As the count of those sickened in the Illinois Subway Restaurant Salmonella 
outbreak hit 97, a Salmonella lawsuit was filed against Doctor’s Associates, Inc., the restaurant chain’s parent company. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Will County resident Alicea Bush-Bailey by Drew Falkenstein of food safety law firm Marler Clark and by Gary A.
Film addresses food safety issues
"Food, Inc." debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in September of 2008, and has since received rave reviews. The film is about to be released at theaters nationwide, and is featured this week on PBS’s "NOW, with David Brancaccio".
Now’s synopsis of its film coverage is as follows:
This week, David Brancaccio talks with
Senator Klobuchar’s Push for New Food Safety Legislation Highlights the Work of Minnesota Health Officials
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar held a press conference today to announce new proposed leglisation to "promote a more rapid and effective national response to outbreaks of foodborne sickness."
According to Klobuchar, the new act would, among other things:
- Enhance the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) foodborne disease surveillance system.
- Direct CDC to provide more support to state health
Getting Word of Recalls to Consumers
A tip of the meat-thermometer to Herb Weisbaum for an excellent column on how stores could to a better job of notifying customers about recalled products. Mr. Weisbaum points out that stores are the last line of defense in our food safety system. He also points out that they often fail.
California State Senator Dean Florez
Are fast-food restaurants safe to eat at these days?
The Orange Bulletin reports that once again, consumers are suffering from an outbreak of foodborne illness. As of Dec. 8, 63 individuals from six -states have developed E. coli 0157:H7 infections from a presumed exposure at the fast food chain, Taco Bell.
There are a number of suspected cases being evaluated in numerous other states
Learning the ABCs of food safety
David Smith of Journal and Courier reports that food-borne illness comes from consuming food or beverages that have been contaminated with a pathogen, such as a virus, a bacterium or a parasite.
Careful food preparation at the correct temperatures can kill microorganisms or prevent those that survive from multiplying and making the consumer ill.
Richard Linton, a Purdue University professor of food safety who has written two textbooks on the subject, said two crucial temperatures are 41 degrees and 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Within that range, dangerous bacteria can grow,” he said.Continue Reading Learning the ABCs of food safety
From field to fork, farm food safety a growing issue
John Seewer of PennLive.com reports that big retailers such as Wal-Mart are encouraging growers to embrace new technology that allows them to more closely track produce with bar codes and scanners. Growers are using bilingual videos and posters to train seasonal workers on proper hygiene. Some small farms are treating the water they use to scrub veggies.
Throughout the food chain there’s more attention to food safety within the last five years because there’s more worry about how an outbreak of illness could cost growers and wholesale buyers millions of dollars.Continue Reading From field to fork, farm food safety a growing issue