This is simply unacceptable. This botulism outbreak, frankly any outbreak that sickens babies, should never have happened. We can do more to protect the most vulnerable. The stork in “operation stork speed” clearly flew into a brick wall and crash landed. This child’s parents bought ByHeart Infant Formula at a Walmart. ByHeart utilized powdered organic […]
President Obama’s announced that he is establishing a Food Safety Working Group to develop and present him with recommendations for improving the US food safety system. This new group will be co-chaired by two Cabinet members – Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary (nominee) Sibelius – and will include senior officials from […]
The Onondaga County Health Department has confirmed seven cases of food-borne illness in people who recently ate at the Applebee’s in Camillus. County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow says all seven people had contracted Shigellosis. The Shigella bacteria, Morrow says, is associated with consuming water or food contaminated with fecal matter. Those who are confirmed […]
Hartford City health department officials are interviewing cafeteria workers at Aetna’s downtown Hartford office, where five employees have been stricken with E. coli in the last three to four weeks. The source of the outbreak has yet to be determined, and the cafeteria remains open, company spokesman Fred Laberge said today. The most recent case […]
Seattle Metropolitan Magazine writer Jill Watanabe and I spoke a few weeks ago. Here is her take on the Peanut Butter Mess: Peanut butter, meet food fighter. Seattle attorney Bill Marler just dipped his knife into your jar and, well, your salmonella secret is over. Marler broke the story on Peanut Corporation of America’s not-so-smooth […]
Our 100-year-old food inspection system is not aging gracefully. Despite a century of improvements, consumers are still playing Russian roulette when it comes to the food they eat. Even today, one in four Americans —- 76 million people —- endures a food-borne illness and 5,000 people die each year. This year’s peanut meltdown alone has […]
I think I have pulled together all of the pending (and one missing) pieces of legislation on food safety for your reading pleasure. If the links below do not work, go to thomas.loc.gov and type in "food safety," If between lawsuits, and I have time, I will give you my thoughts on the legislation. H.R.759: To […]
The foodie/organic/raw/local/small farmer blogs are alive with conspiracy theories (real or imagined) about the reasons behind the moves in Congress to finally try to make our food supply safer. Some see the evil hand of Monsanto, Cargill, etc., and their minions in Congress, as trying to crush the organic, small farmer by enacting “one size […]
An interesting read by Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner – Yale University; University of Michigan In 1954 the tobacco industry paid to publish the “Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” in hundreds of U.S. newspapers. It stated that the public’s health was the industry’s concern above all others and promised a variety of good-faith […]
The eggs were sold at Costco stores as Kirkland Organic Brown Eggs in 18-count cartons with the following expiration and plant codes: April 1 062, 35 P1776 and April 8 069, 35 P1776. They were sold at Safeway and Pack n’ Save stores as O Organic Grade A Large Brown Eggs in 12-count cartons with […]
According to press reports, eight senior China food regulators were fired for "slack supervision" in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and sickened over 300,000. High-ranking regulators in the country’s major food supervisory agencies, including the ministries of Health and Agriculture and the top food safety watchdog, were stripped of their […]
From Eddie at obamafoodorama. Although the most recent outrage over the profligate behavior of American financial institutions has been focused on AIG’s executive bonuses, Americans are equally outraged by the rate of foreclosures, by the credit crisis, by rising unemployment due to the bad economy. Bailout money, courtesy of American taxpayers, was given in good […]
I learned a long time ago to “try” and not argue politics (people still think Obama is a Muslim) or religion (people still think the earth is 5,000 years old) with people. Regardless of the facts, folks tend to dig in their heels and can not hear another side’s perspective. However, after listening to the […]
I was reading the Albany, Georgia Herald when I came across Jennifer Maddox Park’s piece “Blakely Going Nuts.” At first I thought the town was so damn sorry and embarrassed for being the location of the peanut butter plant that has sickened nearly 700, hospitalized 150 and killed 9, that they were going to have […]
So, I bought myself a Kindle and now download both the New York Times and Washington Post – Well, I try to read them daily. Anyway, I see that according to the Washington Post that the Obamas are planting a garden (first reported on obamafoodorama): On Friday, Michelle Obama will host a groundbreaking for a […]
I was stunned by the testimony but sickened by the exhibits watching the video of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing titled, “The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation’s Food Supply” held at 10:00 a.m. this morning, Thursday, March 19, 2009, in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. This hearing examined […]