The National Organic Standards Board has voted 10-3, with one abstention, to remove carrageenan from the list of substances approved for use in food items labeled “USDA Organic.” The vote came Thursday afternoon during the board’s three-day fall meeting in St. Louis.
NOSB members were tentatively scheduled to make a
Continue Reading Board nixes use of carrageenan in organic food production
UPDATE: According to a statement posted Thursday by the Alabama Department of Public Health, “presumptive Salmonella gastroenteritis” caused at least 77 people to become sickened and 12 to be hospitalized following a private event in Colbert County this past Saturday.
All patients are recovering from what was described as vomiting,
Continue Reading Salmonella presumed cause of 77 illnesses, 12 hospitalizations
When the National Organic Standards Board meets this week in St. Louis, its 15 members will confront some particularly controversial agenda items involving whether certain substances and production methods are acceptable for use in food items certified as organic.
People who sell or label a product
Continue Reading Controversies loom for National Organic Standards Board
Listeria monocytogenes has been found in three of 100 environmental samples and in one product sample taken this past spring at a fresh fruit processing facility in Vernon, CA.
The samples were collected by U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors who visited the Simply Fresh Fruit Inc. plant in April
Continue Reading FDA finds Listeria in California fresh fruit processing facility
Following at least 10 reported illnesses, plus a temporary closure, health department hearing and fine — all after being in business for less than a month — a Mexican restaurant in South Bend, IN, is back in business.
While county health officials can’t be sure what caused the recent sicknesses
Continue Reading Indiana restaurant reopens; link to illnesses remains unclear
A newly published study of outbreaks linked to organic food concludes that while more data are needed to assess whether the risk is greater than for conventionally grown food, consumers should practice safe food handling in any case to avoid being sickened.
The study, from researchers at the Centers
Continue Reading CDC study attempts to assess outbreak risk from organic food
With 177 shigellosis cases reported between March 1 and Oct. 26 from Michigan’s Genesee and Saginaw counties and no source yet identified, state and county health officials have called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for help.
A 3-D computer-generated image of Shigella bacteria.
Continue Reading Shigella investigators in Michigan bring in help from CDC
The International Company for Agricultural Production & Processing (ICAPP), based in Ramadan City, Egypt, is voluntarily recalling frozen strawberries in response to the ongoing investigation into a multistate outbreak of Hepatitis A in the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration’s recall announcement, dated Sunday, stated that the company’s
Continue Reading Egyptian firm recalls some frozen strawberries for Hepatitis A
A recent survey of attitudes toward food safety in so-called fast casual restaurants found a majority of respondents prefer to see their food prepared in front of them by workers wearing gloves, would complain if they saw unsanitary behavior or conditions, and might return under certain circumstances to a restaurant
Continue Reading Survey reveals food safety perceptions of fast casual restaurants
After receiving reports last week of about 75 norovirus cases, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries closed down shellfish beds in the Town of Wellfleet on Cape Cod.
State food protection officials also notified businesses to recall any affected shellfish harvested in the
Continue Reading Norovirus outbreak closes shellfish beds in Cape Cod town
