Federal agencies are set to begin a year-long testing program on U.S. beef, pork and poultry to measure the levels of a highly toxic group of chemicals called dioxins, which are best known for their use in Agent Orange and other herbicides.
The 2018 Dioxin Survey, headed by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection…
The annual analysis of pesticide residues in domestic and imported foods, with the results for fiscal year 2015, showed 98 percent of tested foods produced in the United States do not violate federal limits.
Of the 835 domestic food samples tested from 39 states, almost half, 49.8 percent,…
Apart from the fact that fish is rich in protein and low in saturated fat, it is also a good source of omega-3, a fatty acid which is known to reduce the risk of abnormal heartbeats that can cause sudden death. The same fatty acid also helps to decrease triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure, and…
Editor’s note: This column by Tim Neltner was originally published June 15 by the Environmental Defense Fund.
By now, it is well known that lead exposure is a significant human health concern, especially for young children. While most of the discussion about lead exposure has involved paint, drinking water, and contaminated soil…
Using the same mechanism that resulted in the banning of cyclamates in 1970, a group of public health watchdog organizations is challenging the FDA’s decision not to ban perchlorate in food packaging.
The consumer advocates say the Food and Drug Administration ignored scientific evidence that shows the chemical disrupts fetal and infant brain development, causing…
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt earlier this week signed an order denying a petition that sought to ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide widely used in U.S. agriculture.
Chlorpyrifos was first registered for use in the United States by Dow Chemical in 1965 to control leafage and ground insects. It was used extensively on residential…
The “Dirty Dozen” is in the news again and as usual I’m imaging a remake of the 1967 motion picture with a cauliflower playing Ernest Borgnine’s character, a cucumber in place of Donald Sutherland and some kind of smooth-skinned melon in the role played by Telly Savalas.
I imagine production numbers to rival those in…
The Food and Drug Administration issued its “final advice” on fish and shellfish this week, warning against eating some species and encouraging Americans to eat three servings a week of others.
The federal agency gave particular attention to pregnant and breastfeeding women, and in less than 24 hours the Center for Science in the Public…
Oklahoma’s famous “busload of lawyers” case is back in the news because of president-elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Scott Pruitt to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Pruitt is Oklahoma’s Attorney General. Environmental groups are saying Pruitt did not pursue a pollution case against the Arkansas poultry industry because he received $40,000 in…
When the bitter cold began spreading over rural America last month, the parlor guessing game around many a wood stove was guessing who President-elect Donald J. Trump would name as secretary of agriculture. But the time for that game has passed.
The past three presidents all named their ag bosses by the end of the…
It’s the silver anniversary for the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program, which marks 25 years with results from samples collected in 2015. It’s a comforting report because it shows American-grown fruits and vegetables are safe because pesticide levels are kept below levels permitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has the most stringent restrictions…
