Food Safety Report – Sunday August 26th, 2012

Food Safety

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cantaloupes Extends to West Virginia

by News Desk

WV man hospitalized; 3 more ill in MO

Four more cases of Salmonella, including the first case in West Virginia, have been reported as part of a growing outbreak linked to cantaloupes from a farm in southwestern Indiana.

Missouri has increased its victim count from the 9 it originally reported to 12, reported the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, while West Virginia counted its first case — a 47-year-old man who was hospitalized for 6 days at the end of July.

These new developments bring the total number of cases up from 141 in 20 states, as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its initial update, to 145 in 21 states.

Neither CDC nor the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have updated their outbreak reports to reflect these new numbers.

The Missouri Department of Health says it is conducting interviews with victims. So far, at least 3 reported eating cantaloupes before becoming ill.

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department in West Virginia is investigating the illness in that state, which occurred in Kanawha County. The Department warns that other people may still be at risk for infection.

“We want to make sure to put the word out to individuals because there’s still the chance they could still be in trouble,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of K-CHD Monday, according to NY Daily News.

And that advice extends nationwide. Anyone who purchased cantaloupe grown in southwestern Indiana should discard them and not consume them. Many large retailers have taken cantaloupes grown in this reason off of store shelves.

Health officials are refraining from naming the farm whose cantaloupes have been implicated in this outbreak until they can confirm that the farm is the source.

See Food Safety News‘ coverage of advice from experts on cantaloupe safety for information on how to avoid foodborne illness from cantaloupes in light of both this outbreak and a recent recall of melons from North Carolina due to potential Listeria contamination.

Symptoms of Salmonella infection include fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, headache and body aches.

If you think you may have contracted a Salmonella infection, contact your healthcare provider.

USDA Bought 21 Million Pounds of Beef Last Year from Slaughterhouse Now Closed for Animal Abuse

by Helena Bottemiller

Purchases from Central Valley Meat Co. were worth nearly $50 million in 2011

The U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased 21.2 million pounds of beef last year from Central Valley Meat, the plant shut down this week for inhumane treatment of cows. The beef went to federal nutrition programs like the National School Lunch Program, according to department records.

Though undercover video shows egregious mistreatment of spent dairy cows at the company’s slaughterhouse, some of which appear lame or injured, USDA said Wednesday there is so far no evidence that so-called “downer” animals — those who can no longer walk — were slaughtered for human consumption. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s investigation is ongoing.

As recently as 2009, Central Valley Meat was one of the top three suppliers of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program, but USDA has so far not responded to questions about current contracts with the company.

Records posted on USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service website show that between October 2010 and September 2011, the USDA purchased 21.2 million pounds of various beef products, including ground beef and boneless beef, from Central Valley Meat. Five separate purchases, ranging from 40,000 pounds to 6.9 million pounds, were made for a total of $49.7 million.

According to the overview of purchases, the USDA purchased around 135 million pounds of beef products during the fiscal year. Purchases from Central Valley Meat accounted for roughly 16 percent of beef purchases by volume during that time.

A graphic excerpt of the video, which animal rights group Compassion Over Killing says was shot by an undercover worker at Central Valley Meat, shows cows before slaughter covered in dirt and feces, some writhing on the ground and bleeding on themselves after being bolted several times but not rendered senseless. Several cows are shown projectile vomiting, presumably from stress, while being hit repeatedly with the bolt gun.

One cow is shown being suffocated by a worker who stands on the animal’s snout. Some cows seem to survive the bolt gun and get sent down the assembly line still thrashing as they are strung upside down before being bled out. Another clip shows cows being sprayed with hot water and electrically prodded to move them.

Shortly after learning about the video, popular fast food chain In-N-out Burger announced they had severed ties with the company, which had previously been supplying between 20 and 30 percent of the chain’s beef.

Renowned animal welfare expert Temple Grandin issued a statement Wednesday condemning certain practices featured in the video, but also questioned why some of the sick cows were not euthanized instead of being shipped to a slaughter facility.

“Some of the major issues in the video originate due to the poor condition of the animals arriving at the plant, many of which should have been euthanized on the farm,” said Grandin. “I urge the dairy industry to market their cows before they become weak and extremely debilitated.”

Central Valley Meat Co responded Monday by saying that it was cooperating fully with the USDA investigation.

“At Central Valley Meat Co., ensuring that the livestock we process are treated humanely is critically important,” said Brian Coelho, president of the company, in a statement. “Our company seeks not just to meet federal humane handling regulations, but to exceed them.”

Coelho said he was “extremely disturbed” to be told by USDA of the allegations, but the company has not yet commented on the contents of the video.

Update:

“Beef purchases from this company have been suspended during the investigation,” said a USDA spokesman in a statement late Wednesday. “The Department works to ensure that product purchased for the Federal feeding programs meets stringent food safety standards and that processors comply with humane handling regulations. While some of the footage provided from this facility shows unacceptable treatment of cattle, it does not show anything that would compromise food safety. However, we are aggressively continuing our investigation.”

Suppliers to federal nutrition programs are required to have animal welfare plans in place and they are subject to on-site audits.  According to USDA policy, audit scheduling is performance-based with a minimum of two audits a year.

According to Compassion Over Killing, their investigator who shot the undercover video worked at the plant in June and July 2012. The last audit of Central Valley Meats was completed on July 24, 2012.

Indiana’s Chamberlain Farms Named As Source of Bad Cantaloupe

Salmonella case-count up to 178, with 61 hospitalizations and 2 deaths attributed to contaminated melons

by Dan Flynn

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Wednesday night announced a recall of cantaloupe grown by Chamberlain Farms located at Owensville, IN.

Previously, FDA declined to name the cantaloupe farm involved in an ongoing outbreak of foodborne illnesses spreading across the country.

Cantaloupe from Chamberlain Farms “may be one source” of contamination in the multi-state outbreak of salmonellosis, FDA said in the announcement.

Chamberlain Farms agreed to remove their cantaloupe from the market place after meeting the health officials from FDA, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the State of Indiana.

Salmonella Typhimurium is the cause of the outbreak that previously being attributed to an un-named cantaloupe farm in southwestern Indiana.

So far, 178 in 21 states have been sickened in the outbreak, which has result in two deaths.

FDA said records at Chamberlain Farms indicate the cantaloupe was originally shipped to Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Food Safety News has asked FDA for a wholesale-retail distribution list for cantaloupes from Chamberlain Farms.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) routinely provides such lists for Class I recalls like this one where there is an immediate threat to public health.   “We don’t have the distribution list yet,” said Shelly Burgess, FDA’s spokeswoman.

Chamberlain’s melons were sold in local retail outsells in four counties in southwest Indiana and one county in southeast Illinois before being shipped to wholesalers in Durant, IA, Peru, IL, Owensboro, KY, and St Louis.

However, Chamberlain Farms reportedly stopped shipping cantaloupe on Aug. 17, the day Kentucky’s state laboratory connected the outbreak strain to two cantaloupes from an Indiana grower that were being sold at retail.

The agency’s late night announcement came after a day when it was taking ever more criticism for not going public with what it knew about the source of the outbreak.

Salmonella Linked to Turkey Jerky Sickens 4 in Minnesota

by News Desk

Four cases of Salmonella infection have been linked to turkey jerky produced by a Minnesota company.

The Minnesota Department of Health is warning consumers not to eat whole-muscle turkey jerky manufactured by Hoffman Town & Country Meat Market because investigators have linked the product to a cluster of 4 illnesses from the same strain of Salmonella.

The first patient became ill August 2 and the last illness onset was August 7, according to MDH.

One of the victims was hospitalized but all have since recovered.

All 4 victims reported eating turkey jerky during the week before becoming ill.

Of those sickened, 1 lives in the Twin Cities metro area and 3 live in Greater Minnesota.

Hoffman Town & Country has issued a voluntary recall of all whole muscle turkey jerky sold on or before August 21, 2012. The product was sold wrapped in white butcher paper.

Consumers who purchased the recalled product and have not yet consumed it are urged not to eat it and to return it for a full refund.

Those with questions about the recall can call the company at 218-847-72-7.

Symptoms of Salmonella infection appear anywhere from several hours to 3 days after infection and include fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, head ache and body aches.

If you think you may have contracted a Salmonella infection, contact your healthcare provider.

Pork Rind Plant Temporarily Shuts Down After Finding Salmonella

by News Desk |

A Dallas pork rind factory has halted operations to do a deep clean after finding Salmonella in their plant, according to a local news source.

NBC Dallas Fort Worth reported Friday that Rudolph Foods found four positives for Salmonella on the floor in their “pro-cook” area.

While the company said they did not find any positive in their finished product or on food contact surfaces, they continuously check for bacteria and if they find a positive they initiate a thoroughly cleaning.

They said they expect to resume full production in a week.

“This is a USDA inspected facility, and the onsite inspector has been informed throughout this process, and are supportive of the plant actions,” the company told NBC 5. “We’re confident there are no risks to any finished product.  We can be certain, because not only is there a validated kill step in the fryer process, but all of our seasoning goes through our Sensitive Ingredient Program.”

NBC DFW reported that Dallas plant has been up and running since 2003 and can produce 15 million pounds of pork rinds per year.

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Recalls

Bagged Salad Recalled for Potential Listeria Contamination

by News Desk

Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling 1,039 cases of bagged salad due to the potential that it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The California-based company issued the voluntary recall Wednesday after a sample of its Dole Italian Blend taken by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture tested positive for Listeria.

The sample was collected as a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Microbiological Data Program (MDP), a small federal program that provides funding to 11 state agencies for produce surveillance.

While MDP was responsible for collecting the sample, it did not conduct the Listeria test.

“We at North Carolina did not do the testing on their product,” Daniel Ragan, Director of the Food & Drug Protection Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, told Food Safety News. However, “The sample was collected through the USDA’s Microbiological Data Program,” he confirmed.

MDP was slated to be shut down in July of this year after being zeroed out in the Obama Administration’s 2013 budget proposal, but USDA decided to extend the program until the end of the year after media attention prompted a public demand to keep it going.

Product subject to this recall — the fourth recall prompted by MDP testing this month — is marked with UPC code 7143000819, located on the back of the package below the bar code, and bears a use-by date of August 20. The salads were sold in 10 oz. bags coded 0049N2202008.

They were distributed in 8 U.S. states, including Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.

No illnesses have been linked to consumption of this product to date.

Although the product is now 3 days past its use-by date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking retailers to check their inventories and store shelves to confirm that none of the recalled product is in the warehouse or available to customers.

Dole Fresh Vegetables has contacted retailers to which the salads were distributed and is in the process of ensuring that the recalled product is taken off the market.

Protein Drinks Recalled for Botulism Risk

by News Desk

A Pennsylvania-based company is recalling several of its protein drinks because they may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that can cause a life-threatening illness in humans when ingested.

Protica, Inc. of Whitehall, PA issued a voluntary recall of its Body Choice “Protein Shots,” Nutritional Resources “Protein Wave,” ProBalance “Protein to Go French Vanilla Latte” and “Protein to Go Milk Shake” Thursday after an on-site investigation revealed that they were being processed in a way that is not guaranteed to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum.

Toxins produced by this bacteria attack the nervous system and can cause paralysis and even death.

Products subject to the recall include:

– Protein to Go Milk Chocolate Shake, sold in a 2.5 oz. bottle, marked with the following:

 Manufacture Date Lot Number

 

    2/9/12               PP0402 4109 A

    2/9/12               PP0402 4109 B

    2/9/12               PP0402 4109 C

    2/9/12               PP0402 4109 D

    2/9/12               PP0402 4109 E

    2/9/12               PP0402 4109 F

    2/9/12               PP0402 4109 G

    2/13/12               PP0442 4113

    2/16/12               PP0442 4115

    3/29/12               PP0892 4121

    4/12/12               PP1032 4131 A

    4/12/12               PP1032 4131 B

    4/25/12               PP1162 4134 B

    4/25/12               PP1162 4134 C

    4/25/12               PP1162 4134 A

    5/3/12               PP1242 4139

    5/8/12               PP1242 4140

    6/7/12               PP1592 4145 B

    6/7/12               PP1592 4145 A

– Protein to Go French Vanilla Latte, sold in a 2.5 oz. bottle, marked with the following:

 Manufacture Date Lot Number

    9/8/2011      PP2511 4066 A

    9/8/2011      PP2511 4066 B

    10/11/2011      PP2841 4079

    10/18/2011      PP2911 4086

    12/6/2011      PP3401 4103

    2/13/2012      PP0442 4112

    4/2/2012      PP0932 4122

    4/4/2012      PP0952 4125

    4/11/2012      PP1022 4129

    4/24/2012      PP1152 4133 A

    4/24/2012      PP1152 4133 B

    4/24/2012      PP1152 4133 C

    5/1/2012      PP1222 4138 A

    5/1/2012      PP1222 4138 B

    5/1/2012      PP1222 4138 C

    5/8/2012      PP1292 4141

    6/8/2012      PP1592 4146 A

    6/8/2012      PP1592 4146 B

– Nutritional Resources Protein Wave gelatin, served in a 6 oz. cup and marked with a manufacture date of May 03 2012 and lot number PP 1242 6123

– Body Choice Protein Shots, served in a 3 oz. vial and marked with a manufacture date of Dec 20, 2011 and lot number PP 3541 2924

Consumers who purchased any of the above products can return them to the place of purchase or to Protica for a full refund. Anyone with questions should call the company at 1-800-PROTICA (1-800-776-8422).

