USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the State of Vermont have reached an agreement that expands business opportunities for state-inspected meat and poultry business in the Green Mountain State. FSIS and Vermont have finalized a Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) agreement.
The agreement was carefully reviewed and approved by
Continue Reading USDA and Vermont reach Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) agreement
Officials in two states have confirmed they are working with federal officials on an investigation into E. coli illnesses linked to lettuce served by a national restaurant chain.
Spokespeople with the Nevada and Vermont state health departments say the agencies are working with the federal agencies on the investigation. Both
Continue Reading Some state officials admit outbreak investigation is ongoing; others fail to respond
Just label It is throwing in the towel. The never-ending campaign by the organic industry’s top political players to force GMO labeling on the entire food industry says its time to move on. After a 63-30 vote late Friday for a national GMO labeling scheme that was opposed by Just
Continue Reading Just Label It takes a victory lap after losing; opts to move on
After being showered with handful of paper money thrown over the gallery rail by a single protestor, the U.S. Senate invoked cloture on a GMO-labeling bill by a 65-32 vote Wednesday, meaning that the compromise proposal for a federal law on how grocery products will be labeled when they do
Continue Reading Senate easily invokes cloture on GMO label bill; final vote next
A bill to extend on-farm slaughter privileges for small farmers in Vermont is set for discussion and a possible vote in the state Senate’s Agriculture Committee next week. Proponents include small farmers and fans of local food. They say allowing small animal farm operations to slaughter on site is better
Continue Reading Vermont bill would extend on-farm slaughter exemption
A divided U.S. Senate Wednesday could not invoke cloture to bring the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions Bill to vote. The cloture vote, which required 60 for passage, failed by a dozen votes, 48-49. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-KS, would have stopped states from imposing their own labels on
Continue Reading Senate splits over labeling food with genetically engineered ingredients
Today and tomorrow the Rhode Island House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare and the House side of the New Hampshire General Court will hear bills about labeling food made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). A bipartisan majority of the New Hampshire Environment and Agriculture Committee led by Rep. John
Continue Reading GMO labeling gets another look in two New England states
A Vermont dairy farm family, which has had trouble keeping drug residues from showing up in the meat it sells for human consumption at or below tolerance levels, has agreed to a permanent injunction and consent degree with the federal government. Correia Family Farms was named in a complaint Monday
Continue Reading Vermont Dairy Farm Agrees to Stop Violating Drug Residue Regulations
An all-too-common problem for foodborne illness investigations is that the only real evidence gets eaten. That appears to be what happened with the E. coli illnesses in Vermont last month, where 11 people had E. coli O157:H7 infections that state health officials blamed on likely contamination from undercooked hamburgers. 
Food
Continue Reading No Product Found to Compare to VT Outbreak Strain — or to Recall
Not quite a month ago, Vermont health officials announced they were dealing with an E. coli outbreak, which would eventually grow to an estimated 11 cases in three states. It was likely caused by restaurant hamburgers made from local grass-fed beef and prepared to satisfy the tastes of its customers,
Continue Reading Undercooked Burgers Likely Caused E. Coli Outbreak; Ground Beef So Far Escapes Recall
