It’s impossible to say what will be the big food safety story of 2016. The ultimate unpredictable is what foodborne outbreaks will dominate the headlines and how they may impact policy decisions. But we’ve done
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The Year’s Top Ten Food Safety Stories
Here are the Top Ten food safety stories for 2015 as compiled by Food Safety News. 
No. 1—The massacre on Dec. 2, 2015 of 14 people in San Bernardino County, CA mostly involved
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USDA Plans to Begin Catfish Inspections in March 2016
Long-awaited U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) catfish inspections, mandated by Farm Bills since 2008, will begin next March, according to a final rule establishing an inspection program for fish in the order Siluriformes, including catfish.
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Coming USDA Catfish Inspections Raise Question: Could Shrimp Be Next?
If food safety put catfish under USDA inspection, can shrimp be far behind? That question is coming into focus this week after one of USDA’s top two food safety officials told a gathering of food
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Agencies Reach Catfish Inspection Agreement Required by Farm Bill
After the 2008 Farm Bill moved the responsibility for catfish inspection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the two agencies did not play nice
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Farm Bill 2014: FSIS Inspection Must Satisfy FDA Requirements?
I am betting your response to the headline was the same as when I read the news: HUH? The proposed Farm Bill has finally gathered the bicameral and bipartisan support of a conference committee. 
Food
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Texas Issues Fish Consumption Warning for Neches River Basin
Texans have received a warning from the state department of health about six species of fish caught in portions of the Neches River Basin due to fish testing for heightened levels of mercury and dioxins.
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FY 2014 Appropriations Bill Includes Directives for USDA, FDA
Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released their consolidated appropriations bill for FY 2014 on Monday night, and the House of Representatives passed it with bipartisan support on Wednesday. It is also expected
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Letter From The Editor: Catfish
Last week I told my colleagues that I did not want to hear anything more about the damn “Farm Bill.” It’s taken up more time than the Korean War did, and I was sick of
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House Ag Committee Votes to Repeal USDA Catfish Inspection
The House Agriculture Committee voted to repeal a controversial catfish inspection program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture late Wednesday night – a sign the program, which was mandated by the 2008 farm bill to
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