Symptoms of botulism (the illness caused by C. botulinum toxins) include general weakness, dizziness, double-vision, trouble speaking or swallowing, difficulty breathing, muscle weakness, abdominal distention and constipation.

If you think you may have botulism, contact your healthcare provider.

Salmonella Illnesses Prompt Mango Recall in Canada

by News Desk

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and North American Produce Sales are recalling Mexican mangoes sold in western Canada due to likely contamination of Salmonella Braenderup, CTV News reports.

Several illnesses have already been associated with the mangoes.

The affected mangoes are sold individually with a sticker reading PLU# 4959. They were sold in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon between July 12 and August 14.

Call the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 for more information.

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Articles of Interest

Michigan Mom & Daughters Sue Wal-Mart for Bad Cantaloupes

by News Desk

A Michigan family has sued Wal-Mart for selling contaminated cantaloupe that’s involved in the multistate Salmonella outbreak.

The complaint was filed in Michigan’s Calhoun County Circuit Court on behalf of Battle Creek resident Angela Compton and her two children, who both were infected with Salmonella Typhimurium after eating cantaloupe they purchased form Wal-Mart in mid-July.

Compton purchased three cantaloupes at the Wal-Mart store located at 6020 B. Drive North in Battle Creek on July 12, 2012, later cutting the melons into slices and serving them to her family.   Within days of eating the cantaloupe slices, one of her children, “MC,” became ill with symptoms of Salmonella infection, including diarrhea and painful abdominal cramping.

She was treated several times by her pediatrician and was later seen at the emergency room for dehydration and was admitted to Bronson Kalamazoo hospital.  “MC “was hospitalized for four days and continued to suffer symptoms of Salmonella infection for at least a week after she was discharged.

Her sister, “CC”, fell ill with a Salmonella infection several days into MC’s illness.  She was also treated at her pediatrician’s office, but required further treatment at the ER on three occasions.  Both children tested positive for Salmonella Typhimurium.

Michigan health officials told Angela Compton that her daughters’ illnesses were part of the multi-state cantaloupe outbreak linked to melons grown in southwest Indiana.

The complaint was filed on behalf of the Compton family by Marler Clark, the nationally known food safety law firm based in Seattle, and by prominent Michigan attorney Michael Heilmann.

“I’m in the middle of litigation from last year’s Listeria outbreak traced to cantaloupes grown in Colorado.” said attorney Bill Marler,   “I would have expected farmers, distributors and retailers to have better food safety procedures in place this year to prevent another cantaloupe-related outbreak from happening.”

Marler represents 42 families from last year’s deadly Listeria outbreak traced to cantaloupes from Colorado’s Jensen Farms.  His firm has been litigating foodborne illness cases since the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak.

It has represented victims of nearly every major foodborne illness outbreak in the last 20 years, and has brought cases against such companies as Cargill, ConAgra, Dole, Nestle, and Taco Bell.

The Michigan lawsuit may be the first brought in the Salmonella outbreak that has now reached 21 states with 145 sickened and two dead.

CA Lawmakers Ask USDA to Reopen Slaughterhouse Shut Down for Inhumane Treatment

by Helena Bottemiller

As the slaughterhouse accused of egregious humane handling violations remains unable to process meat after the U.S. Department of Agriculture withdrew inspectors from the plant over the weekend, three Central California Republican congressman are urging Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to “immediately” allow the company to operate again.

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Devin Nunes and Jeff Denham said in a letter Thursday that keeping the plant shut down serves “no legitimate interest” and harms the plant workers at a time when the community has double digit unemployment.

Though an undercover video shows mistreatment of spent dairy cows, including some that appear lame or injured, USDA said Wednesday there is no evidence that so-called “downer” animals were slaughtered for human consumption. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s investigation is ongoing.

“The investigation can and should continue, but does not necessitate a prolonged and economically disastrous full stoppage of operations,” wrote the congressmen in their letter. “Furthermore, your agency should more aggressively clarify the fact that our food supply is not – and never was – in jeopardy as a result of this alleged violation.”

On his blog, Rep. Nunes blasted Compassion Over Killing, the advocacy group that went undercover, as “extremists who are actively working to undermine production agriculture in the United States.” Nunes said local residents now confront “economic terrorism” from animal rights groups.

A graphic excerpt of the undercover video, which animal rights group Compassion Over Killing says was taken by an undercover investigator in June and July, shows cows before slaughter covered in dirt and feces, some writhing on the ground and bleeding on themselves after being bolted, but not rendered senseless, several times. Several cows are shown projectile vomiting, presumably from stress, while being hit repeatedly with the bolt gun.

Renowned animal welfare expert Temple Grandin issued a statement condemning certain practices featured in the video, but also questioned why some of the sick cows were not euthanized instead of being shipped to a slaughter facility.

“Some of the major issues in the video originate due to the poor condition of the animals arriving at the plant, many of which should have been euthanized on the farm,” said Grandin. “I urge the dairy industry to market their cows before they become weak and extremely debilitated.”

In a cattle industry newsletter this week, animal care expert, Dr. Dave Daley, an associate dean for the College of Agriculture at California State University, argued that any and all mistreatment of animals “cannot be tolerated.”

“We do not condone any mishandling of livestock on the farm or ranch or in the packing facility,” said Daley. “In fact, we firmly believe that those knowingly and willfully committing any abuse to animals should not be in the business – period. The actions depicted in these videos are disgraceful and not representative of the cattle community.”

Slaughterhouse under investigation a major school lunch supplier

As recently as 2009, Central Valley Meat was one of the top three suppliers of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program, but USDA has so far not responded to questions about current contracts with the company.

Records posted on USDA’s website show that between October 2010 and September 2011, the USDA purchased 21.2 million pounds of various beef products, including ground beef and boneless beef, from Central Valley Meat. Five separate purchases, ranging from 40,000 pounds to 6.9 million pounds, were made for a total of $49.7 million.

According to the overview of purchases, the USDA purchased around 135 million pounds of beef products during the fiscal year. Purchases from Central Valley Meat accounted for roughly 16 percent of beef purchases by volume during that time.

Shortly after learning about the video, popular fast food chain In-N-out Burger announced they had severed ties with the company, which had previously been supplying between 20 and 30 percent of the chain’s beef.

USDA, Costco, McDonalds, and Jack in the Box have also dropped Central Valley Meat as a supplier.

Central Valley Meat said it was cooperating fully with the USDA investigation.

“At Central Valley Meat Co., ensuring that the livestock we process are treated humanely is critically important,” said Brian Coelho, president of the company, in a statement. “Our company seeks not just to meet federal humane handling regulations, but to exceed them.”

Coelho said he was “extremely disturbed” to be told by USDA of the allegations, but the company has not yet commented on the contents of the video.

High Drug Residues Found at California Meat and Dairy Operations

Violators receive FDA warning letters

by Julia Thomas

Dairy and meat farms in California were among the most recent establishments to receive federal warning letters after unacceptable levels of drug residues were found in cattle that they sold for slaughter.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration visited each establishment to inspect operations there and looked at records to track animals that were slaughtered.

If an animal from a dairy farm was slaughtered for human consumption, FDA checked with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to see whether tissue samples from a specific dairy cow were tested for drug residues.

When FSIS testing reveals residue levels higher than set limits, the operation receives a warning letter.

The most recent violators include:

Meat: Cunha Calf Ranch, CA

Inspection Dates: May 2, May 24, June 5 and June 10, 2012

Violation: Sold cows for slaughter as human food with 7 residue violations of neomycin (highest was 18.43 parts per million). The FDA’s tolerance of neomycin is 7.2 parts per million.

Dairy: Double Diamond Dairy, CA

Inspection Dates: May 4, May 5 2012

Violation: Sold cows for slaughter as human food with two residue violations of neomycin (7.21, 7.47 parts per million).

Meat: GTA Calf Ranch, CA

Inspection Date: June 8, 2012

Violation: Sold cows for slaughter as human food with two drug residue violations of neomycin (14.91 parts per million) and oxytetracycline (5.89 parts per million). The FDA’s tolerance of neomycin is 7.2 parts per million and oxytetracycline is 2 parts per million.

Dairy: Johann Dairy Farm, CA

Inspection Dates: March 30, April 5, May 2, May 7, May 29, June 4, June 30 and July 3, 2012

Violation: Sold cows for slaughter as human food with nine drug residue violations of gentamicin (detected), neomycin (56.14 parts per million), penicillin (.08 parts per million), and sulfamethazine (4.418 parts per million). The FDA’s tolerance of gentamicin is 0 parts per million, 7.2 parts per million for neomycin, .05 parts per million for penicillin and 0 for sulfamethazine.

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Food Safety Report – Thursday June 14th, 2012

Food Safety

Food Related Amendments to the 2012 Farm Bill

June 11, 2012 By Linda Larsen

The U.S. Senate voted last week to proceed with S. 3240, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act. Now Senators have submitted more than 80 amendments to the 2012 Farm Bill, as it is commonly known. Among those are amendments that would have an effect on food safety and nutrition.

These are the notable amendments:

• Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) would like to encourage the purchase of pulse crop products for school meals. Pulses are legumes, such as chickpeas, lentils, and black-eyed peas.
• The amendments by Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) include requiring more frequent dairy reporting and authorizing small operating loans for producers and farmers markets.
• Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) wants to strike the reduction in the food stamp program and increase funding for the fresh fruit and vegetable program.
• Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) wants to replace the food stamp program with a block grant (and repeal the estate tax).
• Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) would like to increase criminal penalties for “knowing and intentional” violations to food that is misbranded or adulterated.
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wants to repeal the Lacey Act and allow trade in “illegally obtained wildlife, fish, and plants.” He also wants to allow interstate shipment of raw milk.
• Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) wants to eliminate the farmers market and local food promotion program.

Read Full Article Here

123 Now Sickened in Baby Poultry Salmonella Outbreak

by News Desk

At least 123 people in 25 states have been infected with Salmonella linked to live chicks and ducklings purchased from Ohio-based mail-order hatchery, Mt. Healthy Hatchery, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One person has died in New York, though it is unclear if the infection contributed to the death. At least 26 people have been hospitalized.

The number of ill by state are as follows:

Alabama (4 illnesses), Delaware (1), Georgia (5), Illinois (1), Indiana (3), Kansas (1), Kentucky (5), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Maine (3), Michigan (1), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (1), New York (16), North Carolina (12), Ohio (30), Pennsylvania (10), Rhode Island (1), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (8), Texas (2), Vermont (1), Virginia (6) and West Virginia (7).

The infections come from three different strains of Salmonella, each linked to the same hatchery: Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Newport and Salmonella Lille.

Read Full Article Here

Complacency, Not Fatigue, The Only Real Recall Danger

by Dan Flynn

Americans handle a lot without fatigue ever becoming a issue. Consider just a few examples:

– We pick our way through an estimated 50,000 items each time we do the grocery shopping.

– We keep track of who’s who among the 150,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild.

– We know enough about the 13,458 pages of the federal tax code to get us by under penalty of law.

– We use our ears to decide what we like among 50 music albums released weekly–2,500 hundred a year and ten times as many singles.

But every so often, somebody suggests the existence of something called “recall fatigue,” the notion that Americans cannot sort out the recalls made by businesses regulated by the federal government, including by the food industry. The fear is that due to volume, consumers might miss an important recall notice or they might just ignore a notice they needed to follow.

The latest to report “Recall Fatigue Prompts Concern” is USA Today with a story that was widely published in local Gannet newspapers around the country.

It quotes Mike Rozembajgier, vice president of recalls at Stericycle Expert Recall, as saying: “We’re experiencing recall fatigue in my mind at the consumer level and also perhaps at the business level, and we have to worry about that.”  It suggests government regulators share that concern.

The Indianapolis-based Stericycle has provided Food Safety News with data on food recalls for the last couple of quarters. We quote Rozembajgier last February as saying the fourth quarter spike in food recalls could be causing that “recall fatigue.”

But does “recall fatigue” exist?  If so, with who?

