food safety

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Cindy Skrzycki of the Washington Post reports that for the first time, the Department of Agriculture is proposing that consumers be told which supermarkets and retail outlets have sold meat or poultry that is subject to a recall because of safety concerns.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service publicizes recalls by issuing a press release, describing the food being recalled and any identifying codes, the name of the company that produced it, a contact person and, more recently, a picture of the product.Continue Reading USDA list would pinpoint locations of recalled meat

Jim Parsons of Channel 4 Action News (PA) reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture told Team 4 that agents are in the midst of an investigation into the possible distribution of spoiled meat in western Pennsylvania.
That investigation has been going on for at least eight months, and we don’t know how it will end.
But in the meantime, what are the lessons for consumers? Lesson No. 1: Don’t rely solely on expiration dates to tell you whether the meat product you’re buying is spoiled.Continue Reading Team 4 investigates bad meat for sale

Don Thompson of the Associated Press reports that food distributors would have to provide the state with a list of stores and restaurants that received deliveries of recalled meat or poultry, under a bill sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday.
Local public health officials want the information so they can publicize potential outbreaks of E. coli or other contaminants. They have been thwarted by an agreement by the state Department of Health Services to keep secret any information about recalls that comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Continue Reading Legislation seeks public notice of meat recall

The Belleville Intelligencer reports that local health unit offers a food-handling course and while it is tailor made for those in the food business, anyone who dons an apron or chef’s hat should consider the program.
Most people are aware that a barbecue fueled by propane or natural gas can have its dangerous side. But the peril can come from other sources, such as those raw hamburger patties sitting patiently beside the barbecue, queuing up for the grill.
Cooks should be careful, because if the meat is left outside too long, nasty little bacteria like salmonella can also be whetting their appetite for a burger, too.Continue Reading Handle with care, for your own good

Per yesterday’s University of Arkansas Food Safety Consortium Media Release, ozone was good, but adding ionization appears to be better when it comes to getting rid of foodborne pathogens.
And what is ionization? Jim Marsden of a Food Safety Consortium research team at Kansas State University likens a new process using ionization to a ‘miniature sun’ of ultraviolet energy interacting with oxygen and drawing particles out of the air, thus producing an antimicrobial effect.
‘When Mount St. Helens went off, you had all these particles floating around,’ Marsden said. ‘The reason they’re not still floating around is that ionization from the sun caused them to fall out of the air.’
Marsden’s KSU team worked with EcoQuest International, a Greeneville, Tenn.-based company, to determine the potential use of its ionization generator for food safety in processing plants. The researchers wanted to find out its effectiveness in reducing several pathogens including E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus auerus.Continue Reading KSU, EcoQuest team to advance ionization for food safety

Does media such as FoodProductionDaily.com and others overly hype food safety issues to the public?
Ahmed ElAmin of Food Production Daily for Decision News Media SAS reports that in a survey consumers say they are indifferent to media influences, a depressing finding to those who work in the industry.
Recent food safety incidents and the introduction of genetically modified foods in Europe have resulted in public concern over the safety of the European food supply.Continue Reading Public skeptical of food safety measures, survey finds

Paul Elias of the Associated Press reports that Max Rothschild has been trying to “build” a better pig for almost 30 years, since he took a job cleaning up after the hogs at his alma mater, the University of California, Davis.
He’s now a renowned swine scientist who has traded the dirty pigpens of his undergraduate days for a glistening Iowa State University laboratory dedicated to producing tastier chops, safer pork and healthier pigs.Continue Reading Bringing human genome technology to the dinner table

Acting on research data that indicates two-thirds of adults turn to the Internet for basic safe food handling information, the Partnership for Food Safety Education today introduces a new evolution of its popular website http://www.fightbac.org.
Building on the national Fight BAC!(R) campaign, the new site contains a wealth of newly designed food safety information to help reduce risk of foodborne illness.
Despite recent declines in outbreaks of several bacterial foodborne diseases, foodborne illness continues to afflict millions of people each year. Experts agree that education is vital to reducing incidence. The Partnership’s national consumer study reveals that much progress has been made increasing awareness of safe food handling practices, but more work remains to be done.Continue Reading Take a fresh look at food safety: Partnership For Food Safety Education unveils new evolution of popular Website

Gabrielle Hamilton of The New York Times reports that the 1990’s, restaurant inspections by the New York City Department of Health were famously lethargic and intermittent. A bill palmed to the inspector got one’s establishment a cursory inspection every other year or so and often a phone call in advance — giving the proprietor a chance to straighten up and the inspector a chance at a token of gratitude.
During the Giuliani administration, that all changed. Jaywalking, turnstile-jumping and peep shows in Times Square were no longer tolerated, and neither were restaurants that recycled the butter in bread baskets. Exhaustive unannounced inspections became the rule. Fines flowed into the city’s treasury. Gone were the cartoonish, winking inspectors who enjoyed free meals at the restaurants they were supposedly scrutinizing; in their place were hard-working, computer-toting “public health sanitarians” with college degrees. You should not even offer these inspectors, who now work for the revamped and renamed Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, a glass of water during their visit.Continue Reading Good Enough to Fine

Lewis Taylor of The Register-Guard says getting sick is an unfortunate side effect of eating adventurously. Even eating un-adventurously can make you ill.
Food-borne illnesses are misunderstood and difficult to track, and only about 10 percent of them are ever reported, officials say. They aren’t just underreported, though, they’re also over-diagnosed. Most people assume it was the meal they just ate a half-hour ago that’s got them doubled over in pain, but in reality most food-borne illnesses have a 24- to 48-hour incubation period. This means restaurants often get a bad rap for making people ill, when it could have just as easily been Grandma’s preserves.Continue Reading What if food makes you sick?