When John Snow traced the London cholera epidemic of 1854 to a local well, he removed the pump handle so all would know the source of the fatal disease when it ceased to plague the city. Removing that pump handle is still remembered today because it represented public health’s first
Continue Reading Connecticut Public Health Agencies Won’t Name Restaurant in Salmonella Outbreak
Study Looks at Connections Between Socioeconomic Status and Foodborne Illness
A study from the Emerging Infections Program at Yale School of Public Health found that, in adults, campylobacteriosis is more common among those of higher socioeconomic status, but, for children younger than 10, more cases occurred among those of lower socioeconomic status. Researchers Kelley Bemis, Ruthanne Marcus and James Hadler
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New Hampshire House Votes Down GMO Labeling Bill
Knitting together at least five New England states to impose labeling requirements on foods with ingredients containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) just became more elusive. 
That’s because in New Hampshire, the House of Representatives has voted down its version of the GMO bill by 185-162. Last year, Connecticut was the
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E. Coli Sickens 7 in Connecticut; No Source Confirmed
Seven people in Connecticut are confirmed ill with E. coli infections in the Windham/Willimantic area, according to local news station WFSB. The source of the illnesses is not known. Two of the cases have developed into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a potentially fatal kidney disease associated with severe E.
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Connecticut First to Require GM Food Labels, as Soon as Others Do
Connecticut is the first U.S. state to pass a law requiring the labeling of genetically modified food. The liberal internet environmental news magazine Grist summed up the law when it was passed Tuesday: “Connecticut will label GMOs if you do too,” Grist reported. While tied to what other states
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How Grassroots Advocates Beat the Biotech and Food Lobbies
This week, Connecticut won the honor of becoming the first state to pass a law requiring genetically engineered foods to be labeled. (The governor has indicated he will sign.) It was really only a matter of time. The disappointing defeat of Prop 37 last fall in California (thanks to a
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Second State Senate Votes for GMO Labeling Law
A second legislative body wants to require food manufacturers to label products with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Connecticut Senate has voted 35-to-1 in favor of a GMO labeling bill, joining the Vermont House’s 99-to-42 vote on a nearly identical measure earlier this month. 
The Vermont Senate won’t take up
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Fraud Followed Hurricane Irene Food Safety Program
Fraud was the price of food safety in Connecticut after Hurricane Irene.
Over the past weekend, an angry Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the state was investigating “multiple incidents of possible fraud” by state residents, including some state employees, who took money intended for low-income people to replace food
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