Category Food Politics

A member of Congress says the CDC’s response to a deadly and ongoing E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce is deeply alarming and endangering the public. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, fired off a scathing letter Monday to Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DeLauro, who has routinely... Continue Reading Read More

Using the same mechanism that resulted in the banning of cyclamates in 1970, a group of public health watchdog organizations is challenging the FDA’s decision not to ban perchlorate in food packaging. The consumer advocates say the Food and Drug Administration ignored scientific evidence that shows the chemical disrupts fetal and infant brain development, causing... Continue Reading Read More

Today, Ottawa area farmer Michael IIgert is scheduled to ask for removal of a cease and desist order that prevents him from selling or distributing milk that has not been pasteurized. A hearing is set for this morning in Ontario before the Health Services Appeal and Review Board. The cease and desist order, issued in December 2016, came... Continue Reading Read More

Bloomberg posted a piece on “How Donald Trump Orders (and Tips) at His Favorite Restaurant” about the 21 Club, which is just a few blocks from Trump Tower in Manhattan. According to the report: The president’s standard order is a “21” Burger ($36), which he likes cooked well-done and topped with American cheese. On the... Continue Reading Read More

Against the recommendations of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, a state representative is trying for a third time to muster support for legalizing the sale of unpasteurized raw milk in the state. Introduced by Rep. Nancy Ballance, a Republican, House Bill 325 would allow herd- and animal-share programs to distribute raw... Continue Reading Read More

Tucked into a rambling bill “promoting agriculture in the Commonwealth” of Massachusetts that includes provisions on joy-riding all-terrain vehicle operators, rain sensors on residential landscape sprinkler systems, and sundry sections on land assessments, re-valuation and taxation, is language to legalize the sale of unpasteurized raw milk. The Massachusetts bill, SD 1796, includes more than 7,300... Continue Reading Read More

As the federal government continues the transition that comes every time a new administration moves into the White House, a hiring freeze and an order from President Donald Trump that temporarily puts new regulations on hold are having varying consequences for food safety efforts. Officials at the Food and Drug Administration said the president’s pause... Continue Reading Read More

Not too many years ago, you couldn’t walk into a supermarket and expect to buy prepared, ready-to-eat foods. Now, however, it’s common to find sushi, tacos, hot dogs and more complex dishes being served up at delis, in buffet lines, and at sit-down restaurants inside well-known grocery retailers such as Costco, Wegmans, and Whole Foods. Some Whole Foods... Continue Reading Read More

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is calling into question both the findings and motives of the latest fish fraud study by Oceana, a global environmental group. The action marks a break between the two groups since they previously were largely in sync with one another over the worldwide problem of fish fraud, which is where lesser-value... Continue Reading Read More

A survey of about 2,700 British adults has found that while 71 percent of them said they were concerned about food poisoning, 36 percent would still eat a burger that wasn’t completely cooked. According to the survey results, released Aug. 25 by the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA), more than one in 10 of the respondents... Continue Reading Read More