A judge in California has overturned the state’s ban on foie gras. The delicacy is made from fattened duck liver and is produced using “gavage” — a method of force-feeding a bird through a tube inserted in its mouth. The ban was passed in 2004 and went into effect in 2012. Its supporters argued that the production of foie gras is inhumane. Questions have also been raised about the food safety of foie gras. The argument, which is rejected by U.S. Department of Agriculture, is that force-fed birds develop bacteria or toxins in their blood, resulting in a disease that can prove fatal before slaughter. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson issued the ruling on Wednesday, writing that the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act regulates the sale and distribution of foie gras and trumps California’s law. The ban had been challenged by California restaurant owners and foie gras producers in Canada and New York. Animal-rights groups immediately asked California Attorney General Kamala Harris to appeal the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Her office indicated the judge’s ruling was being reviewed.
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The 2-year-old petition from Animal Partisan to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), calling upon the agency to share its federal jurisdiction over animal abuse with state
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has updated its public calendar to provide information about its meetings in March and April.
It lists meetings held by the
IAEA and FAO are to hold an event next year focusing on the use of nuclear technologies for food safety.
The International Symposium on Food Safety and Control will take
Gifting live chicks, ducklings and bunnies as Easter presents remains a popular tradition, but public health officials warn the practice continues to fuel Salmonella outbreaks and animal welfare concerns.
Salmonella
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a public health alert for frozen, dinosaur-shaped, ready-to-eat chicken nuggets sold at Walmart stores because they may be contaminated
Gear Isle is voluntarily recalling chocolate products because they have been found to contain undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients, sildenafil and tadalafil.
The recalled products are: Gold Lion Aphrodisiac Chocolate Sachet,
Schreiber Foods Inc. of Green Bay, WI, is recalling 144 Cases of Honey Almond Cream Cheese Spread, because it may contain undeclared almonds. People who have an allergy or severe
