Attempting to bridge the gap between “an epidemic of food waste” and a hungry subset of its population, the French government will be requiring supermarkets to give unsold food to charities and animal feed operations, according to the Guardian. The bill was passed May 21 with bipartisan support in the French Parliament. It will…
Industry Lawyers Tell Big Food How Not to Get Sued
Last week I attended a conference in Washington DC with the lofty title: “3rd Advanced Regulatory and Compliance Summit on Food & Beverage Marketing & Advertising.” The event’s main sponsor was the law firm of Faegre Baker Daniels, whose numerous mega-corporate food clients include Cargill, Dean Foods and Nestlé. In addition, the firm represents (under…
Former Peanut Corp. Employee Subpoenaed
The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a Federal Grand Jury subpoena for a former employee of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), four years after the company caused a Salmonella outbreak in 2008 and 2009 that killed 9 and sickened roughly 700, WSET reports. For years, families affected by the outbreak have asked for…
Publisher’s Platform: Should Brothers Ryan and Eric Jensen Face Criminal Charges
Will producers of Listeria-tainted cantaloupe be fined or jailed? Earlier this week Food Safety News reported that the CDC had increased the numbers of those considered to be culture-confirmed cases from the 2011 cantaloupe Listeria outbreak from 146 to 147 and confirmed that the death toll now stands at 33. Of course, the death…
FDA Inspection Likely to Further Implicate Diamond Pet Foods
The results of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspection into a Diamond Pet Foods production plant may benefit the trio of lawsuits filed against the Missouri pet food manufacturer tied to a Salmonella outbreak and recall earlier this year. That inspection, conducted six days after the first of Diamond’s eight recalls, found numerous…
Tempeh Salmonella Case Highlights Illnesses that Fall through the Cracks
Stopping at a café during a trip to Asheville, North Carolina with family this past March, Mary Ann Hurtado decided to order a veggie sandwich while everyone else chose something with meat. It was a choice she regularly made — she’s not a vegetarian by any means, but she does love vegetables. But less than…
Publisher’s Platform: When is a Recall not a Recall?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that a total of 390 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Bareilly (376 persons) or Salmonella Nchanga (14 persons) have been reported from 27 states and the District of Columbia. Of those sickened, 47 people have been hospitalized – fortunately, no deaths have…
County Approves Food Code after Testimony from Young E. coli Victim
When Arizona’s Yavapai County Board of Supervisors were first asked to consider approving the 2009 FDA Food Code on June 4, two of the three board members spoke strongly against it. They characterized the code, which introduced five new regulations for the food industry, as an example of overreaching government control. One rule in particular…
‘Do Pass’ Recommendation Added to Missouri Ag-Gag Bill
Only a floor vote in the Missouri Senate may stand between Gov. Jay Nixon’s desk and a bill making fraud and interference new crimes if carried out at agricultural facilities, a so-called “ag-gag” law.
House Bill 1860, adopted by the Missouri House on a 124-29 vote, now carries an important “do pass” recommendation from the …
Beijing Looks to Stiffen Food Safety Penalties
Those convicted of a food safety-related crime in Beijing will soon be barred from investing in or running a food business, according to new proposal.
Bloomberg News reported that the draft rules would “regulate the use of edible additives in the catering industry, and crack down on the illegal use of inedible substances and mislabeling …
Shark Fin Off the Menu: Other Food Safety Laws Take Effect
Some state changes in food safety-related laws are taking effect this week, and more are likely in the near future.
State and territorial legislative bodies, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL), last year passed an estimated 40,000 new laws, which mostly took effective on Jan. 1.
Only a small percentage of …