In 2011’s last three months, the 176 food recalls by 150 companies were enough to bring on that “recall fatigue.”  In the first quarter of 2012, however, the number of food recalls dropped by 19 percent, apparently curing the fatigue problem.

The broader recall fatigue problem we supposedly have now concerns all recalled products.  Last year, U.S, manufacturers recalled 2,365 products of all sorts from birth control pills to high chairs.

And while that might be a higher number than U.S. manufacturers and retailers might like, there is really no evidence that any regulator is losing any sleep over it

Read Full Article Here

GAO Blasts Moving Catfish from FDA to USDA Jurisdiction

Step would be costly, impractical, report says

by Helena Bottemiller | Jun 12, 2012

It is just not an efficient use of resources to move catfish inspection to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to a frank new report by the Government Accountability Office.

Seafood safety falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but language in the the 2008 Farm Bill mandated that domestic catfish get special treatment and be inspected by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which currently oversees meat, poultry and processed egg products.

With food safety regulation already highly fragmented, disjointed, and overlapping, why would Congress add to the problem by singling out a certain sector? The idea was to give domestic catfish producers a leg up on foreign producers, who have been flooding the U.S. market with catfish, or catfish-like species (there is no settled definition of “catfish”).

In 2002, imported catfish made up around 2 percent of the U.S. market and by 2010 imports accounted for 23 percent of the market, according to GAO.

Senator Thad Cochran (R) of Mississippi — a major catfish-raising state — has been pressing USDA to put the inspection program in place for three years. At a recent Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, Cochran brought the issue up with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

“The outcome of this inspection process remains important to the U.S. fish industry, particularly in the South where a substantial investment has been made to produce catfish,” said Cochran. “We authorized this program to assure Americans that imported fish is being held to the same standards as domestic catfish and to put our catfish industry on more equal footing with the global competition.”

But the GAO report questions whether the USDA inspection program would improve food safety, pointing out that federal regulators are using “outdated and limited” information in their risk assessment, upon which the inspection program would be based.

The GAO notes that, in the risk assessment, FSIS identified just one outbreak of Salmonella, but the incident “was not clearly linked to catfish.”

The outbreak cited also occurred in 1991, before the FDA’s 1997 Seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point regulations, which requires firms to identify where hazards might occur in their process and take steps to mitigate the risks.

According to GAO, no catfish-linked Salmonella outbreaks have happened since.

Read Full Article Here

Some UK Residents Risk Food Poisoning To Save Money, Study Says

  By Carla Gillespie

It’s Food Safety Week in the U.K. and to kick things off, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published the results of a study that  shows some people are taking big risks with the food they eat and prepare at home in an effort to save money.

Almost all of those surveyed, 97 percent, responded “yes” when asked if they believed their grocery bills had gone up significantly over the last three years. And about half, 47 percent, said they are trying to stretch their dollars, er, pounds, by making better use of leftovers. But some of them are taking things too far, and risking food poisoning with their frugality, according to the study.

For example, some of them are eating leftovers that should have been tossed and others are ignoring “use by” dates on food packaging. “Use by” dates are important because they are frequently used on chilled or ready-to-eat foods that can quickly become unsafe when their natural shelf-life is over, says the FSA.

Read Full Article Here

Grocery Manufacturers Association Adds Food Safety Staff

by News Desk

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) announced Monday it has added two experts to its food safety staff: Melinda Hayman, Ph.D., as the group’s director of microbiology and William Koshute, M.S., as a chemistry scientist.

“GMA has a world-class food safety practice, and I am confident that both Melinda and William have the scientific expertise and experience to help make it even more robust and effective,” said Dr. Dunaif, the group’s vice president of Food Safety and Technical Services.  “Their appointments are part of GMA’s continued commitment to strengthen its scientific and technical capabilities in critically important areas of food safety.”

According to GMA’s announcement:

Read Full Article Here

FDA Improves Adulterated Foods Tracking System

by News Desk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took steps this month to improve its ability to track patterns in food adulteration with its Reportable Foods Registry.

The Reportable Foods Registry, or RFR, is an online portal where companies are required to report foods they have manufactured that may be dangerous to human or animal health. Public health officials may also report food adulteration there, but this reporting is optional.

FDA is updating the RFR questionnaire so that the agency can gather more detailed information about each case in the hopes of gaining better insight into how adulteration occurs.

The goal of the RFR, which was created in 2009, is to find trends in food adulteration to help FDA figure out the most effective ways to focus its limited inspection resources to prevent problems.

The new data fields in RFR allow reporters to input the specific agent of contamination, i.e. “Salmonella,” or “peanut,” and, in the case of bacterial contamination, asks whether a bacterial isolate is available. It also requests more details about the product in question and asks reporters whether the product has been removed from the market.

“As [RFR] lives and it’s been utilized, we’ve learned a lot,” explains Kathy Gombas, Acting Director of the Office of Food Safety Communication and Emergency Response at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).

Read Full Article Here

How California’s GM food referendum may change what America eats

The vast majority of Americans want genetically modified food labelled. If California passes November’s ballot, they could get it

In the US, an estimated 70% of items on supermarket shelves contain GM ingredients, commonly corn, soy and canola oil products. Photograph: David Sillitoe/Guardian

Last month, nearly 1m signatures were delivered to county registrars throughout California calling for a referendum on the labeling of genetically engineered foods. If the measure, “The Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act”, which will be on the ballot in November, passes, California will become the first state in the nation to require that GM foods be labeled as such on the package.

This is not the first time that the issue has come up in California. Several labeling laws have been drafted there, but none has made it out of legislative committee. Lawmakers in states like Vermont and Connecticut have also proposed labeling legislation, which has gone nowhere in the face of stiff industry opposition. And the US Congress has likewise seen sporadic, unsuccessful attempts to mandate GM food labeling since 1999.

What makes the referendum in California different is that, for the first time, voters and not politicians will be the ones to decide. And this has the food industry worried. Understandably so, since only one in four Americans is convinced that GMOs are “basically safe”, according to a survey conducted by the Mellman Group, and a big majority wants food containing GMOs to be labeled.

This is one of the few issues in America today that enjoys broad bipartisan support: 89% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats want genetically altered foods to be labeled, as they already are in 40 nations in Europe, in Brazil, and even in China. In 2007, then candidate Obama latched onto this popular issue saying that he would push for labeling – a promise the president has yet to keep.

In Europe, only 5% of food sold contains GMOs, a figure that continues to shrink. In the US, by contrast, an estimated 70% of the products on supermarket shelves include at least traces of genetically engineered crops – mostly, corn and soy byproducts and canola oil, which are ingredients in many of America’s processed foods.

Given their unpopularity with consumers, labeling “Frankenfoods” would undoubtedly hurt sales, possibly even forcing supermarkets to take them off their shelves. In one survey, just over half of those polled said they would not buy food that they knew to be genetically modified.

This makes the financial stakes for November’s referendum vote huge. California is not just America’s leading agricultural state, but the most populous state in the nation. If companies are made to change their labels in California, they may well do so all over the country, rather than maintain a costly two-tier packaging and distribution system.

Several hurdles will have to be overcome, however, before this happens. The ballot initiative will face fierce opposition from the food and biotech industries, which are expected to spend an estimated $60-100m on an advertising blitz to convince Californians that labeling is unnecessary, will hurt farmers, increase their food prices, and even contribute to world hunger.

One lobbyist the corporations have hired to make this case is Tom Hiltachk, the head of the Coalition Against the Costly Food Labeling Proposition (CACFLP), whose members include the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Monsanto, BASF, Bayer, Dow and Syngenta, as well as several big food processors and supermarket chains. Hiltachk is no stranger to the shadowy world of industry front groups, according to Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director of the Organic Consumers Association. The food activist reported on Alternet that:

Read Full Article Here

Notre Dame research shows food-trade network vulnerable to fast spread of contaminants

by Staff Writers
Notre Dame IN (SPX)

By 2030, food demand is expected to increase by 50 percent. Global food transport has been increasing at an exponential rate since the 1960s – faster than food production itself.

University of Notre Dame network physicists Maria Ercsey-Ravasz and Zoltan Toroczkai of the Interdisciplinary Center for Network Science and Applications, in collaboration with food science experts, have recently published a rigorous analysis of the international food-trade network that shows the network’s vulnerability to the fast spread of contaminants as well as the correlation between known food poisoning outbreaks and the centrality of countries on the network.

Together with food science experts Jozsef Baranyi, from the Institute of Food Research in the U.K., and Zoltan Lakner, of Corvinus University in Budapest, Ercsey-Ravasz and Toroczkai recently published their results in the journal PLoS ONE.

As the world’s population climbs past 7 billion, the sustainable production and distribution of food is balanced against the need to ensure its chemical and microbiological safety. The new paper maps the international agro-food trade network (IFTN) – a highly complex and heterogeneous system formed around a core group of seven countries, each trading with more than 77 percent of the world’s nations.

Since any two countries in the IFTN have only two degrees of separation on the network, the IFTN is capable of spreading a foodborne contaminant very efficiently. It also tends to mask the contaminant’s origins once the system is compromised, since so many network paths run through the central nodes.

By 2030, food demand is expected to increase by 50 percent. Global food transport has been increasing at an exponential rate since the 1960s – faster than food production itself. As the system grows, so does pressure on regulation and surveillance organizations to track contaminants and prevent deadly outbreaks, such as the 2011 events in the U.S. (Listeria monocytogenes_) and Germany (_Escherichia coli).

While the paper does not predict an increase in food poisoning cases, it does predict significant delays with serious potential consequences in the identification of the outbreaks’ sources – calling for an interdisciplinary and incentivized approach to the understanding of the IFTN that will build on its identification of the network’s critical spots.

The paper, “Complexity of the International Agro-Food Trade Network and Its Impact on Food Safety,” was published in PLoS ONE as part of an international research collaboration between the aforementioned institutions. Ercsey-Ravasz is currently at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj. Romania.

Related Links
University of Notre Dame
Farming Today – Suppliers and Technology

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Recalls

CA Recalls More Farmers Market Soups for Botulism Potential

by News Desk

The California Department of Health is warning consumers not to eat certain soups sold at  southern California farmers markets because they may have been produced in a way that makes them susceptible to Clostridium botulinum.

CDPH said Monday that canned soups manufactured by Malibu-based One Gun Ranch and Santa Barbara-based Organic Soup Kitchen had the potential to be contaminated with the bacteria, which produces harmful toxins that can be dangerous to human health.

The soups from One Gun Ranch (left) that are subject to the warning include: Campfire Kitchen Cauliflower Soup, Heirloom Tomato Fennel Gaspacho Soup, Sequoia’s Skinny Spiced Coconut, Parsnip, and Tumeric Soup, Oassian’s Pumpkin Stew and Freddy’s Firegrilled Meatballs. The soups were sold only at the Pacific Palisades Farmers Market located at Swarthmore Avenue and Sunset Blvd. in Pacific Palisades, CA on May 13, 2012 and June 3, 2012. They were sold in 16 oz. glass jars with screw-on metal lids.

The soups from Organic Soup Kitchen (below) were sold at two farmers markets: the Calabasas Farmers Market, located at Calabasas Road and El Canon Avenue in Calabasas, CA 91302 (Saturdays) and the Studio City Farmers Market, located at Ventura Place between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Radford Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604 (Sundays). The soups were sold between June 6,2011 and May 6, 2012 in one-quart jars with screw-on metal lids. The affected soups include the following flavors: Fire Roasted Yam, Curried Potato Leek, Curry Lentil Bisque, Tomato Bean and Wild Herb and Mediterranean Chipotle Chili.

Read Full Article Here

Pork Dumplings Recalled for Undeclared MSG

by News Desk 

A California-based company is recalling 55,757 pounds of pork dumpling products because they contain monosodium glutamate (MSG), but this ingredient is not listed on packaging.

CB Foods, Inc. of Monte, CA issued a voluntary recall of the pork dumplings after a food safety assessment by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service revealed that the chicken powder used in the product is made with MSG, but that only the powder and not the MSG were listed on its label.

The products subject to recall include 12.5 pound cases or trays of “Pork Shaomi Dumpling” with a case code of 002. Each box is marked with establishment number “EST. 39932,” located inside the USDA mark of inspection.

The recalled products were produced from June of 2011 until June 5, 2012 and were distributed to hotels in California and Nevada.

Read Full Article Here

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Recalled for Missing Allergen Statement

  By Kathy Will

Unilever of New Jersey is recalling pint containers of Ben & Jerry’s chocolate ice cream because the packages are missing this allergen statement: “Allergy information: Fudge covered wafer pieces have been manufactured on shared equipment that processes peanuts and tree nuts.” Anyone with a severe allergy to peanuts or tree nuts (chestnuts, Brazil nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts, and cashews) may have a life-threatening reaction if they eat this ice cream.

