There’s no indication yet that anyone is the least bit embarrassed about the failure to yet identify the precise source of an E. coli O157: H7 outbreak involving at least 32 states and four Canadian provinces. But nine consumer and food safety groups have stepped forward to demand that FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb add regulations…
Watchdog group sues USDA for names of poultry companies
Food & Water Watch has filed suit against the USDA because the agency will not release the names of companies that have applied to switch to a voluntary program that allows for non-government poultry inspections.
Food safety insecurity used as a hook against regulatory reform
Each side has just the congressional recess left to practice its hyperbole for the coming Senate fight over how regulations will be used across government. It’s going to get nasty. And confusing. The practice of giving the other side’s bill a dirty name is now a common tactic.
Since the Regulatory Accountability Act passed the…
Food & Water Watch urges continuation of catfish inspections
An activist group says the rejection of 40,000 pounds of catfish from Vietnam is the best evidence possible that Congress should not kill the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new inspection program. “The (USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service) catfish inspection program is working and needs to continue in operation because it is preventing foodborne illness…
Dole salad scandal spurs calls for stronger FDA
Reactions have been varied to the news that Dole Food Co. knowingly produced and shipped salads from a contaminated facility, ranging from criticism of the FDA to an admission by Dole’s management that the company is being investigated by the Justice Department. 
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, is the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee…
FDA Approves GE Salmon, Voluntary Labeling of GE Ingredients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, that it has approved for the first time a genetically engineered (GE) animal intended for food. That animal is the AquAdvantage Salmon, which was developed about 25 years ago by AquaBounty Technologies Inc. of Maynard, MA, to grow larger and faster, year-round, and…
Food Safety Groups Oppose Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership
The full text of the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP) was released last week, and after initial reviews of the proposed treaty, concerns raised by food safety advocates during the negotiations have not been mollified. Debbie Barker, International Programs Director for the Center for Food Safety, says the predominant issues with TPP are the Rapid Response…
FSIS Emails Reveal ‘Snapshot’ of Foster Farms Investigation
Internal emails from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) made public earlier this month tell some of the story behind the agency’s attempt to recall Foster Farms products linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg in the months before it finally did so in July 2014. The latest batch of…
WTO Rejects U.S. Appeal of COOL Ruling
The World Trade Organization has rejected a U.S. appeal of its decision that country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on meat unfairly discriminates against meat imports and give the advantage to domestic meat products. The final ruling launches a WTO process to determine the level of retaliatory tariffs Canada and Mexico can impose on the U.S., and the…
USDA Approves Apples Genetically Engineered to Resist Browning
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to approve new types of apples that have been genetically engineered not to brown as quickly after being cut. Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc., the company that developed the Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden varieties is currently engaging in a voluntary food safety assessment consultation with the Food and…
GE Salmon Company Fined Over Permit Problems in Panama
The government of Panama has revealed that, in July of this year, it levied a fine on AquaBounty Technologies, the Massachusetts-based company seeking government approval to bring the first genetically modified salmon to market in the U.S. AquaBounty apparently did not have the necessary water use and water discharge permits necessary for running its operations…