Category Food Policy & Law

Attorneys representing the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service in 2014 because the agency would not declare the most dangerous Salmonella strains as adulterants. But after only about 60 working days, the same attorneys cited Civil Procedure Rule 41 A to get the U.S. District Court for... Continue Reading Read More

Opinion A recently announced interpretation of authority on mandatory recalls weakens food safety. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision late last year not to order a mandatory recall of yellowfin tuna that sickened at least 50 people in 11 states threatens to undermine a crucial tool of last resort to protect consumers from hazardous food.... Continue Reading Read More

Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials say they’re already using the agency’s new power to assess “Administrative Monetary Penalties” of up to $15,000 against food businesses for for violations that threaten food safety and market access for Canadian goods. The government says it is committed to maintaining a strong food safety system, which now includes the... Continue Reading Read More

Its critics say the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has “doubled down” on the active ingredient in Roundup, the popular weed killer. But that’s probably an overstatement. On April 30 the EPA changed Roundup’s label requirements with suggested application measures to reduce glyphosate drift and disclosure about herbicide resistance. New instructions will advise against spraying Roundup... Continue Reading Read More

Opinion Criminal prosecutions in food cases have been quiet for the last few years. Outbreak 2: The recent multistate investigation began on April 2, 2019, when CDC’s PulseNet identified the Salmonella Carrau outbreak. As of April 24, 2019, 117 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Carrau have been reported from 10 states – Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,... Continue Reading Read More

This week the Food and Drug Administration released its findings from inspections and environmental sampling for Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella at 89 ice cream production facilities in 32 states that the agency conducted from Sept. 12, 2016, through Aug. 30, 2017. The FDA detected Listeria monocytogenes in 19 of the facilities; however, only one of... Continue Reading Read More

White button mushrooms. For some people, they’re a cooking staple. For others, they’re not even on the shopping list. But no matter where they fall in a consumer’s bank of preferences, these popular mushrooms are in the forefront of what some are hailing as the “latest breakthrough” in crop breeding: gene editing, often referred to as... Continue Reading Read More

Many companies in the romaine lettuce supply chain resumed shipping Monday after a week-long voluntary hiatus. Nationwide, the majority of the industry shut down and recalled all romaine products Nov. 23 at the request of the FDA. The FDA made the request, two days before Thanksgiving, in conjunction with the its announcement of a new... Continue Reading Read More

Five years after U.S. representatives wrote to the USDA about the agency’s “unacceptable” response to Salmonella outbreaks traced to chicken, one of the lawmakers says déjà vu is not acceptable as a food safety policy.   Federal health officials announced yesterday that 92 people are confirmed infected in a new outbreak of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Infantis... Continue Reading Read More

Opinion Editor’s note: This is part of series of articles and opinion columns we are publishing in recognition of September as Food Safety Education Month. How many times have you thought through every detail of an experience and asked yourself, “What could I have done differently?” Probably thousands. But how many times have you combed... Continue Reading Read More