food safety
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With House food-safety bill a done deal, questions remain [UPDATED]
Healthy appetizer — or public-health menace.[The House Food Safety Bill passed overwhelmingly Thursday afternoon. See more at bottom of post.] ————- The House will vote today on a momentous, controversial plan to overhaul a large swath of the nation’s food-safety system. The vote comes amid yet another round of recalls. On Tuesday, the FDA announced […]
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Antibiotic-resistant salmonella burgers, with a side of flame retardants
A Colorado company recalled the equivalent of 1.86 million Quarter Pounders. In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages of the meat and livestock industries. ————————————— Sometimes I think I write a little too much about the meat industry. But the news it generates is so consistently grave, and so generally underreported, that I […]
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As MRSA gets worse, the FDA discovers antibiotic abuse on factory farms [UPDATED]
Incubating chickens–and what else? FarmSanctuary.org In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages of the meat and livestock industries. UPDATE below. ————————– A bill now circulating in the House, sponsored by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D.-NY), would limit the amount of antibiotics that can be used on factory animal farms. There’s good news and bad […]
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E. coli and Campylobacteriosis: Why Obama’s USDA food-safety pick is so important
Side of E. coli with that burger?In Meat Wagon, we look at the latest outrages from the meat and livestock industries. —————————– As I reported Friday, a man with a Big Ag background has emerged as the frontrunner for a still-empty USDA post called “undersecretary of food safety.” The holder of this position oversees the […]
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Rumor: Obama pondering big-ag man for key USDA meat-safety role [UPDATED]
Safe enough for ya?UPDATE at bottom of story. ———————————— I normally don’t write about rumors or inside information. I aspire to be like the late journalist I.F. Stone, who scorned the dubious allure of insider “access” and kept his nose in government documents, where useful information leaks out. Today — as in its own time […]
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Monsanto’s man Taylor returns to FDA in food-czar role
Michael TaylorIn a Tuesday afternoon press release, the FDA announced that Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto executive, had joined the agency as “senior advisor to the commissioner.” If the title is vague, the portfolio (pasted from the press release) is substantial–a kind of food czar of the Food and Drug Administration: • Assess current food […]
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Food safety in the 21st century
Just when America thought it was safe to go back into the grocery store, another food outbreak wakes us up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong with its food safety system. This time it’s Nestle Toll House cookie dough with E.coli, a treat that nearly every kid in America reaches for a […]
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Stand up for rural America while you still can
The assault on rural America continues unabated. For the past six months dairy farmers across the country have suffered a historic drop in milk prices while operating costs remain high. Since December 2008, the price that farmers are paid for the milk they produce has plunged over 50 percent, the largest single drop since the […]
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Food safety: How local can you go?
Photo: Beth RankinThe Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (FSEA) draft, was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Waxman on May 26, 2009 and is expected to move quickly through the House. Consumers, farmers, and manufacturers alike all appear to be for a food safety bill, so the question is not whether a […]