Read Full Article Here

E. Coli Found in Raw Milk from NY Dairy

by News Desk

A farm in upstate New York has been prohibited from selling its raw milk after a sample of the product tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.

New York State Agricultural Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine warned consumers Tuesday not to consume unpasteurized milk from Castle Farms of Irving, NY – located in Chautauqua County – because the milk may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

The bacteria was discovered in a sample of the farm’s raw milk taken by a health department inspector on June 4. On June 7, Castle Farms was notified that the sample had tested positive for E. coli and the owners voluntarily removed their raw milk from the market. On June 12, test results were confirmed. The company – which is licensed by the State as a raw milk vendor – is now temporarily banned from selling the product until further testing shows that its raw milk is free from pathogens.

According to its website, Castle Farms sells milk from goats (cow’s milk does not appear to be an item they sell), so it is likely that the banned raw milk is goat milk.

Read Full Article Here

WA Creamery Recalls Cheese: Potential Listeria Contamination

by News Desk

A creamery in Northwest Washington is recalling 124 pounds of cheese because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Golden Glen Creamery of Bow, WA Tuesday issued a voluntary recall of its Red Pepper with Onion & Garlic Cheddar produced on August 30, 2011 because a sample of the product taken by the Washington State Department of Agriculture tested positive for Listeria.

In its recall notice, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration noted that other samples from the same batch have tested negative at an independent, state-approved laboratory to which the Creamery has submitted samples.

The cheese subject to this recall was sold from March 1 through June 7 of 2012 at farmers markets in Skagit, Snohomish and King counties in Washington State, and at independent retailers in Washington State and Oregon. It was distributed in pre-cut, random weight packages ranging from 1/3 pound to 1/2 pound pieces. The labels read, in part: “Medium Cheddar – Red Pepper with Onion & Garlic,” “GOLDEN GLEN CREAMERY,” and “Natural handcrafted cheese produced by the Jensen Ladies.” The packages were marked with three-digit branch code 887.

The creamery is no longer distributing the batch in question.

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Food Safety Attorney Bill Marler to Present Webinar

by News Desk

Food safety attorney and Food Safety News publisher Bill Marler will present a webinar on the legal consequences of poor food safety practices on June 14.

In the webinar hosted by Food Seminars International, Marler will elaborate on his work in

foodborne illness litigation. The webinar will include discussion on the obstacles companies face in prioritizing food safety, the common methods used to prove a foodborne illness claim and the roles that epidemiology and public health play in food safety, among other topics.

Marler has specialized in foodborne illness litigation cases since 1993, when he represented victims of the famous Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak. His law firm, Marler Clark, has secured more than $600 million for clients in cases against food companies that have caused death

and serious injury to customers.

Read Full Article Here

E. coli Sculpture Headed to Oklahoma City

by News Desk

Spotted: E. coli bacterium in Oklahoma City.

Not to worry, this specimen is not alive. It’s a glass sculpture by artist Luke Jerram and it’s going on display this week at the Oklahoma City Art Museum as part of an exhibit called FUSION [A New Century of Glass].

The work, aptly named E. coli, is a clear glass figure, complete with flagellum – the tiny hairs on an E. coli cell – flowing from its sides and back.

While E. coli bacteria are typically microscopic, measuring around 1 micrometer wide and anywhere from 2 – 6 micrometers long, this one is amplified to almost 4 1/2 feet long and 11/2 feet wide.

Read Full Article Here

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Food Safety Report – Sunday May 27th, 2012

Food Safety

UK Imposes Moratorium on Desinewed Meat

by Dan Flynn

Desinewed meat, produced with low-pressure separation equipment to remove flesh from meaty bones, is outlawed in the United Kingdom beginning tomorrow.

The UK’s Food Safety Agency is imposing what it calls a moratorium on the product it considers to be perfectly safe in order to satisfy the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office.

Nobody in the UK is happy about it, especially the way the EC’s Food and Veterinary Office in Brussels went about making it happen.   After a routine March 6-14 visit to the UK, the EC office on March 28 wrote FSA to demand that low-pressure desinewed meat be categorized and labeled as mechanically separated meat (MSM).

The UK had five days to respond, and if it did not go along, British minced meat, meat products and meat preparations could be barred from the EU market.

And the Catch 22 was that ruminant bones used in producing desinewed meat with low pressure are prohibited in anything labeled as MSM.

That brought the first moratorium, imposed on April 28, prohibiting ruminant bones in desinewed meat.  It will be extended to cover poultry and pork bones on Saturday, May 26, unless there is a last-minute reprieve.

Read Full Article Here

USDA Works to Create Organic Aquaculture Standards

by News Desk

Consumers are likely to see much more domestic farm-raised seafood bearing an organic label in the not-too-distant future. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a memo this week about forward with developing an organic aquaculture certification program.According to Seafood Source, “Existing U.S. rules do not allow any seafood to bear the coveted ‘USDA Organic’ label due to the lack of standards for organic aquaculture production and certification, though some seafood products are labeled as organic because they’ve been certification by a third-party outfit such as Naturland in Germany.”

Read Full Article Here

Indiana Seeks Public Comment On Raw Milk

By Carla Gillespie

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health  (BOAH) is seeking public comment on raw milk consumption and sales that will be compiled and submitted as a report to the the Governor and the Legislative Council.

The sale of raw milk for human consumption is currently illegal in Indiana, but it is legal to sell raw milk for consumption by pets.  In January, Senator John Waterman (R-Shelburn)  added wording to a Senate bill that would have allowed small farms to sell raw milk sales for human consumption under the following conditions:

Read Full Article Here

Ban on Korean Shellfish Includes Canned Shellfish

by News Desk

The Food and Drug Administration late Friday clarified an earlier warning that all oysters, clams, mussels and scallops from Korea should be considered adulterated and removed from the market, and said that ban includes canned products.

And earlier FDA constituent update had said the ban excluded canned products.

Read Full Article Here

USDA Report Says Pesticide Residues Aren’t a Food Safety Concern

by News Desk

After testing 12,845 samples of fresh produce and other foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture once again says pesticide residues are not a safety issue.

That’s according to the latest Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary released Friday by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The report details the analysis of samples collected in 2010. The data program has been ongoing since 1991.

The conclusion: as in other years, overall pesticide residues found on the foods tested well below the tolerances levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Only 0.25 percent of samples — fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, oats, eggs, catfish, baby food, groundwater, and treated and untreated drinking water — tested at levels exceeding EPA tolerances, according to the news release announcing the report.

Read Full Article Here

USDA to mask sodium benzoate preservative with new ‘anti-microbial’ label to trick consumers

By Ethan A. Huff,
(NaturalNews) Kraft Foods Global, Inc. and a food chemical company known as Kemin Food Technologies, Inc. have both propositioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in recent years to approve the use of propionic acid and salt solutions in various new food applications, including in raw meat and poultry products, sausages, hot dogs, soups, stews, salads, and brine injections. According to a recent May 7 petition filing, the Des Moines, Ia.-based…

Read Full Article here

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Recalls

Contaminated Beef Mars Australia’s Usually Clean Track Record

by Gretchen Goetz

The ground beef product that was recalled last week by two South Carolina-based manufacturers was imported from Australia and contaminated before it arrived, according to one of the importers.

After testing conducted by the South Carolina Meat and Poultry Inspection Department revealed E. coli in a sample of boxed beef from Australia, two U.S. companies – G & W, Inc. and Lancaster Frozen Foods – recalled almost 7,000 pounds of ground beef products made with meat sourced from the foreign producer.

“We never sold the box that was contaminated but we went ahead and did a recall on everything that was in that lot number,” Emily Clayton, director of operations at G & W told Food Safety News.

A detailed list of those products made with beef from the contaminated lot is available here.

The boxed beef was imported in March and then stored in freezers before being processed into ground beef products, which were produced between March 2 and May 11 at Lancaster Frozen Foods and between March 2 and April 12 at G&W.

While several hundred pounds of the product had not yet been distributed, the majority of it was processed and sold, says JoAnna Clayton, vice president of G & W.

Read Full Article Here

California Warns of Botulism Risk in Jarred Soups

by News Desk

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) director Dr. Ron Chapman warned consumers on Thursday not to eat Taste of Roux, LLC jarred vegetarian soups because they may have been improperly produced, making them susceptible to contamination with Clostridium Botulinum.

No illnesses have been linked to any of the affected products at this time.

Ingestion of botulism toxin from improperly processed jarred and canned foods may lead to serious illness and death.

Taste of Roux, LLC of Valley Village, California is recalling its Lentil, Black Bean, Tomato, Carrot Ginger, Vegetarian Chili, and Detox jarred soups.  The soups were sold under the Taste of Roux label and packaged in quart and pint glass jars with screw-on metal lids.  The product labels do not include any coding or use-by dates.

Read Full Article Here

Smoked Bratwurst Recalled For Undeclared Soy

  By Linda Larsen

Zenner’s Quality Meat Products, Inc. of Oregon is recalling about 3,660 pounds of bratwurst because it contains soy protein, one of the major food allergens, that is not declared on the label.

Read Full Article Here

Raw Milk Aged Cheeses Are Relatively Safe, According to Study

May 25, 2012 By Linda Larsen

According to a study published in Food Microbiology, raw milk aged cheeses are relatively safe. The cheeses must be aged at least 60 days, at temperatures not less than 35 degrees F. The aging process produces low pH, low water activity, and high salt content that renders the cheese inhospitable to bacteria, yeast, and molds.

The regulations regarding raw milk aged cheeses were enacted in 1950, ”long before contemporary pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli 0157:H7, and Campylobacter had been recognized,” according to the study. Those bacteria can tolerate inhospitable environments such as low pH and low water activity.

In the last 20 years, “many small and several large foodborne outbreaks linked to consumption of cheese made from unpasteurized milk have occurred, both in Europe and in the U.S.” according to the study.

Read Full Article Here

Dried Shitake Mushroom Slices Recalled

by News Desk

L.A. Link (Huntington Beach) Corp. of of Cerritos, CA is recalling dried shitake mushrooms sold at Costco Wholesale locations in Washington, Oregon and California because they may be contaminated with chemical residues not approved for dried mushrooms.

A sample of the product tested by the Food and Drug Administration was found to be contaminated with fluoranthene, pyrene and carbendazim.

Read Full Article Here

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Allergen Alert

Allergen Alert: Frozen Chicken Breasts With Wheat

by News Desk

Mt. Airy Meat Center of Mt. Airy, N.C. is recalling approximately 100 pounds of frozen, raw chicken breasts because they contain wheat, a known allergen not declared on the label, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Thursday.

The problem was discovered by FSIS during a routine label review. In the recall alert, Mt. Airy Meat Center said it repackages chicken for individual retail sale; the company explained that the problem may have occurred due to a change in suppliers.

Read Full Article Here

Allergen Alert: Bratwurst With Soy Protein

by News Desk

Zenner’s Quality Meat Products of Portland, OR is recalling approximately 3,660 pounds of a bratwurst because it contains soy protein, an allergen not declared on the label.

FSIS and the company say they have not received any reports of adverse reactions.

The recall is of 2.25-lb. packages “Zenner’s Smoked Brotwurst” with a sells by date through 7/17/12 and the establishment number 6308.

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Majority of Americans Confident in Safety of Food Supply, Survey Finds

by Helena Bottemiller 

The vast majority of Americans have confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply, according to a new survey by the International Food Information Council, a food industry communications group.

The “2012 Food & Health Survey” shows a jump over last year’s confidence numbers, which IFIC found particularly interesting considering the survey was fielded during the first two weeks of April when food safety headlines — about Salmonella sushi, E. coli beef and new limits in antibiotics in agriculture — were widespread.

The survey found that 78 percent of those surveyed were either “somewhat confident” or “very confident” in the safety of the domestic food supply. Last year that number was closer to 50 percent.

“This year was a little higher,” said Marianne Smith Edge, the senior vice president of nutrition and food safety at IFIC, though she noted that the question was phrased differently this year. Instead of asking those surveyed if they were “extremely confident” they changed it to “very confident” on the high end of the spectrum.

Though the vast majority of Americans have thought about the safety of food and beverages over the past year — 85 percent reported giving “a little” or “a lot” of thought —  most Americans think the chances are low they will themselves come down with foodborne illness.

“What I think is interesting is that more than 50 percent think their chance is extremely low,” said Smith Edge. Fifty seven percent of consumers said they “strongly” or “somewhat agree” that the chances they will get a serious foodborne illness are extremely low. Some consumers disagreed: 27 percent “somewhat disagree” and 9 percent “strongly disagree.”

