As the "Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009" was passed out of the House subcommittee last week, the fees associated with production facility inspection were decreased. According to a story in the Packer:
The bill approved June 10 was revised from an earlier draft version, dropping user fees for inspections from $1,000 to $500
The FDA announced on June 13 that Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese of Reading, Michigan has recalled all lots of various types of soft Mexican-style cheeses due to potential Listeria contamination.
According to the FDA:
Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause Listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Listeriosis can cause high fever,
This last Thursday, June 11, 2009, I had the pleasure (and honor) of presenting at the 2009 Conference on Law of Food and Drink, sponsored by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. The program of presentations was interesting and, for me, quite informative. (For a look at the program, see here: www.biicl.org/files/4231_programme_11.06.pdf
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is waging a fight against food saftey refoms in the pending "Food Safety and Enhancement Act of 2009" according to Wisconsin Ag Connection. The bill was recently approved by in subcommittee and will head next to a full comittee in the House.
The NPPC claims to support efforts to
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The World Health Organization estimates that Food and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases are leading causes of illness and death in less developed countries, killing approximately 2.2 million people annually, 1.9 million of whom are children. Here are just a few reports around the world of foodborne illness outbreaks reported in the last twenty-four hours.
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Valley Meats LLC, a Coal Valley, Illinois grinding plant recalled approximately 95,898 pounds of ground beef that might have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced in late May.
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However, the problem was discovered through an epidemiological investigation of illnesses, NOT before the meat
This week’s MMWR includes a report by the CDC on an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis at a "splash park" in Idaho in 2007. Cryptosporidiosis is the illness caused by the protozoan cryptosporidium. According to the CDC:
Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis generally begin 2 to 10 days (average 7 days) after becoming infected with the parasite. The most
After years of just listening those injured and the survivors of those killed by outbreaks of food-borne illnesses in the United States, the House Health Subcommittee finally took some action today.
On the back of deal that halves the amount of a new registration fee for food producing facilities, the Subcommittee was able to send
They may seem harmless and look cute, but juvenile turtles carry the risk of Salmonella transmission. Recently, police in Baltimore seized dozens of tiny turtles from vendors who were selling the animals illegally. The sale of turtles with shells under 4 inches in length has been illegal since 1975. According to the CDC,
This