A summary judgment has been awarded to the plaintiffs in lawsuits against four industrial dairies in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington state for violations of environmental protection laws. The Community Association for Restoration of the Environment (CARE) and Center for Food Safety (CFS) argued that the dairies’ leaking lagoons and over-applied manure cause nitrates and other pollutants to enter nearby soils and drinking water, threatening public health and the environment. The dairies named in the lawsuits were some of the subjects in a 2013 EPA study, which found that 20 percent of wells tested in the Lower Yakima Valley had nitrate levels above federal drinking water standards. Exposure to excess nitrate can result in blue-baby syndrome, and some studies have shown a positive association between long-term exposure to nitrate in drinking water and risk of cancer and certain reproductive outcomes. “This Court finds no genuine issue of material fact that Defendants’ application, storage, and management of manure at Cow Palace Dairy violated [the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act]’s substantial and imminent endangerment and open dumping provisions and that all Defendants are responsible parties under RCRA,” wrote U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice. CARE and CFS will now move forward to trial to determine the extent of the contamination and to identify protection and remediation measures. “It is long past due that these dairy factories be held accountable for their toxic waste and compromising of human health,” said CFS Senior Attorney George Kimbrell. “These dairies’ practices harm drinking water and the environment, and we are gratified that the Court agrees that such pollution is unlawful.”
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
An Australian company has been fined after a case of botulism was linked to its incorrectly labeled bottles.
Inside Out Nutritious Goods pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to 10
All 10 defendants in the Brazilian Backer beer trial have been acquitted.
In a Belo Horizonte court, Judge Alexandre Magno de Resende Oliveira said the accused were acquitted because of
In the 20-year-old State of Oklahoma v Tyson Foods Inc. case, the docket is approaching 4,000 entries, and it takes 38 pages of single-spaced lines to list all the
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
Prairie Farms is announcing a recall of select Prairie Farms Gallon Fat Free Milk produced at its Dubuque, IA, facility and distributed to Woodman’s stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Aoun brand tahineh is under recall in Canada because of contamination with Salmonella.
The recall was triggered by test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The recalled tahineh was
Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends and feasting. Once the holiday meal ends, the spotlight turns to enjoying the leftovers in the days ahead. To keep those leftovers safe
