News and Articles
California is new front line of BPA fight Grist.org June 29, 2009
The following is a guest post submitted by Elisa Odabashian, Director, West Coast Office and State Campaigns, and Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Technical Policy, Consumers Union.
It’s the stuff of a good Hollywood movie-a potentially toxic chemical lurking in the bodies of most unwitting Americans; a decade of mounting but scuttled scientific evidence; government inaction; undue influence and public denials of harm by the powerful chemical industry; congressional inquiries; a crescendo of outcry by consumers demanding that something be done-and still, the battle to ban bisphenol A (also known as BPA) in food and drink containers rages on.
Now, California has become the prime battleground for this David v. Goliath contest. |
Lettuce From the Garden, With Worms New York Times June 20, 2009
Growing up on a farm near Yamhill, Ore., I quickly learned to appreciate the difference between fresh, home-grown foods and the commercial versions in the supermarket.
Store-bought lettuce was always lush, green and pristine, and thus vastly preferable to lettuce from my Mom’s vegetable garden (organic before we called it that). Her lettuce kept me on my toes, because a caterpillar might come crawling out of my salad. |
Editorial: A Minnesota model for U.S. food safety The Star Tribune May 29, 2009
Replicating our outbreak investigation process would save lives.
A virtual who's who of food safety experts as well as Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar filled the University of Minnesota meeting area on Thursday. The topic: a soon-to-be introduced bill that could dramatically improve the nation's ability to detect foodborne disease outbreaks. |
E. coli infection kills Cleveland girl, 7; case may be linked to Illinois company's beef recall The Plain Dealer May 21, 2009
A 7-year-old Cleveland girl died Sunday from an E. coli infection that local health officials say could be linked to a massive ground-beef recall issued Thursday from an Illinois-based company.
Health officials did not identify the girl or provide details of the circumstances that led to her death. But Cleveland Health Director Matthew Carroll said the case might be the latest in a cluster of E. coli infections traced to Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley, Ill.
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Congresswoman seeks food safety specifics Associated Press May 21, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — A key lawmaker pressed FDA officials Thursday for specific plans to improve food safety, saying the agency's proposals to date don't sound like real change.
"A lot sounds to me like buzzwords from a past administration," Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told the Food and Drug Administration's new acting commissioner at a hearing. |
New rules aim to keep salmonella out of food The Atlanta Journal-Constitution May 13, 2009
WASHINGTON —- A major food manufacturers group on Tuesday announced what it called “wide ranging” initiatives designed to make everyday food supplies safer in the wake of the deadly salmonella outbreak traced to Georgia peanuts and in advance of new federal food safety regulations in the works.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association’s initiatives include new training programs for workers and guidelines for keeping salmonella and other bacteria out of dry goods such as peanuts. |
Outbreaks Put Worry on the Table New York Times May 11, 2009
Every few weeks, it seems, deadly germs turn up in the food supply.
Heather Whybrew, a college student in Washington State, became gravely ill after eating a salad in her school cafeteria. Carl Ours, of Ohio, was temporarily paralyzed after eating chili dogs and drinking beer. Mari Tardiff, of California, spent three months on life support after she drank unpasteurized milk. |
Dolores couple takes salmonella message to U.S. Capitol Cortez Journal May 8, 2009
A Dolores man allegedly infected with salmonella-saintpaul last summer by consuming a jalepeno pepper is joining others seeking federal legislation to help stop foodborne illnesses nationwide. |
Woman lobbies for safe food The Bend Bulletin April 30, 2009
Christoferson joined the food safety debate after her son, Beck, contracted salmonella in 2007 from a tainted batch of Veggie Booty, a health food snack made from rice, corn and other vegetables. He was 10 months old. |
Oregonians go to D.C. to push food safety The Oregonian April 27, 2009
More than 20 people from Oregon and other states who have been hit by recent food poisonings are converging in Washington, D.C., this week to press Congress to overhaul the country's food safety system. |
Ill From Food? Investigations Vary by State The New York Times April 19, 2009
In just about every major contaminated food scare, Minnesotans become sick by the dozens while few people in Kentucky and other states are counted among the ill. |
Food Safety, One Pistachio at a Time New York Times April 14, 2009
For those concerned about food safety, one of the most encouraging events in years was the recent blanket warning from the Food and Drug Administration about salmonella in pistachios. The agency advised consumers to store or throw out pistachios while investigators figured out which health bars, granola products or nuts were tainted. |
As Food Recalls Continue to Sprout, What Can a Consumer Do? Washington Post April 7, 2009
Peanuts and pistachios have much in common. Neither is a true nut: the peanut is a legume, same as a bean or a pea, while the pistachio is a seed. Long dismissed as high-calorie snacks, both are enjoying newfound recognition as healthful foods, full of fiber, beneficial fats, vitamins and minerals that make them worth including in your daily diet. |
Strong Leadership for the F.D.A. New York Times Editorial (March 18, 2009)
President Obama has made two sterling choices to lead the embattled Food and Drug Administration. His nominees, both physicians, have the skills and experience to repair the damaged agency and restore its ability to protect American consumers. |
Ex-New York Health Commissioner Is F.D.A. Pick New York Times (March 11, 2009)
WASHINGTON — President Obama intends to nominate Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, a former New York City health commissioner, to lead the Food and Drug Administration, sidestepping a battle between drug safety advocates and the drug industry, according to people briefed on the decision. |
Salmonella victim's mother calls for better investigations USA Today (March 6, 2009)
Gabrielle Meunier, a controller for a Vermont real estate company, has deployed technology to speed and improve her work. She wants governments to do the same to speed and improve food-borne illness investigations.
She has more than a passing interest in the subject. |
Senators push to boost FDA food safety system San Francisco Chronicle (March 4, 2009)
Democratic and Republican senators got behind comprehensive legislation Tuesday to increase food oversight in the wake of a national scandal over salmonella-tainted peanut products.
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Food safety problems slip past private inspectorsNew York Times (March 6, 2009)
With government inspectors overwhelmed by the task of guarding the nation’s food supply, the job of monitoring food plants has in large part fallen to an army of private auditors.
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Wall Street Journal: $1 Billion for Food SafetyWall Street Journall (Feb.26, 2009)
The continuing salmonella outbreak involving peanuts caught President Barack Obama's attention earlier this year. Now, his new budget includes $1 billion more for the Food and Drug Administration's food safety oversight.
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More Than Peanuts Washington Post Editorial (February 17, 2009)
Tougher regulation is needed to keep food suppliers from putting dollars ahead of lives
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Dangerou Foods New York Times (February 16, 2009)
The more investigators look into the latest food-safety scandal involving the Peanut Corporation of America, the worse it gets. |
Treat ailing food regulation Palm Beach Post Editorial (February 14, 2009)
The salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 600 people and perhaps contributed to eight deaths might have been prevented had Congress acted earlier on food safety legislation.
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Organic growers call for more fertilizer oversight Associated Press
Organic grower Phil McGrath plays by the rules to keep his strawberry and vegetable farm certified organic. So suspicions that at least two fertilizer companies—one of which was recently raided by federal agents—have been peddling synthetic fertilizer as the natural stuff makes him fear they may cheapen the "organic" label he grows under.
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Survey: peanut recall known but misunderstood Associated Press (February 13, 2009)
Most Americans know about a peanut-driven national salmonella outbreak but many are wrong about what products are involved and few have confidence in food safeguards, according to a Harvard survey.
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Peanut Company Files for BankruptcyUSA Today (February 13, 2009)
Peanut Corp. of America, the peanut processing company at the heart of a national salmonella outbreak, has filed for bankruptcy.
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