion
It’s hard not to get depressed over the politics of food these days, given the massive power of the food industry to influence everything from the farm bill to childhood obesity. So a new report, Slowing Down Fast Food: A policy guide for healthier kids and families, on how we can fight back couldn’t come… Continue Reading
Customers who ate at a McDonald’s in Northport, AL between February 28 and March 14 may have been exposed to hepatitis A through an infected employee, according to the Alabama Department of Health. In a news alert, state health officials advised customers who visited the McDonald’s at 2000 McFarland Blvd. in Northport any time on… Continue Reading
McDonald’s made national headlines when it announced it had allegedly found a work-around to a San Francisco law designed to curb the predatory practice of using toys to lure kids into a lifetime of fast food. But as I wrote for Grist, I am not convinced McDonald’s convenient trick to charge ten cents instead of… Continue Reading
While most media outlets dubbed it the “Happy Meal toy ban,” the ordinance passed in San Francisco last year didn’t ban anything. The law just placed a few reasonable nutrition guidelines (a maximum of 600 calories per meal and limits on fat and salt, for example) for restaurants using free toy incentives to lure kids… Continue Reading
Starting today, chain restaurants in San Francisco will no longer be able to give away toys with kids’ meals that are high in fat, salt and sugar. The goal is to push fast-food establishments to make children’s offerings healthier. In response, McDonald’s has decided to serve plastic playthings without changing its Happy Meals in San… Continue Reading