Hundreds sicken and hospitalized, dozens with kidney failure and 7 deaths from romaine in the last 12 months in the U.S. and Canada and the response from industry and government has been what? Please put
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Letter From The Editor: Romaine, Reform and Revive
The purpose of the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) is the prevention of foodborne disease. We’ve invested billions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of years of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) professional time since
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Senate votes to end USDA catfish inspections, which just got underway
The U.S. Senate has voted to shut down the nation’s only catfish inspection program, a move that would put more Americans at risk of exposure to carcinogens and antibiotics from Asian white fish, such
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Produce experts say preventive strategies are more valuable than testing
CHICAGO — The Food Safety Summit produced some polite discussion Wednesday, but no clamor for bringing back the Microbiological Data Program (MDP) to test more fresh produce before it reaches consumers. The MDP, about $5
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Letter From the Editor: A ‘Herculean Accomplishment’
Only two more Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules remain to be finalized. Final rules for Sanitary Transportation and Intentional Adulteration are due out next spring. But with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA)
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Letter From the Editor: They’re Not Thinking About It
Back from Portland, OR, where the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) annual meeting was held this year, it’s natural to be thinking about the big things. This time of year, one that comes to
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Aussie Listeria Tests Led to Recall of Likely Already Consumed California Fruit
Back in the day, before the fresh fruit and produce industry managed to kill it, the Microbiological Data Program (MDP) came under fire from growers for not providing timely results, sometimes resulting in recalls of
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Letter From The Editor: A Year for Fruit & Vegetable Dangers
It was not perfect and it was not everywhere, but the U.S. government did, prior to this year, have a trip wire set up that might well have prevented that rare strain of hepatitis A
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Publisher’s Platform: Cucumbers, Salmonella and Budget Cuts
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday that a multi-state Salmonella outbreak was likely caused by the consumption of cucumbers imported from Mexico. The announcement came one day after USA Today reporter
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Can Social Media Enhance Food Safety?
Consider the following hypothetical scenario: Working together, a public health authority, a health management organization and some major food processors have set up a non-profit food safety monitoring center. This center has created a website
MDP Shuts Down; USDA Testing of Produce for Pathogens Halted
The Microbiological Data Program, which used to conduct 80 percent of all federal produce testing for pathogens like Salmonella and Listeria, officially shut down on December 31, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official confirmed.
The
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