Read Full Article Here

Rand Paul Wins One in Senate Passage of FDA Bill

by Dan Flynn

Kentucky libertarian Sen. Rand Paul was not entirely successful with his amendments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) User Fee Re-authorization Bill before it passed the Senate Thursday by a 96 to 1 vote.

The bill, setting user-fees to provide about half of FDA’s $4.5 billion budget for next year, showed the Senate can fully debate, amend and pass a needed law.

Paul was fully engaged in the process with multiple amendments. One – to disarm FDA agents, stop raids on natural food stores and Amish farms and end the agency’s scrutiny of truthful claims for dietary supplements – received only 15 votes.

But Paul did get his language included in the bill that forces FDA to accept data from clinical investigations conducted outside of the U.S., including the European Union, because Paul says it will speed getting life-saving drugs to the market.

Paul hailed passage of the bill because it contained some of his words.

Read Full Article Here

Jensen Farms Files for Bankruptcy

Cantaloupe grower responsible for 2011 Listeria outbreak

by James Andrews

Jensen Farms, the Colorado cantaloupe grower responsible for last year’s Listeria cantaloupe outbreak, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy filings list a number of wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits filed against the farm that resulted from the outbreak that sickened 146 people and killed 36.

According to Jensen Farms’ bankruptcy lawyer, in an interview with the Denver Post, Jensen’s decision to file for bankruptcy will eventually free up millions of dollars in insurance money and other funds to pay victims.

Read Full Article Here

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Food Safety Report – Friday May 25th, 2012

Food Safety

Maryland First State to Ban Arsenic in Poultry Feed

by Helena Bottemiller 

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley Tuesday signed a bill banning arsenic in poultry feed, making his state the first to have a law against the practice on the books.

The new law, which takes effect Jan 1, prohibits the use, sale, or distribution of commercial feed containing arsenic and specifically mentions two Pfizer drugs that contain arsenic: Roxarsone, which the company voluntarily withdrew from the market last year, and Histostat, which is still on the market.

The move follows a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) study released last summer that found increased levels of inorganic arsenic in the livers of chickens treated with the Roxarsone. The new data raised concerns of a “very low but completely avoidable exposure to a carcinogen,” said Michael Taylor, FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Foods, when FDA announced the company was withdrawing the drug in response to the study’s findings.

Read Full Article Here

 

 

Arsenic in your chicken: Guess who is defending its use?

By Craig Stellpflug,
(NaturalNews) Arsenic in our food supply hasMay 24 2012  a very rich ally and that ally is Pfizer. You see, arsenic is routinely fed to poultry because it increases the growth of the chicken and makes the flesh an appetizing shade of pink (a side effect of burst blood vessels). Of course arsenic could eventually kill the hapless chicken but usually not before the slaughterhouse gets them. All arsenic compounds have mutagenic potential and are known carcinogens. About 9 out of 10 broiler chickens in the United…

Read Full Article Here

Charlotte, NC Restaurant to Offer Pasteurized Eggs

by News Desk

Toast of Dilworth, the popular North Carolina restaurant linked to a Salmonella outbreak this past spring that sickened 10 people, is switching to pasteurized eggs.

The Charlotte restaurant has signed with the Davidson’s Safest Choice brand to provide the shell eggs.

Toast of Dilworth was sued in Mecklenburg Superior Court earlier this month by Charlotte resident Bryan McWherter, whose complaint alleges he suffered gastrointestinal injuries from a Salmonella infection caused by eggs he ate at the restaurant in April. Marler Clark, the food safety law firm that sponsors Food Safety News, represents McWherter.

Read Full Article Here

Tainted Spinach Detected by Program Budget Cuts Will Ax

Microbiological Data Program scheduled to shut down in July

by Gretchen Goetz

The discovery of Salmonella in bagged organic baby spinach that led to a nationwide recall Tuesday has been attributed to a small government testing program that, ironically, is set to be eliminated in the 2013 federal budget plan.

The Microbiological Data Program, a network of 11 labs that screen fresh produce for pathogens, discovered the contamination during routine testing, according to a program employee. The program, also known as MDP, has been fighting to survive for years as the produce industry has lobbied to have it eliminated.

Now, after its $5 million in funding was cut out of the coming year’s budget, MDP, housed within the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, is scheduled to be shut down in July.

In its budget request for FY 2013, the Obama administration justified cutting MDP, calling it a “lower-priority program because it has a low impact and is not central to the core mission of AMS, which is to facilitate the competitive and efficient marketing of agricultural products.”

Read Full Article Here

Curtailed Funds Continue to Hurt Local Public Health

by Mary Rothschild

Since 2008, local public health departments in the United States have lost nearly 40,000 employees, and the situation continues to deteriorate, according to the most recent survey, conducted in January and February, by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

One health official told NACCHO that “fiscal year 2013 is shaping up to be the worst fiscal year for us … We may have to reduce or eliminate certain programs, should the financial situation worsen.”

Another official was even gloomier: “Next year will present a large challenge and even threatens our continuance. In 25 years I’ve not confronted this level of threat to our existence as a going entity. Our situation is dire.”

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

Taylor Farms Recalls Organic Baby Spinach for Salmonella Risk

by News Desk

Taylor Farms Retail of Salinas, CA is recalling Organic Baby Spinach that may be contaminated with Salmonella.

A random test conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a finished package of spinach detected Salmonella, according to the recall alert.

The company says there have been no reported illnesses attributed to the recalled spinach.

Read Full Article Here

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Allergen Alert

Allergen Alert: Lasagna With Soy

by News Desk

West Best Foods of Las Vegas, NV is recalling approximately 13,776 pounds of lasagna products because they contain soy, an allergen not declared on the label, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Tuesday.

The problem was discovered during a routine food safety assessment and may have occurred as a result of an ingredient reformulation, according to the company’s recall alert.

Read Full Article Here

Allergen Alert: Sorbet With Milk Protein

by Mary Rothschild

Harris Teeter is recalling HT Traders Sorbet in lemon, raspberry, mango, coconut and orange flavors due to possible undeclared milk protein.

This recall affects the below products:

Read Full Article Here

Allergen Alert: Barbecue Sauce With Anchovies

by News Desk

Honeyville Honey Farm of Durango, CO is recalling certain bottles of Honeyville Honey Barbecue Sauce because an ingredient, Worcestershire sauce, contains anchovies.

An onsite FDA inspection this month revealed that the product’s labeling did not reveal the presence of anchovies.

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Nearly 1,000 dogs now sick from jerky treats, FDA reports say

Courtesy Robin Pierre

Bella, a 2-year-old pug, died last fall after her owner, Robin Pierre, said she ate Waggin’ Train chicken jerky treats.

By JoNel Aleccia

Nearly 1,000 dogs reportedly have been sickened by chicken jerky pet treats from China, according to a new tally of complaints from worried owners and veterinarians submitted to federal health officials.

The Food and Drug Administration has logged some 900 reports of illnesses and deaths since November, when it warned owners about continued problems with the products known variously as chicken jerky strips, treats and nuggets, a spokeswoman said.

Back then, the agency already had heard from 70 owners about problems ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to kidney failure and other serious ailments after animals reportedly consumed the treats.

Since then, complaints have mounted steadily, putting growing pressure on the FDA to solve the problem.

The agency sent inspectors earlier this year to Chinese plants that make the jerky treats, two Ohio lawmakers previously told msnbc.com.  No results of those inspections are yet available, FDA spokeswoman Tamara Ward said Monday.

Read Full Article Here

Judge Rules Some POM Wonderful Ads Are Deceptive

By Linda Larsen

Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell ruled on May 17, 2012 that some POM Wonderful ads are deceptive. The company’s ads claim that POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice and POMx supplements can “treat, prevent, or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction.”

The Judge issued an order that POM Wonderful LLC and its parent company, Roll International Corp., could not make any claims about health benefits of their products unless they possess “competent and reliable scientific evidence” that their claim is true. This is a lower standard than that required for pharmaceutical companies, which must prove efficacy of their products through clinical trials.

The ads in question appeared in The New York Times, Prevention, Parade, and Fitness, in addition to bus stops, billboard, and labels on POM products. The FTC Act states that an ad is deceptive if it is “likely to mislead consumers, acting reasonably under the circumstances, in a material respect.”

Read Full Article Here

Opinion & Contributed Articles

A Turning Point for E. Coli Testing?

A response to the OIG audit of FSIS inspections

by John Munsell

Opinion

We just might be witnessing a watershed change in USDA attitudes regarding testing for E. coli O157:H7, corrective actions subsequent to adverse lab test results, and tracebacks to the true source of contamination.

Due diligence must be addressed these next 12 months to monitor USDA/FSIS’ willingness to implement meaningful reforms as suggested by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).  Public revelation by OIG of faulty FSIS meat inspection policies should provide the required incentive to FSIS to not only author policies that better promote public health, but to also be more transparent.

The following comments will serve as my brief response to OIG’s audit report, and to FSIS’ response to OIG’s recommendations.

In the middle of page one, OIG states “….regardless of how stringently the industry tests for E.coli, there is always an inherent risk of its presence in slaughter plants” (emphasis added).

In this Audit Report, OIG makes references to the fact that E. coli contamination emanates from hides and viscera.  OIG is thus refreshingly candid, acknowledging that E.coli originates on kill floors, not at downstream entities that do not have manure-covered hides or intestines on their premises.  If FSIS had made this common-sense admission years ago, and had focused its search for E. coli at the source, rather than the destination, the number of outbreaks would have been greatly diminished compared to what we continue to currently experience.

Read Full Article Here

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Food Safety Report – Wednesday May 23rd, 2012

Food Safety

Mad Cow: No Problems Found in Feed Records

by News Desk

Investigators found no irregularities in the feed records at the California dairy where a 10-year-old cow last month was confirmed to have had bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease), the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated in a follow-up report this week.

The May 15 report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) also said units of all the feed suppliers to the dairy showed they were in compliance with regulations.

Read Full Article Here

Salmonella Paratyphi B Outbreak Grows

by News Desk

The Salmonella Paratyphi B case-count associated with contaminated starter culture used in raw tempeh products sold by Smiling Hara, an Asheville, NC-based company, continued to grow last week, with the number of Salmonella Paratyphi B cases reaching 83 on Friday.According to the Asheville Citzen-Times, 62 of the cases were counted among residents of Bruncombe County, NC.Smiling Hara purchased the contaminated spore culture from Tempeh Online, a Maryland-based Company that has since taken down its web page and deleted all but one of its Twitter posts

Read Full Article Here

ABC Finds Illegal Antibiotics in Imported Shrimp

by Helena Bottemiller

Traces of illegal antibiotics are lurking in America’s favorite seafood, according to a new report by ABC World News. The news outlet tested 30 imported shrimp samples from grocery stores across the country and found three were positive for antibiotics that are banned in the United States.Though the sample size was small, the fact that 10 percent were found to contain illegal drugs is significant considering Americans annually eat 1 billion pounds of shrimp, 90 percent of which is imported from halfway across the world — mostly from Thailand, Indonesia, Ecuador, and China.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration physically inspects less than two percent of imported seafood shipments and even smaller percentage are sampled for drug residue testing. In fiscal year 2009, for example, the FDA tested .1 percent of all imported seafood products for residues, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

ABC, which has ramped up its coverage of food issues, sent the shrimp samples to the Institute of Environmental and Human Health food lab at Texas Tech University for testing. In the three positive samples, lab technicians found banned antibiotics enrofloxacin, chloramphenicol, and nitrofuranzone, which is a known carcinogen.

“About 10 percent of them showed evidence of pharmaceutical residue in the muscle tissue alone, which people eat,” Dr. Ronald Kendall, the director of the Institute told ABC. Kendall said two samples from New York averaged 28 and 29 parts per billion (ppb) of nitrofurazone. If FDA were to find 1 ppb of the drug in seafood, the product would not be allowed on the market.

Read Full Article Here

Sampling Report Praises Beef Industry & USDA

by Dan Flynn

To steal a phrase from former President George W. Bush, USDA’s meat inspectors are “doing a heck of a job” knocking down E. coli at big beef plants.

With a little constructive criticism around that edges, that pretty much sums up the findings of the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG’s) report into testing beef for E. coli O157:H7.

The latest 51-page report from the OIG is the second and final part of an investigation into USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS’s) N-60 sampling procedure.   Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-CT, who was then chair of the House Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Subcommittee, requested the investigation in 2009.

DeLauro continues to serve on that powerful subcommittee, which is now chaired by Rep. Jack Kingston, R-GA.  He did not comment on the OIG report, she did.

“This report further questions the integrity of the N60 sampling program. Even a well-designed sampling program is only useful in protecting consumer health if it is performed accurately,” DeLauro said.  “Yet, the Inspector General’s report indicates this sampling program may be both inadequately and improperly performed. Critically, it also highlights other weaknesses in our food safety system that need attention, such as meat inspections performed by states and the clear need for an improved response to ‘high event.'”

