The Louisiana Department of Health has closed a molluscan shellfish harvesting area in Area 3 and ordered a recall of all oysters harvested from that area since Jan. 10 because of an outbreak of norovirus-like illnesses.
The recall includes frozen, shucked, breaded, post-harvest processed and oysters for the half-shell market.
Continue Reading Norovirus outbreak linked to oysters; health officials order recall and harvest area closure
Louisana’s “Truth in Labeling of Food Products Act” adopted in 2019 does not violate any constitutional guarantees. It is also no threat to the business practice of the Hood River, OR-based Turtle Island Foods or its Tofurky brands.
A ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Continue Reading The Tofurky brand and Louisana are both winners in the labeling law challenge
The “Truth in Labeling of Food Products Act” passed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2019 violates the commercial free speech rights of Turtle Island Foods, which produces and packages plant-based meat products marketed and sold in the state and nationwide.
Turtle Island Foods was founded in 1980 and is headquartered
Continue Reading Federal judge strikes down Louisiana labeling law for plant-based meat
A week after softball fundraisers served up jambalaya in a Louisiana town of about 400, state health officials reported a food poisoning victim count of 158, with 40 hospitalized.
One person who ate the jambalaya has died, but it is not yet known whether a foodborne pathogen was the cause
Continue Reading Food poisoning victim count nears 160 in jambalaya outbreak
A second pathogen is in play in a northeast Louisiana outbreak thought to be caused by jambalaya served at a softball fundraising event Monday.
By Friday afternoon, 125 people were confirmed sick and investigators found some of them are positive for the bacterium Clostridium perfringens. Thursday state health officials said
Continue Reading 2nd pathogen in fundraiser outbreak; jambalaya still suspect
A bill to allow the sales of raw milk by a farmer to a consumer, which passed the Louisiana Senate on a 23-to-12 vote, has died in a House committee. The Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development killed the bill on a 8-7 vote. It is the third
Continue Reading Louisiana raw milk bill dies in House agriculture committee
Office building owners on Poydras Street in New Orleans are worried about losing tenants and lease payments over Louisiana’s worst state budget crisis in 30 years. Like nearby Mississippi, where some state restaurant inspectors have already lost their offices and are working from their personal cars and homes, state government
Continue Reading Another state could put its restaurant inspectors on the streets
When an exclusive private school suddenly extends its Easter break, it might be a good time to check with social media to see if, in fact, an outbreak of foodborne illness has occurred. That appears to be what has happened with Louisiana’s Silliman Institute, where the original schedule for the
Continue Reading E. Coli Outbreak Centered on Private School in Louisiana
State legislatures remain in session from Alabama to Wyoming, with food safety mostly getting only a light touch from lawmakers who seem largely focused on budgets and education in this non-election year. In Alabama, where a new cottage food bill took effect last June 1, Extension services are getting
Continue Reading Legislatures Weigh Bills on Soda Labels, Microbeads, Marijuana, Powdered Alcohol, Among Others
A House-passed bill to permit the sale or distribution of raw milk by the farmer directly to a consumer is dead in the Louisiana Senate. 
The lower chamber of the Louisiana Legislature easily approved House Bill 1279 on May 7 in a 78-19 vote. The favorable House floor vote came
Continue Reading Louisiana Senate Kills Bill Allowing Farmers to Sell Raw Milk to Consumers
