Homeowners with backyard chickens have now given federal agriculture officials reason to worry. A contagious viral disease affecting the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of birds and poultry is spreading through backyard exhibition chickens in Los Angeles and…
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the January 2018 edition of Food Irradiation Update and is posted here with permission of the author.
The following is a recap of progress made worldwide with food irradiation, with a focus on advancements in the past 12 months. More food was irradiated in 2017 than in …
A federal review of laboratories handling many of the most dangerous pathogens on the planet, including some that can be foodborne such as Brucella and bacterium that cause botulism poisoning, shows room for improvement.
The “high-containment laboratories” are overseen by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services via the Centers for Disease Control…
Although officials with Petland Inc. say any dog can be infected with Campylobacter, 93 percent of victims in an ongoing, 15-state outbreak had contact with Petland puppies before becoming ill.
In an outbreak update Monday, federal officials reported a dozen more people have been confirmed in the outbreak since Oct. 3, bringing the total to…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says migratory wild birds are spreading avian influenza around the globe. The Parma, Italy-based food safety agency figures migration routes crossing the north-eastern and eastern EU borders are the most likely pathway for avian flu entering the continent.
In the United States, experts at the USDA’s Animal and Plant…
Consumers buying pricey organic produce would likely be upset if they knew the imported fruits and vegetables they pay premium prices for are sometimes doused with chemicals when they reach the United States.
A new report by USDA’s Inspector General looks at the National Organic Program’s international “arrangements and agreements” and finds them badly in…
A year-long outbreak of Campylobacter infections has been traced to puppies sold by Petland Inc., according to a Monday notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Ohio Department of Health, several other states and the USDA’s Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are collaborating with the CDC on the…
Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food on March 4 announced a voluntary expansion of its earlier dog food recalls due to potential adulteration with pentobarbital.
The expansion of the company’s February 3rd recall of five production lots of Evanger’s Hunk of Beef canned dog food and its February 14th recall of one production lot of Against…
You’ve gotta give it to those marketing magicians at Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. Back in the 1990s when they introduced the phrase “golden extra sweet pineapple” they stated the obvious with fabulous flair. I can’t help myself. I have to write down the entire phrase when drafting a shopping list.
That brilliance will no…
Two companies have green lights from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their non-browning potato varieties that have had their genes altered.
Calyxt, a company based in New Brighton, MN, got the go ahead for its cultivar known as “PPO_KO” and the J.R. Simplot Co. of Boise, ID, has permission for its “X17” and “Y9”…
A third genetically modified apple variety, the Arctic Fuji, has gained U.S. approval and the grower responsible for it plans next to seek approval for genetically modified Arctic Gala apples. 
Neal Carter founded Okanagen Speciality Fruits in 1996 in Summerland, British Columbia. The company has developed and gained approval for genetically…