Read Full Article Here

USDA Takes Meat and Poultry Labeling to the Web

by Dan Flynn

A new web-based label approval system that will streamline the agency’s review process for meat, poultry and egg product labels was introduced Monday by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Called the Label Submission Approval System (LSAS), the new approval system will make it possible for food manufacturers to submit label applications electronically, will flag application submission errors that could delay the approval process, and will allow users to track the progress of their submission.

 
”This new system will expedite and simplify the review process for meat, poultry and egg product labels,” said Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, under secretary for food safety. “Reducing the review times for labels will enhance the agency’s ability to ensure that accurate information is applied to product labels and reaches consumers quickly.”

The “Leaders Conference” of the National Meat Association was briefed on the new web-based labeling system last week in Washington D.C. by Phil Derfler, FSIS deputy administration.

“Based on what we heard,” says Jeremy Russell, NMA’s director of communications and government, “I’d say we’re cautiously optimistic that it will streamline the process and increase efficiency.”

FSIS reviews labels on the products it regulates to ensure they are truthful and not misleading.

The LSAS is suppose to reduce the time and costs incurred by both the industry and the agency. Until the launch of LSAS, companies mailed or hand delivered paper applications to FSIS, and FSIS reviewed and corrected them before returning them in hard copy.

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

Salmonella Concern Prompts Papaya Recall

by News Desk | May 20, 2012

Caribe Produce LTD Co. of McAllen, TX, is recalling 286 cases of Papaya Maradol, Caribeña Brand papayas because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Routine testing by the company revealed the presence of Salmonella in the papayas, according to the recall notice.

The company says no illnesses have been reported.

Read Full Article Here

Burgers Recalled for Undeclared Allergens

by News Desk

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Saturday that J&B Group of Pipestone, Minnesota, was recalling approximately 456 pounds of steakhouse burgers for misbranding and undeclared allergens.According to a press release issued by FSIS, the steakhouse burgers contain a seasoning mix with hydrolyzed soy and wheat proteins that are not declared on the label.

J&B Group recalled the following products:

Read Full Article Here

Flours, Legumes, Spices Recalled for Allergens

by News Desk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Santos Agency, Inc. announced Friday that Santos Agency was voluntarily recalling Santos Brands Products for undeclared peanuts and wheat in California.Consumers who are allergic to peanut or wheat allergens may run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume any of the products, which are affixed with a label on the front side, packed in clear, plastic bags and there are no UPC codes, lot codes, or expiration dates on the products. The labels consist of a design of a house bordered by two columns with the word “SANTOS” on the roof of the house.The following Santos Brands Products (packed in USA) were shipped to retail stores throughout California only between May 2011 and May 2012.

Read Full Article Here

Diced Red Onions Recalled in Canada

by News Desk

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) warned consumers Friday not to consume Gills Onions brand Fresh Diced Red Onions because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.No reported cases of Listeria have been reported in connection with the consumption of the diced onions, which were distributed in Ontario and may have also been distributed throughout Canada.The products being recalled include 198 g packages of Gills Onions brand Fresh Diced Red Onions, Product of U.S.A., bearing UPC 6 43550 00045 0, Best Before date 05/17/12, and lot code 51RDA1A2119.  CFIA is working with Canadian importers, distributors, retailers and Gills Onions to withdraw the product from points of purchase.

Read Full Article Here

River Ranch Expands Bagged Salad Recall

by News Desk

River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, CA is expanding its earlier recall of retail and foodservice bagged salads because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The company says there have been no reported illnesses associated with this recall, according to the recall alert.

Retail salad products under this recall were distributed throughout the United States and Canada under various sizes and packaged under the brand names of River Ranch, Farm Stand, Hy-Vee, Shurfresh, and The Farmer’s Market.

Foodservice salad products under this recall were distributed throughout the United States and Canada under various sizes and packaged under the brand names of River Ranch and Sysco.

Read Full Article Here

Diamond Pet Foods Recalls More Dry Dog Food

by Mary Rothschild

Diamond Pet Foods has again recalled batches of dry dog food that may be contaminated with Salmonella, this time to include its Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food manufactured on Aug. 26, 2011.

The earlier Diamond Pet Foods recalls involved various formulas manufactured after Dec. 9, 2011 at its production facility in Gaston, SC. This recall involves pet food produced in Meta, MO.

The company says no illnesses have been reported in connection with this latest recall, which presumably means no human or animal illnesses.

However, as of May 11, 15 people in nine states and one person in Canada have been reported sickened with an outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis from contact with contaminated dog food or infected animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  As of May 16, the Food and Drug Administration had confirmed two dog illnesses related to the outbreak.

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Letter From The Editor: China

by Dan Flynn

Opinion

China was the United States’ largest supplier of goods imports in 2010 and was our 3rd largest supplier of agricultural imports at $3.4 billion.

Leading categories include: processed fruit and vegetables ($811 million), fruit and vegetable juices ($386 million), snack foods (including chocolate) ($190 million), and fresh vegetables ($132 million).

China’s food safety record is a mixed bag.  Yes, China can move with swiftness and severity against those endangering food safety.  Yet, the same government also jailed Zhao Lianhai, who worked for the Food Quality and Safety Authority of China.

Zhao’s “crime” was organizing parents of children like his own son, who became ill from drinking contaminated milk.  Zhao was arrested November 2009, and sentenced a year later to 30 months in prison for inciting social disorder.

He went on a hunger strike, and subsequently was released last year on medical parole.   He is kept essentially under house arrest in Daxing, and gets harassed by police and state security officials whenever he takes his children out or tries to go to a restaurant.

When China first started beating up one of its own food safety workers for the crime of becoming too much of an advocate for injured children, some suggested it might mark larger events to come.

The treatment of Zhao sounds familiar because it follows the playbook China was using on the blind activist Chen Guangcheng until he escaped his illegal house arrest and made it to the U.S. Embassy.

Chen, who dissents on China’s one child policy, arrived on U.S. soil  this weekend with his family thanks in part to skillful handling by the U.S. Ambassador to China.  (More on that below.)

Also earlier this month, China expelled journalist Melissa Chan of Walnut, CA, the first accredited foreign correspondent to be kicked out of China in 14 years.  She worked for Al Jazeera English.

It is not known for certain what got Chan expelled, but had written about “black jails” for violators of the one-child policy and her press credentials were revoked just as the Chen story was breaking.

Chen was expelled for breaking unspecified “relevant laws,” according to a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.  Chan insists she broke no laws.

But these are really nothing more than incidents in a country of 1.3 billion.

The big story in China is the one that reads like the opening chapters in a Tom Clancy novel. It’s included murder, mystery and political intrigue and we know not how its going to come out.

We now know about this provincial Communist Party chief named Bo Xilai, who had ties to People’s Army and was running a sophisticated surveillance operations on top government officials.   Bo was slated for the ruling circle, but now has been purged.

Will others in his network have to go too?   It’s the greatest “internal crisis” for China since the 1989 Tienanmen Square massacre. It is an “internal crisis” that is also being fought out in China’s upper echelons.

As for China’s growing middle class, they are said to be unhappy with certain basic government services including food safety.   China might want to think about making the next Zhao a hero, not a criminal.

Read Full Article Here

Utah Healthy Swimming Campaign Seems to Have Worked

by Gretchen Goetz

In the wake of a 2007 Cryptosporidium outbreak linked to recreational swimming waters in Utah, a statewide educational push seems to have increased residents’ knowledge about healthy swimming practices.

In the spring of 2008, state and local public health agencies launched the educational campaign in an effort to prevent a repeat of the previous summer’s outbreak, which had sickened approximately 5,700 people. Officials also instituted new protocols for fecal incident responses and installed secondary disinfection systems at pools and water parks.

The safe swimming initiative included a website, two TV advertisements, public service radio announcements and poolside posters. One such sign warned consumers that “A Swimming Pool is Like a Community Bathtub.”

According to a Utah Department of Health survey conducted from July through September of 2008, a full 96.1 percent of respondents knew that “it is not OK to swim if you have diarrhea.”

A separate national survey taken in 2009 revealed that 100 percent of respondents in Utah and only 78.4 percent of residents of other states knew that staying out of the pool when sick with diarrhea prevents others from getting sick.

Read Full Article Here

Pink slime, meat glue and more: Public reactions force Big Food to make changes

By J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) Did you know a kid in junior high that, on a dare, would eat just about anything you dared him to eat, as long as you gave him your dessert? I did; the guy ate just about everything – bugs, earthworms, snails. He even ate a cockroach one time, no fooling. But he sure liked the school’s chocolate pudding. With that in mind, consider some of the things people are finding in food these days – not on a dare, but as byproducts of food preparation. Things like pink slime, food coloring…

Read Full Article Here

Amnesty International Not Sure About Status of Chinese Food Safety Advocate

by Dan Flynn

Amnesty International (AI) has lost track of Chinese food safety advocate Zhao Lianhai.

AI’s Alex Edwards told Food Safety News the last solid information about Zhao, 40, was in January 2011, more than a year ago.

Whether Zhao has “gone missing” as some media outlets have reported, is just lying low or is under house arrest isn’t known for certain.

In 2008, powdered milk tainted with the chemical melamine eventually killed six children and sickened at least 300,000 others in China. The tragedy put Zhao in the spotlight — he was both an official for China’s Food Quality and Safety Authority and the parent of an injured infant.

Zhao began speaking out to media and through a website helped organize other parents whose children had been poisoned.  The most seriously injured infants suffered from kidney stones, raising questions of compensation for their health problems.

Zhao was arrested in Beijing on Nov. 13, 2009. Amnesty International says he was convicted on Nov. 10, 2010 by Daxing District People’s Court in Beijing for “provoking an incident” (Criminal Law article 293).  He was sentenced to two and half years in prison.

Read Full Article Here

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Food Safety Report – Friday April 27th, 2012

Food Safety

 

AEI Calls for Single Food Safety Agency, Better Foodborne Illness Surveillance

by Helena Bottemiller | Apr 26, 2012

The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC, released a working paper this month recommending a single food safety agency, better market incentives, and more foodborne illness data and surveillance.

In the paper, AEI scholar Sébastien Pouliot acknowledges the difficulty in making major changes to America’s food regulatory system, citing the long and tenuous debate over the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which was enacted early last year.

Pouliot, an economics professor at Iowa State University, notes that instead of recommending “more controversial and perhaps more cost effective” changes — including shifting away from government regulation, toward more market accountability — he specifically focuses on more attainable solutions like reallocating resources and making better use of technology.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

 

 

House, Senate Continue to Disagree on FDA Appropriations

by Helena Bottemiller | Apr 26, 2012

As the budget process in Washington rolls along, the House and Senate remain at odds over doling out resources that impact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The House on Wednesday released the allocation for discretionary spending for FDA and agriculture programs for fiscal year 2013, which is $19.4 billion below the spending ceiling set by last summer’s Budget Control Act. In total, the House appropriations allocations are  $1 trillion below the BCA limits. The Senate is currently considering an FDA appropriations bill that is expected to be at the limit.

According to Stephen Grossman, the executive director at the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, “there does not appear to be any coordination between the two bodies and there are fundamental disagreements on total spending.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

Search Underway for Any More ‘Mad Cows’

by Dan Flynn | Apr 26, 2012

The dead Hanford, CA dairy cow with laboratory-confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is now the centerpiece of an investigation into whether there are any more mad cows in the vicinity.

Dairymen in the Central Valley of California have been told state and federal officials are testing the BSE-infected animal’s feeding herd, which could include some of its own offspring, and other cows in the area that were born about the same time.

A spokesman for Western United Dairymen said its members maintain “meticulous records” on birth dates, parentage, and linkages to other animals – all easily traceable – and such documentation should help investigators.

Baker Commodities, the Los Angeles-based company that owns the transfer rendering station at Hanford, also announced it not only was holding the diseased carcass in cold storage, but all other cows that arrived with it on the same truck.

Read Full Article Here

California Cow with BSE (Mad Cow Disease) Does Not Pose a Threat to the Food Supply

by Dr. Mel Kramer | Apr 26, 2012

Opinion

On April 24, 2012, it was announced that the fourth U.S. cow tested positive for BSE.  In truth, the first U. S. cow, which was imported from Canada, had “typical” BSE, which was identified in the United Kingdom and has been present in both Europe and Japan, and to a lesser extent in Canada.  The two previous U. S. cattle were actually atypical, as was the one identified this week.

