Category Opinion & Contributed Articles

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

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

Yesterday the CDC and FDA announced that Jensen Tuna of Louisiana was recalling frozen ground raw tuna sourced from JK Fish of Vietnam due to possible Salmonella Newport contamination. The recalled tuna was individually packaged in one-pound bags and sold in 20-pound boxes under lot numbers z266, z271, and z272. The product was sold to wholesalers in Connecticut,... Continue Reading Read More

Opinion We have a romaine E. coli case in Idaho of a young man who suffered a severe case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), was hospitalized for a month and incurred nearly $250,000 in medical expenses and lost wages. He has a risk of future kidney complications, (including a transplant), but not likely to meet... Continue Reading Read More

Contributed Editor’s note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also urge the public to avoid eating raw meat dishes. The agency has documented numerous outbreaks in relation to the seasonal consumption of these types of foods. With each holiday season, there are hundreds of people in the Midwest who are sickened after eating cannibal... Continue Reading Read More

Opinion Food companies have been at the forefront of technological innovation and scientific research and development for decades upon decades. Cursory attention to the items we eat — how those items are grown, sourced, processed, and packaged – provides ample evidence of scientific research and development and technological innovation in the food industry. Simultaneously, food companies are... Continue Reading Read More

Opinion 2017 and 2018 Romaine E. coli Outbreaks in the United States and Canada Total Sick – 339 Hospitalized – 159 Kidney Failure – 31 Deaths – 6 In 2017 in Canada, a total, of 42 cases of E. coli O157 illness were reported in five eastern provinces: Ontario (8), Quebec (15), New Brunswick (5),... Continue Reading Read More

Many vendors at farmers markets take inadequate precautions to prevent the spread of foodborne illness, and they should be trained to reduce food-safety risks, according to Penn State researchers who completed the final phase of an innovative five-year study. Using a comprehensive three-way approach, the research assessed food safety behaviors at Pennsylvania farmers markets using... 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

Opinion Nearly 300 people got sick after eating at a McDonalds in Brevard, NC, in what authorities believe is a case of norovirus spread through human contact. This is different from the other recent widespread foodborne illness outbreak at McDonalds, with 400 people – across 15 states – becoming ill after eating the fast food... Continue Reading Read More