Alex Ferguson

Alex received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, with a minor in Law, Societies, and Justice, from the University of Washington in 2006. He began his legal education at the Seattle University School of Law immediately after finishing hi

What’s Wrong with the Tester Amendments

On April 14, 2010, Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) announced that he is introducing two amendments to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, S. 510. The aim of the amendments is

By Alex Ferguson

/ 3 May 2010

Foodborne Illness By The Numbers

Robert L. Scharff, with the help of funding from the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, recently published a study analyzing the financial impact of foodborne illness in the United

By Alex Ferguson

/ 7 Mar 2010

Who Benefits From Raw Milk?

April 2009, eleven Colorado residents develop Campylobacter infections after consuming raw milk sold through a cow share program. September 2009, thirty-five Wisconsin residents develop Campylobacter infections after consuming raw milk

By Alex Ferguson

/ 14 Feb 2010

Tax Incentives for Food Safety

As a society we must accept the fact that large-scale food producers are motivated by money, not safety. They seek low production costs to bolster slim margins, not methods by

By Alex Ferguson

/ 6 Feb 2010

Melamine in Chinese Powdered Milk…Again

On December 31, 2009, the Chinese government-run Xinhua news agency announced that melamine was found in milk produced by the Shanghai Panda company. Initial reports indicated that the Shanghai Panda

By Alex Ferguson

/ 5 Jan 2010

A Long Way From Safe Chicken

“The USDA has moved at glacial speeds on controlling Campylobacter in the chicken industry,” so says Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the

By Alex Ferguson

/ 3 Jan 2010

E. coli in Ground Beef not Victim’s Fault

No matter how many times I hear people blame victims for their ground beef-related E. coli O157:H7 infections, I continue to be surprised. The comments usually follow a set

By Alex Ferguson

/ 24 Dec 2009

S. 510: Laws without Effective Timelines?

“Maybe I’m just cynical.” “Maybe I’m naïve about the inner workings of the legislative process.” “After all, I’m still a fresh-faced-recent-law-school-graduate. What do I know about creating

By Alex Ferguson

/ 27 Nov 2009

Dissecting Another False Meat Industry Claim

It’s not an easy time to be a meat producer. On October 3, 2009, the New York Times ran an exposé focusing on the meat industry, the dangers of

By Alex Ferguson

/ 8 Nov 2009

Deadly Nuts/Deadly Crimes

In my home state of Washington, if a driver operates a vehicle in a reckless manner and kills another person in the process, the driver may be charged with the

By Alex Ferguson

/ 5 Nov 2009

USDA Should Declare non-O157 E. coli an Adulterant

Why Should the Food Safety and Inspection Service Declare Enterohemorrhagic non-O157 E. coli to be an Adulterant? It seems that any serious discussion of E. coli O157:H7 always has

By Alex Ferguson

/ 4 Oct 2009

Will H.R. 2749 Kill Small Farms?

Amidst the flurry of activity surrounding the proposed food safety bills currently in the House and Senate, one of the most hotly discussed topics remains whether the bills will affect

By Alex Ferguson

/ 16 Sep 2009

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Alex Ferguson

What’s Wrong with the Tester Amendments

Foodborne Illness By The Numbers

Who Benefits From Raw Milk?

Tax Incentives for Food Safety

Melamine in Chinese Powdered Milk…Again

A Long Way From Safe Chicken

E. coli in Ground Beef not Victim’s Fault

S. 510: Laws without Effective Timelines?

Dissecting Another False Meat Industry Claim

Deadly Nuts/Deadly Crimes

USDA Should Declare non-O157 E. coli an Adulterant

Will H.R. 2749 Kill Small Farms?