Although scientifically less is known about the etiology or causation of atypical BSE, what is known is it is not acquired the same way as the typical BSE (from consuming infected feed containing the brain or other Specified Risk Materials from an infected animal), nor does it seem to present the same danger, even if consumed.  No animal slaughtered in the United States for human or animal feed can contain Specified Risk Material, which is where the prion (not bacteria or virus) can be found.  This includes the brain, the tonsils, and parts of the intestine, as well as the spinal cord.

Read Full Article Here

Wisconsin Finds Salmonella Outbreak Strain in Sushi Tuna

by Mary Rothschild | Apr 26, 2012

A sample of raw yellowfin tuna and a sample of sushi made with yellowfin tuna were contaminated with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Bareilly that has sickened at least 160 people, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

In a news release, the department said the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin, Madison found that Salmonella bacteria isolated from two food samples were an identical DNA match to the bacteria isolated from the outbreak victims.

The lab test results corroborate the earlier epidemiologic conclusion, arrived at through case interviews and product trace back, which identified frozen yellowfin tuna as the likely source of the outbreak.

Based on that earlier evidence from the outbreak investigation, Moon Marine USA Corp of Cupertino, CA recalled suspect frozen tuna product on April 13. The tuna, imported from India, was labeled as Nakaochi Scrape.

Read Full Article Here

Another Type of Salmonella Found in Raw Scraped Tuna

April 26, 2012 By Kathy Will

Salmonella

Government officials have just announced that another strain of Salmonella bacteria has been found in the raw scraped tuna product imported by Moon Marine USA Corporation. The product was recalled on April 13, 2012.The serotype Salmonella Nchanga was found in one of the unopened samples of imported raw Nakaochi Scrape yellowfin tuna. A total of 10 people in 5 states have been infected with this outbreak strain. The bacteria found in the tuna had a PFGE pattern “indistinguishable from the cluster of Salmonella Nchanga infections.”

This bacteria is very rare in the United States. The illness onset dates for this outbreak ranged form February 19 to April 5, 2012. The ill persons are 17 to 86 years old; the median age is 33 years. Seventy-five percent of the patients are female. One person was hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

 

 

Raw Milk Now The Focus Of Missouri E. coli Outbreak

April 26, 2012 By Carla Gillespie

Raw milk produced by Stroupe Farm in Howard County Missouri is now the focus on an investigation into an E.coli outbreak that has sickened 12 people, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Missouri health officials had previously reported that 15 people were part of the outbreak, but now believe that, based on lab results, geographic location and case histories, three of those individuals are not part of the same outbreak as the other 12.

 

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

 

 

Alfa Sprouts Inc. Recalls Alfalfa Sprouts for Possible Listeria

April 26, 2012 By Linda Larsen

Alfa Sprouts Inc. (Springwater Sprouts) of Honeoye Falls, New York is recalling 100 pounds of alfalfa sprouts and clover sprouts because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This bacteria can cause serious or life-threatening infections in high risk groups, and can cause stillbirth and miscarriages in pregnant women.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

 

LA Star Seafood Recalling Dry and Smoked Vobla for Possible Botulism

April 26, 2012 By Linda Larsen

LA Star Seafood, Inc. of Los Angeles, California is recalling Vobla Dry and Vobla Smoked because the fish may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. This bacteria can cause life-threatening illness and death, even in healthy people. The fish was not properly eviscerated.

 

Read Full Article Here

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Allergen Alert

 

 

Krispak Recalling Hostess Candy Mix for Undeclared Allergens

April 26, 2012 By Linda Larsen

Krispak, Inc. of Grand Rapids Michigan is recalling 16 cases of Hostess Candy Mix. The mix was mis-packed, or put into the wrong packages. Cases of GFS® Hostess Candy Mix, which contains wheat and milk and may contain egg, were put into GFS® Chocolate Sprinkles packages.

 

Read Full Article Here

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Food Safety Report – Friday April 13th, 2012

Food Safety

FDA Issues Voluntary Plan to Limit Antibiotics in Agriculture

by Helena Bottemiller

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking its biggest step yet to rein in the indiscriminate use of antibiotics that help food animals grow bigger, faster. The agency said Wednesday it is asking veterinary drug makers to voluntarily phase out medically important drugs from being available over the counter in the hope that the shift will help combat growing antimicrobial resistance.

Under FDA’s proposal, these antimicrobials will still be allowed in animal agriculture but, if veterinary drug companies agree to change the labels, farmers will be allowed to use the drugs only to prevent, control, or treat diseases and under the supervision of a veterinarian and not for promoting growth or improving feed efficiency.

The agency said it was taking the voluntary action to “preserve the effectiveness of medically important antimicrobials for treating disease in humans.”

According to the most recent estimates, around 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are given to animals. FDA said it doesn’t know what percentage is used for growth promotion or so-called production uses, which the agency is trying to limit.

The reaction in the public health, veterinary pharmaceutical and animal agriculture community was mixed, but mostly negative.

The Pew Charitable Trusts, which has been lobbying for limiting antibiotic usage in food animal production for years, gave the move a tepid thumbs up.

“This is the most sweeping action the agency has undertaken in this area, as this covers all antibiotics used in meat and poultry production that are important to human health,” said Laura Rogers, director of the Pew’s Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming. “There are some gaps in these measures that we will urge FDA to address and, because this is voluntary, we will have to monitor antibiotic usage and resistance rates carefully. If these measures do not bring down antibiotic use and drug-resistant bacteria, then FDA will have to take additional steps.”

The Animal Health Institute, which represents veterinary pharmaceutical companies, also said it supports the FDA’s voluntary stakeholder approach, but has reservations.

“We strongly support responsible use of antibiotic medicines and the involvement of a veterinarian whenever antibiotics are administered to food producing animals,” said AHI. “While we agree with this direction and the collaborative, stakeholder process, there are details that must be addressed to make this approach practical and workable.  We will continue to work with FDA through the comment process to address these details.”

Most consumer and pubic health groups expressed disappointment that the proposal is voluntary and seems toothless. ….

Read Full Article Here

Two More Illnesses Confirmed in Missouri E. Coli Outbreak

by James Andrews

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has confirmed two more illnesses in an ongoing outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 reported from counties in central Missouri, bringing the total number of cases to seven. Raw milk has been cited as a common link among some of the illnesses, but state public health officials have not determined a definite source.

Illnesses have been reported in four counties: Boone (3 cases), Cooper (2), Howard (1) and Camden (1)…..

Read Full Article Here

Outbreak Potentially Linked to Sushi Expands to 116 Cases

by Gretchen Goetz

A multistate outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly that had previously sickened 100 has expanded to include at least 116 victims across 20 states, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In this latest outbreak report, released Wednesday, CDC reports that, “The investigation has not conclusively identified a food source,” however evidence suggests that sushi may be the contaminated product.

Last week CDC announced that an unusually high percentage of those sickened reported eating sushi, sashimi, or “similar foods” in the week preceding the onset of symptoms. An internal e-mail from FDA – which is collaborating with CDC to investigate the outbreak – reported that CDC thought sushi was the likely source, with spicy tuna rolls “highly suspect.”

Cases are largely centered in states along the Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico, but also extend up into the Midwest. The number of sickened individuals in each state is as follows:

Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (5), District of Columbia (2), Florida (1), Georgia (5), Illinois (10), Louisiana (2), Maryland (11), Massachusetts (8), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), New Jersey (7), New York (24), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (5), Rhode Island (5), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5) and Wisconsin (12)…..

Read Full Article Here

California Company Will Keep Seafood Off Market

by Mary Rothschild

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says a California seafood importer and processor has agreed to shut down its operations while it corrects conditions in its processing facility, which is alleged to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The FDA said in a statement Wednesday that Yamaya USA of Torrance, CA and its president, Daigo Irifune, agreed to terms of a consent decree on April 5. Under the agreement, the company must destroy all foods being processed or ready for shipment and clean and sanitize the facility. It cannot resume marketing its seafood until laboratory results confirm no further L. mono contamination…..

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

Imported Fish Recalled

by Julia Thomas

Two Minnesota companies – Import Foods Wholesale and Seng Ong Wholesale – are recalling various types of imported fish because they may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores, which can cause botulism.

In each case, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Laboratory personnel confirmed that the fish were not properly eviscerated prior to processing.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with either company’s products.

The sale of improperly eviscerated fish, 5 inches in length or greater, is prohibited because Clostridium botulinum spores are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than any other portion of the fish. Uneviscerated fish has been linked to outbreaks of botulism poisoning, which may pose a potentially life-threatening health hazard….

Read Full Article Here

E. Coli Tests Spur Recall of Tenderized Beef in Maine

by Mary Rothschild

Town and Country Foods of Greene, ME, is recalling about 2,057 pounds of ground and mechanically tenderized beef that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Wednesday.

The company’s own lab testing confirmed a positive result for E. coli O157:H7, according to the news release, but FSIS said the firm had already distributed the beef before the test results were received.

FSIS said it has received no reports of illnesses associated with the beef.

The potentially contaminated beef was produced between April 4 and 10, 2012 and shipped to wholesale and retail establishments in Maine…..

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Beijing Looks to Stiffen Food Safety Penalties

by News Desk

Those convicted of a food safety-related crime in Beijing will soon be barred from investing in or running a food business, according to new proposal.

Bloomberg News reported that the draft rules would “regulate the use of edible additives in the catering industry, and crack down on the illegal use of inedible substances and mislabeling of production and sell-by dates.”

Under China’s new food safety regulations, which took effect in 2007, businesses that violate food safety laws have their licenses revoked for three years; the Beijing rule would extend that ban to five years. Individuals convicted of crimes would be banned from the food industry for life…..

Read Full Article Here

Consumer Advocate Seeks Poultry Inspection Gig

by Helena Bottemiller

After sharply criticizing a proposal to expand the HACCP Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP) pilot to more poultry plants, Food & Water Watch is asking for unfettered access to a HIMP plant to better evaluate the idea.
In a letter to the National Chicken Council and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Tony Corbo, a lobbyist for Food & Water Watch, asked that he be permitted to work as a company sorter on a slaughter line in the HIMP program.

“I would like for you to start making arrangements so that I may work in a HIMP plant for at least one week,” wrote Corbo. “As you know, Food & Water Watch has been especially critical of HIMP and the proposed rule to expand this inspection model to all poultry plants…We do not support the privatization of inspection. However, both FSIS and the poultry industry claim that the HIMP inspection model is superior to the one that is used in the non-HIMP plants.”….

Read Full Article Here

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Food Safety News – Friday April 6th, 2012

Food Safety

 

CDC: No Source Confirmed in Outbreak That Has Sickened 93

Sushi or sashimi suspected

 

by Mary Rothschild

 

Ninety-three illnesses linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly have been reported from 19 states and the District of Columbia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday, but CDC officials said a specific food has not been identified as the source of the infections.
However, many of those infected recalled eating sushi, sashimi or a raw dish such as ceviche, in the days before they became ill, according to the public health agency.

In an investigation report released Wednesday afternoon, the CDC revealed the states reporting illnesses: Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (4), District of Columbia (2), Georgia (4), Illinois (8), Louisiana (2), Maryland (8), Massachusetts (4), Mississippi (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (6), New York (23), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island (4), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5) and Wisconsin (8).

The CDC’s message follows an internal U.S. Food and Drug Administration email on the outbreak investigation that was inadvertently circulated beyond the agency. That emailed summary did not list all the affected states.

And although the FDA email said investigators were looking at sushi as a possible source of the illnesses, and singled out spicy tuna roll sushi as “highly suspect,” the CDC said no food item has been conclusively identified.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

 

 

Iowa Leaders Seek Congressional Hearing on Pink Slime Critics

 

by Helena Bottemiller

 

Congressman Steve King (R-IA) and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad are pushing for a congressional probe into what many in the meat industry are calling a “smear campaign” against Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB), a formerly obscure component commonly used in ground beef now known to the public as “pink slime.”

King has asked Frank Lucas (R-OK), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee to host a hearing that would bring in witnesses to testify on the media firestorm and consumer backlash over the product, which has led to three plant suspensions and sidelined 650 workers in Texas, Kansas, and Iowa — including some 200 workers in King’s district.

“Witnesses would be under oath and they’re of course obligated by law to tell the truth, those who have been the ones who have perpetrated this smear campaign against one of the stellar companies in the country,” King recently told an Iowa radio station. “I think they’ll have an obligation then to explain themselves why they could not base their allegations on facts and what they’ve done to damage an industry.”

The congressman said he believes the campaign is also an “assault” on meat. “I’d like to look at that further,” he said. “Right now, I’m focused on helping BPI get their brand back and their market share back.”

