Not In My Food Blog

Tracing food from farm to table

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:12:15 -0600

We�ve been saying that food would be safer if the nation implemented existing technologies to trace food from farm to table. Now The Washington Post is saying it, too!

Salmonella-laced tomatoes poop us out

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:30:58 -0600

While more people get diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps from eating salmonella-laced tomatoes, the FDA is still trying to hunt down the source of the outbreak.

I've lost my appetite

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:36:46 -0600

If you�ve stopped eating a particular food, temporarily or permanently, as a result of a recent recall, you�re not alone.

Red, Raw and Contaminated?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:37:37 -0600

I have a soft spot for tomatoes. I spent a long day in the fields of Immokalee, Florida, picking tomatoes as part of a college learning seminar on migrant farmworkers.

Worst Company in America?

Fri, 02 May 2008 10:36:46 -0600

It�s not surprising the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company is nominated as the �Worst Company in America� by readers of The Consumerist.

Where's the recalled beef?

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:29:51 -0600

From the Consumer Reports Safety Blog: Four days after the nation's largest-ever beef recall, U.S. consumers still have no way of knowing whether they ate�or might have in their freezers�some of the potentially suspect meat, food safety experts at Consumers Union said Thursday.

Undercover video leads to outcry on meat safety

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:22:44 -0600

None of us want to eat beef infected with mad cow disease, E. coli, or salmonella. Nor would we feed it to our children. Unfortunately, low-income children who qualified for federal assistance under the National School Lunch Program may not have had a choice.

Less Shuffle, No Cut

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:15:25 -0600

Today's New York Times editorial on cloning by editorial board member Verlyn Klinkenborg raises an interesting and important point about the impact of cloning on genetic diversity. Klinkenborg analogizes to shuffling cards, and notes that cloning represents an unshuffled deck -- clearly not a benefit to all players. The editorial was in response to the FDA's recent action further clearing the way for meat and dairy from cloned animals to enter the food market.

Penn Label Ban Update

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:52:39 -0600

More than 65 dairy farmers, consumer, farm and agricultural, public health, animal protection and environmental organizations, food processors and retailers today wrote to Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell to protest the recent Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) action which would prohibit state farmers from telling consumers that they aren�t using artificial hormones on their dairy cows.

Protect Us From Choice -- Please

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:18:14 -0600

Last month, in an Orwellian stretch of logic and without warning or any public discussion, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) notified 19 dairies that �their labels are false or misleading and need to be changed� So, what kinds of labels were so terrible that the PDA felt they had to be removed from milk cartons immediately? Labels that told the consumer that the cows that produced the milk had not been given any artificial hormones.

Pointing Fingers

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:11:08 -0600

My grandmother was fond of reminding me that when I pointed a finger, there were three pointing back at me. She would sometimes add that it�s OK to identify faults in others, if you are willing to look at your own weaknesses.

I bet my Grandmother would have had something to say about US food industry and regulator efforts to address the safety of food imports � from China in particular. The Grocery Manufacture/Food Products Assn (GMA) proposal outlined in the October 12, 2007 Los Angeles Times Articles suggests that while the food industry is acknowledging risks with imports, their focus is on holding imports to a higher standard.

...the whole world in her loaf

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 10:31:04 -0600

She�s got guar gum sourced from India
In her loaf
She�s got gluten mix from Poland
In her loaf
She�s left no country untapped for honey
In her loaf
Sara Lee's got the whole world in her loaf

Food and Drug Safety blues

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:06:53 -0600

I just read an informative and entertaining article about the history and current woes of the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The author, Emily Friedman has a way with words and with reducing very wonky data and policy into digestible bites.

Farm Bill Attractions

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:42:56 -0600

Consumers Union just fired off a letter to Congress� House Agriculture Committee opposing an amendment to the Farm Bill, H.R. 2419, which would allow state inspected meat to bypass the federal meat inspection program.

Organic Breast Milk Best?

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:48:46 -0600

According to a new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, breast milk from women who consumed at least 90% of dairy and meat from organic sources contained higher levels of beneficial fatty acids and was higher quality.