Wenonah Hauter of Food & Water Watch says the FDA's approval of ionizing radiation for crustaceans shows the agency leans on irradiation instead of hiring inspectors, and ties the move to Trans-Pacific Partnership talks that would expand Asian seafood imports.
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Biological
Biological hazards in food: bacteria, viruses and contamination.
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Biological
USDA’s Salmonella Action Plan Misses the Mark (PR)
Wenonah Hauter of Food & Water Watch calls USDA's new Salmonella Action Plan repackaged deregulation: it would pull most FSIS inspectors off poultry lines, hand the work to company employees and allow 175 birds a minute. A GAO report found methodological flaws in the underlying pilot.
Biological
Salmonella Poisoning: What you need to know
A question-and-answer piece on salmonellosis: symptoms appear within 12 to 72 hours of eating contaminated food and last four to seven days, the CDC counts roughly 42,000 reported US cases and 400 deaths a year, and most people recover without treatment or antibiotics.
Biological
Is the Government Protecting Us Against Mad Cow disease? Not Necessarily
A suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob case in New Hampshire turns attention back to US meat safeguards. The author recounts the first three domestic mad cow cases, from 2003 to 2007, and the dispute over whether the first cow could walk, which drew congressional and GAO investigations.
Biological
Four common kids’ food safety myths quashed by the Partnership for Food Safety Education
The Partnership for Food Safety Education, with USDA and FDA, knocks down kids' food safety myths for National Food Safety Education Month: no one of any age should eat raw cookie dough or cake batter, and microwaves heat unevenly, leaving cold spots where germs survive.
Biological
Human MRSA Strain From Cows
An American Society for Microbiology article reports that a community-associated MRSA strain originated in cows and jumped to farm workers more than 40 years ago. The authors say farm animals may be a reservoir for future pandemic outbreaks.
Biological
Older Americans, pregnant women face highest risk from Listeria food poisoning
A CDC Vital Signs report finds adults 65 and older are four times likelier than the general population to get a listeria infection, pregnant women 10 times and pregnant Hispanic women 24 times. Those groups, newborns and immunocompromised people make up at least 90 percent of cases.
Biological
Exposed: Why You Should Boycott Farmed Salmon
Biologist Alex Morton blames fish farms for the decline of British Columbia's wild pacific salmon, pointing to sea lice and viruses, and says the Canadian government is covering up her research. The post also faults the FDA's move to approve engineered salmon.
Biological
Bacon and Food Safety
A USDA primer on bacon: the term covers the cured belly of a hog, and meat from elsewhere on the carcass must say so, as in pork shoulder bacon. It traces the word through Middle English, French and Old Teutonic roots, and notes US streaky bacon is sold raw and must be cooked.
Biological
Sprouts: What You Should Know
An FDA question-and-answer sheet on sprouts: the warm, humid conditions that sprout seeds also suit Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli, at least 30 outbreaks have been linked to sprouts since 1996, home-grown are no safer, and vulnerable groups should avoid them raw.
Biological
Fatal Foodborne Clostridium perfringens Illness
On May 7, 2010, 42 residents and 12 staff at a Louisiana state psychiatric hospital fell ill and three patients died within a day. Investigators tied the outbreak to chicken cooked 24 hours ahead and cooled against hospital guidelines; C. perfringens enterotoxin turned up in 20 of 23 stool samples.
Biological
What Do I Do Before and After Food Poisoning?
A primer on food poisoning, noting more than 250 foodborne diseases and no single symptom that identifies one. It advises cooking everything thoroughly, refrigerating promptly, washing cutting boards and knives between foods, and checking restaurant grades when eating out.
Biological
New Resource to Help Protect Consumers from Pathogen Risks in Food and Water
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and the EPA released a jointly developed Microbial Risk Assessment Guideline meant to improve the quality and consistency of the data federal agencies use when assessing pathogen risks in food and water.
Biological
Americans Still Uninformed About “Pink Slime” and Food Processing in General, Says FDA Consultant
FDA consultant Benjamin England argues the outcry over pink slime rests on gross-out internet images rather than food safety findings, noting the processing methods have been in use for over 20 years, which he says does not by itself make them safe.
Biological
Resolve to Be Food Safer in the New Year
FDA's Howard Seltzer proposes New Year food safety resolutions, warning that foodborne illness can be life-threatening for older adults, infants, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. He urges washing hands with soap for at least 20 seconds and using a second cutting board.
Biological
Don’t Let Yersiniosis Spoil Your Holidays!
Cleaning and cooking raw hog intestines for chitterlings can spread Yersinia enterocolitica to counters, utensils and even baby bottles and pacifiers, USDA warns. It advises thawing in the refrigerator, buying precooked chitterlings or pre-boiling raw ones for five minutes, and thorough handwashing.
Biological
Holiday food safety tips
The FDA's Howard Seltzer runs through holiday kitchen basics: wash hands for 20 seconds, clean surfaces between foods, skip rinsing raw meat and poultry, keep raw eggs, meat and seafood away from ready-to-eat foods, and check internal temperatures with a thermometer.
Biological
Holiday Tip of the Day: Keep Food Safe
USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline offers buffet safety tips: wash hands, never serve on plates that held raw meat, and cook to safe internal temperatures — 145 °F for steaks and chops, 160 °F for ground meat, 165 °F for poultry — using shallow containers and the two-hour rule.
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