We’ve been wondering if we’d ever hear anything from the public health side of Pennsylvania government. The state or more specifically its Ag department issues licenses to dairy farms that want to sell raw milk.
Pennsylvania tests raw milk and when those tests show the raw milk has gone bad, it does issue warnings and
Food Labs Asked To Provide Info To House On Import Tests
Food labs responsible for testing imports for safety are being put under suspicion by the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce.
The Committee’s Oversight and Investigations subcommittee has sent out letters to ten food labs, suggesting they had been encouraged by importers to keep testing until the product was found to be safe.
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Lifeway Pushes Back Against FDA Order To Shutdown Its Cheese & Seafood
This is interesting.
Lifeway Foods, Inc. and its subsidiary, LFI Enterprises, Inc., both Illinois companies, are pushing back against the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
The federal government last Thursday (5/15/08) ordered Lifeway to shutdown its cream cheese and seafood operations. FDA said:
A consent decree of permanent injunction, signed by both corporations and two of their top executives, Julie and Edward Smolyansky (the defendants), halts cream cheese and seafood processing in facilities in Skokie, Ill., and Philadelphia, Pa.
The Smolyanskys did not see it that way. On the Manufacturing Business & Technology website, they weighed in with separate statements.
Julie Smolyansky, CEO commented, "The Consent Decree has absolutely no impact or affect upon Lifeway’s products or production facilities. We vigorously disagree with the allegations of the complaint. These same products have been produced for over 15 years for a very small and select group of customers in the Philadelphia area without one consumer complaint, and while we of course respect the government’s position, we do not agree with their unfounded assertions. We know that we are and have been compliant as to any alleged violation asserted in the complaint. We would never place our customers at risk."
Edward Smolyansky, CFO commented, "Lifeway and LFI filed an answer to the complaint denying all material allegations. Lifeway will continue to produce and ship all of its products including its kefir, farmer’s cheese, and spreadable cheese products without any interruption. As our most recent quarterly report filed on May 15, 2008 exhibits, our core product lines continue to grow at a tremendous pace, and we have never been more confident about the future of our business as a whole."Continue Reading Lifeway Pushes Back Against FDA Order To Shutdown Its Cheese & Seafood
FDA Tells Hope Food Supply to Shut Down
We’ve been watching the Houston area media today for reports on the Hope Food Supply, which 
has been shutdown on the order of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). But, we ain’t seen much.
There’s been no comment out of Hope Food Supply, which has also been ordered to recall all its dried smoked
More Stool Cultures Needed to Catch More Food Poisoning Cases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 76 million foodborne illness cases occur in the United States every year. This amounts to one in four Americans becoming ill after eating foods contaminated with such pathogens as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Listeria. On an annual basis, approximately