In just the past few months, outbreaks involving romaine lettuce, pre-cut melons and Honey Smacks cereal have reminded us that the work to more effectively prevent foodborne illness is far from complete. People are still getting sick and dying, and markets are still being disrupted. Make no mistake, the commitment and effort are there among…
E. coli claims 4 more lives; growers promise changes
More people are sick, more people have died, and more states are reporting E. coli infections in an ongoing outbreak linked to romaine lettuce. As the CDC was releasing the new numbers Friday, growers were promising to figure out what happened and take action.
Outbreak investigators have been trying to trace the romaine for two…
Seeking new models for food safety collaboration, progress
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles leading up to the 20th annual Food Safety Summit. The event, from May 7-10 at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in suburban Chicago, includes certification courses; a trade show with exhibitors from industry, academia and government; an extensive list of seminars and panel discussions; and …
Perdue’s plan pleases business, concerns food safety experts
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is making a peculiar argument for transferring the U.S. Codex Office from food safety to trade.
Perdue is claiming the move will better ensure that the international standards are “grounded in science,” which is the peculiar part. The U.S. Codex Office has long reported to the USDA undersecretary for food…
Dave Theno Fellowship unveiled at IAFP food safety conference
TAMPA, FL — Before beginning three days of seminars, panel discussions, scientific research presentations and high-level collaboration on how to make food safer, members of the International Association for Food Protection paused Sunday evening to remember and honor one of the best of their ranks.
Accepting the Stop Foodborne Illness annual…
FDA’s former top food cop now focused on food security
Editor’s note: Mike Taylor, who just left his post as deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, sent this message to friends and colleagues June 8 and granted Food Safety News permission to reprint it here. Since I announced my plans to leave FDA, a number of you have asked what I will do next. …
Third-party auditor certification: Not the only tool in the toolkit
Enough went into the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to make the food industry queasy, but the new law’s limited reliance on third-party auditors is still enough to make consumer advocates feel about the same way — at least for a while. The FSMA’s final rule on Accredited Third-Party Certification means the private auditors that…
Letter From The Editor: The transition is underway
When this month of June ends, there will be just 200 days to go until Barack Obama is no longer president of the United States. Nobody has yet paid it much attention, but we are already in a transition period between this administration and the next one. We’d like to think its all tidy and…
Letter From The Editor: Mike Taylor soon to get some me-time
“Food safety is a continuous improvement activity,” says Mike Taylor, the outgoing deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Taylor was responding to questions from Food Safety News on the day after he announced he’d be leaving government after seven years as FDA’s food safety boss. Food…
FDA’s Mike Taylor departing agency — totally on his own terms
Mike Taylor has chosen the time and day for his departure for a second time from government. His friends and associates received his personal email at 8:35 a.m. Tuesday. It was embargoed until FDA released the news two hours later, marking “on or about” June 1 as his departure date. 
Mike…