An investigative report airing Monday night on the CBS Evening News says that former workers at the Blue Bell Creameries headquarters plant in Brenham, TX, complained to management about unsanitary conditions there long before the nationwide recall of the company’s ice cream products for Listeria contamination. However, they claim that their concerns were ignored. The…
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
This is a new Food Safety News feature debuting today. On Mondays, we will provide an overview of the previous week’s content and add some previews of coming attractions or potential news developments expected in the near future. In case you missed it, here are some of the top food safety stories from last week:…
The Results From Our Reader Survey Are In
(Food Safety News Executive Editor Dan Flynn is away, so Washington, D.C., reporter Lydia Zuraw is using this space to discuss some results from the recent FSN reader survey.) Last month, we opened an online survey to learn more about our readers and ask their opinions about Food Safety News so we can make…
Why the CEO and Board Need to Pay Attention to FSMA
In the spring of 2007, I was asked to testify before the U.S. House of Representative’s Energy and Commerce Committee, which was the committee tasked with modernizing our food safety system. From those hearings, which stretched from 2007 to 2009, came the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). On the Senate side of the hill, work
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Letter From the Editor: Food Safety News Begins Seventh Year
Food Safety News is six years old this week. We are not planning on gathering around a birthday cake at some undisclosed location. I think we tend to think of it less as a birthday and more as a beginning — of our seventh year, to be exact. 
What I would like to do is…
Fair Lesson: Spread Soap and Water, Not E. Coli Infection
There was a lot of hand-washing going on during the Northwest Washington Fair last week in Lynden, WA. Yes, there were the usual farm exhibits, carnival rides, food booths, music, talent shows, and much more. But the 24 hand-washing stations placed around the animal barns, along with a team of specially trained “Hand-Washing Ambassadors,” underscored…
Publisher’s Platform: A Few More Survey Results, Please
We have had nearly 1,000 responses to our recent survey. However, the more we get, the better we can understand how to make Food Safety News better. We are extending the survey through next week, so please take a few minutes to give us some valuable feedback. FSN has nearly 150,000 Facebook “likes,” more than…
Publisher’s Platform: Please Keep Those Survey Responses Coming
So far, we have had nearly 500 responses to our recent survey. However, the more we get, the better we can understand how to make Food Safety News better. FSN has nearly 150,000 Facebook “likes,” more than 27,000 Twitter followers, and almost 25,000 subscribers. Please help us out by letting us know about your experience…
Survey: Help Us Make Food Safety News Even Better
We want to know a little more about you so that we know how to make Food Safety News even better. FSN has nearly 150,000 Facebook “likes” and more than 27,000 Twitter followers. Do you access our content through social media? We have lots of features — from original reporting to recall notices to a…
Letter From the Editor: Legacy or Not, FSMA Funds Needed Now
Last week, former Food Safety News Washington, D.C., correspondent Helena Bottemiller Evich reached a bold conclusion — namely that the Obama administration has missed out on the opportunity to include food safety in any legacy it can claim. Writing now for POLITICO Pro Agriculture, Helena turned out a “must-read” piece entitled, “Why President Obama and …
Letter From the Editor: Has the Foodie Craze Run its Course?
Back in the days when Time magazine was found at every grocery store checkout line, we knew when a trend or topic was about to be history. It was when it appeared on the cover of Time magazine. That usually meant it was over. The only thing we have remaining like that is the cover…