 

Read Full Article Here

 

 

 

BPA is FDA’s Latest Gift to Food Industry

 

By Michele Simon

 

In a long-awaited decision, last week the Food and Drug Administration disappointed health advocates once again by allowing Bisphenol A or BPA, a known endocrine disruptor, to remain approved as a chemical additive in food containers such as plastic bottles and metal cans.While the agency says it’s still studying the matter, a number of groups say the science is clear enough. Indeed, in the four years since the filing of a legal petition asking for a ban (a court order was needed to force FDA to respond), evidence of potential harm from BPA exposure has only increased. Of particular concern are young children, as the chemical often lines infant formula containers and baby bottles. Ironically, some of the more alarming research is funded by the federal government. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is spending $30 million to study BPA, with much of it published already and more to come. Not surprisingly, the chemical industry claims the additive is perfectly safe.

But with the scientific studies piling up to show how BPA increases the risk of everything from cancer to heart disease to fertility problems, and more recently, even obesity, this latest industry-friendly move by FDA is especially troubling. Meanwhile, without a hint of irony, FDA also maintains several web pages with helpful information for parents and others wishing to avoid BPA, such as: “What You Can Do to Minimize Your Infant’s Exposure to BPA.”

So if FDA admits the chemical is scary enough to avoid and previous independent scientific advisory panels have derided the agency for ignoring the mounting evidence, why did the agency back down yet again?…..

 

Read Full Article Here

 

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Recalls

 

Tomme d’Or Cheeses Recalled in British Columbia

 

By News Desk

 

The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) is warning the public not to eat Tomme d’Or cheese made by Moonstruck Organic Cheese on Saltspring Island because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.Currently there are no illnesses linked to…

 

Read Full Article Here

 

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Articles of Interest

 

Lawsuit Claims Some Store ‘Honey’ Brands Are Deceptive

 

by Gretchen Goetz

 

A series of class action lawsuits has been filed in Florida against major food retailers who allegedly sell honey that may not be “honey” because it does not contain pollen.

Five Florida residents are bringing suits against four different grocery chains – Publix Super Markets, Inc., Target Corporation, Walgreen Co. and Aldi, Inc. – that all reportedly carry ultra-filtered honey under their own house brands.

Ultra-filtration is a special process by which honey is heated and then forced through tiny filters that don’t let pollen through. This process is different from traditional honey filtration, which uses bigger filters and is designed only to weed out visible contaminants such as bee parts, wax and debris.

In removing the pollen from honey, ultra-filtration essentially removes its footprint. The resulting product cannot be traced back to its source to determine whether it came from a legitimate supplier or one with a reputation for adulterated products.

When Food Safety News investigated ultra-filtration last year, it found that over 3/4 of honey sold in U.S. grocery stores lacks pollen.

Florida is one of a handful of states that has set a honey standard dictating what qualities a product needs in order to be called honey. Anything labeled as “honey” must contain pollen, says the standard. This rule gives legal clout to those who want to see pollen-free honey labeled as something other than honey.

The same clout does not exist at the federal level, because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to issue a set of standards for honey, despite demands from both industry and Congress that it do so.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

 

FDA Warning Letters: Update

 

by News Desk

From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning letters posted since our March 27, 2012 update:

– Prospect Enterprises of Los Angeles, CA was warned that a January/February 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility, American Fish & Seafood Company in Sacramento, CA revealed violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation so that its chilled, histamine-forming fish such as tuna, chilled, vacuum packaged Hamachi and tuna, as well as refrigerated ready-to-eat products such as vacuum packaged smoked salmon and trout, and pasteurized canned crabmeat, would be considered adulterated.

The FDA said the inspection also revealed deviations from the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods, including inadequate monitoring of cooler storage to control pathogen growth and toxin formation including Clostridium botulinum toxin.

– Plenus Group of Lowell, MA was warned that a February/March 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility revealed violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation so that its refrigerated clam chowder in reduced oxygen packaged bags would be considered adulterated.

– Meherrin Agricultural & Chemical of Severn, NC was warned that a November/December 2011 inspection of the company’s Hampton Farms Industrial peanut butter processing plant revealed violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods, such as using a band saw to cut the bottoms off customer-returned 18 oz. plastic jars of peanut butter.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

 

[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Global Disater Watch Report – Saturday March 31st, 2012

Earthquakes

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 30 23:33 PM
2.6 3.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern New Guinea Reg., P.n.g.
Mar 30 23:05 PM
4.9 47.0 MAP

GEOFON Eastern New Guinea Reg., P.n.g.
Mar 30 23:05 PM
5.1 10.0 MAP

USGS Eastern New Guinea Region, Papua New Guinea

Mar 30 23:05 PM
4.8 12.5 MAP

EMSC Dodecanese Islands, Greece
Mar 30 22:32 PM
2.9 4.0 MAP

EMSC Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Mar 30 22:02 PM
5.1 60.0 MAP

USGS Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 30 22:02 PM
5.1 43.7 MAP

GEOFON Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Mar 30 22:02 PM
5.0 10.0 MAP

USGS Central California
Mar 30 21:59 PM
2.5 6.1 MAP

EMSC Bulgaria
Mar 30 20:48 PM
4.0 3.0 MAP

USGS Hawaii Region, Hawaii
Mar 30 20:12 PM
2.7 14.2 MAP

USGS Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Mar 30 20:04 PM
4.8 31.6 MAP

EMSC Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Mar 30 20:04 PM
4.9 10.0 MAP

USGS Bougainville Region, Papua New Guinea
Mar 30 19:51 PM
5.2 45.7 MAP

EMSC Bougainville Region, P.n.g.
Mar 30 19:51 PM
5.2 40.0 MAP

GEOFON Solomon Islands
Mar 30 19:51 PM
5.1 10.0 MAP

EMSC Western Turkey
Mar 30 18:55 PM
2.5 16.0 MAP

GEONET Canterbury
Mar 30 18:54 PM
3.8 10.0 MAP

EMSC France
Mar 30 18:52 PM
2.6 2.0 MAP

USGS North Island Of New Zealand
Mar 30 18:47 PM
4.8 29.5 MAP

EMSC North Island Of New Zealand
Mar 30 18:47 PM
4.8 30.0 MAP

GEONET Wairarapa, New Zealand
Mar 30 18:47 PM
4.5 15.0 MAP

EMSC Chiapas, Mexico
Mar 30 18:16 PM
5.1 80.0 MAP

GEOFON Near Coast Of Chiapas, Mexico
Mar 30 18:16 PM
5.2 10.0 MAP

USGS Offshore Chiapas, Mexico
Mar 30 18:16 PM
5.4 40.4 MAP

EMSC Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia
Mar 30 17:39 PM
4.7 526.0 MAP

GEOFON Banda Sea
Mar 30 17:39 PM
4.5 519.0 MAP

USGS Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia
Mar 30 17:39 PM
4.6 519.4 MAP

EMSC Tonga
Mar 30 17:21 PM
4.9 60.0 MAP

USGS Tonga
Mar 30 17:21 PM
5.0 11.2 MAP

GEOFON Tonga Islands
Mar 30 17:21 PM
4.9 10.0 MAP

EMSC Poland
Mar 30 16:30 PM
2.9 2.0 MAP

EMSC Romania
Mar 30 15:55 PM
2.9 123.0 MAP

EMSC Aegean Sea
Mar 30 15:55 PM
2.7 5.0 MAP

EMSC Ukraine-romania-moldova Bdr Reg
Mar 30 15:25 PM
3.2 13.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 30 14:49 PM
2.6 10.0 MAP

GEOFON Chiapas, Mexico
Mar 30 14:38 PM
4.5 177.0 MAP

EMSC Veracruz, Mexico
Mar 30 14:38 PM
4.6 174.0 MAP

USGS Veracruz, Mexico
Mar 30 14:38 PM
4.6 136.7 MAP

USGS Northern Alaska
Mar 30 14:23 PM
3.3 20.0 MAP

EMSC Western Turkey
Mar 30 14:14 PM
2.4 5.0 MAP

EMSC Albania
Mar 30 13:45 PM
2.7 7.0 MAP

EMSC Albania
Mar 30 13:38 PM
2.4 7.0 MAP

GEONET Canterbury
Mar 30 13:31 PM
3.4 9.0 MAP

USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 12:54 PM
4.5 10.3 MAP

EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 12:54 PM
4.9 5.0 MAP

EMSC Greece
Mar 30 12:20 PM
2.4 15.0 MAP

GEOFON Greenland Sea
Mar 30 11:19 AM
4.7 10.0 MAP

USGS Greenland Sea
Mar 30 11:19 AM
4.9 9.9 MAP

EMSC Greenland Sea
Mar 30 11:19 AM
4.9 2.0 MAP

GEOFON Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 10:55 AM
5.0 10.0 MAP

EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 10:55 AM
5.2 10.0 MAP

USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 10:55 AM
5.1 9.9 MAP

EMSC Northern Algeria
Mar 30 10:43 AM
4.1 10.0 MAP

GEOFON Northern Algeria
Mar 30 10:42 AM
4.1 10.0 MAP

USGS Southern Alaska
Mar 30 10:18 AM
3.0 152.4 MAP

GEOFON Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 09:40 AM
4.7 45.0 MAP

EMSC Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 09:40 AM
4.7 40.0 MAP

USGS Near The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 09:40 AM
4.6 35.3 MAP

USGS Fiji Region
Mar 30 09:38 AM
5.3 595.9 MAP

GEOFON Fiji Islands Region
Mar 30 09:38 AM
5.0 596.0 MAP

GEONET Whanganui, New Zealand
Mar 30 09:32 AM
3.1 25.0 MAP

GEOFON Vanuatu Islands
Mar 30 08:56 AM
4.8 240.0 MAP

USGS Vanuatu
Mar 30 08:55 AM
4.9 125.8 MAP

EMSC Vanuatu
Mar 30 08:55 AM
4.9 126.0 MAP

EMSC Turkey-iran Border Region
Mar 30 08:28 AM
3.0 2.0 MAP

USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 08:24 AM
4.8 35.3 MAP I Felt It

EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 08:24 AM
4.8 35.0 MAP

EMSC Crete, Greece
Mar 30 08:12 AM
3.7 2.0 MAP

EMSC Turkey-iran Border Region
Mar 30 07:49 AM
2.9 7.0 MAP

USGS Southern California
Mar 30 07:38 AM
2.8 14.6 MAP

EMSC Maule, Chile
Mar 30 07:12 AM
4.7 38.0 MAP

USGS Maule, Chile
Mar 30 07:12 AM
4.7 38.3 MAP

GEONET Canterbury
Mar 30 07:10 AM
2.6 15.0 MAP

EMSC Aegean Sea
Mar 30 06:51 AM
2.7 7.0 MAP

EMSC Southeast Of Easter Island
Mar 30 06:19 AM
5.0 33.0 MAP

GEOFON Southeast Of Easter Island
Mar 30 06:19 AM
5.1 10.0 MAP

USGS Southeast Of Easter Island
Mar 30 06:19 AM
5.0 9.9 MAP

USGS Southern California
Mar 30 06:09 AM
3.3 15.1 MAP

USGS Puerto Rico Region
Mar 30 04:54 AM
3.3 69.4 MAP

USGS Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Mar 30 04:49 AM
2.9 43.8 MAP

EMSC Central Turkey
Mar 30 04:48 AM
3.2 20.0 MAP

GEOFON Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 04:38 AM
5.1 56.0 MAP

EMSC Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 04:38 AM
5.2 51.0 MAP

USGS Near The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 30 04:38 AM
5.1 36.7 MAP

USGS Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Mar 30 04:37 AM
2.7 50.0 MAP

USGS Central Alaska
Mar 30 03:53 AM
3.0 73.8 MAP

USGS Northern California
Mar 30 01:50 AM
2.6 1.8 MAP

EMSC Western Turkey
Mar 30 01:32 AM
3.0 7.0 MAP

EMSC Romania
Mar 30 00:56 AM
2.5 109.0 MAP

EMSC Hokkaido, Japan Region
Mar 30 00:52 AM
4.4 136.0 MAP

USGS Hokkaido, Japan Region
Mar 30 00:52 AM
4.4 138.3 MAP

SAN DIEGO, CA

The USGS confirmed a small earthquake struck San Diego County Thursday night. The quake struck with a magnitude of 3.3 and at a depth of 7 miles at 11:09 p.m. The epicenter of the earthquake was four miles south-southeast of the Palomar Observatory, 17 miles northeast of Escondido and 39 miles north-northeast of San Diego, according to a computer-generated USGS report. News stations in the area said they received over a dozen calls from concerned viewers who described the earthquake as very loud and said it was accompanied by three eerie booms. There were also reports of violent shaking. No injuries or damage was reported the tremor. No one in our generation remembers so many small tremors across the world triggering so many sonic booms. One has to wonder what is happening in the earth beneath our feet.

San Diego residents rattled by 3 loud booms, following tremor

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Volcanic Activity

Hawaii

KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW #1302-01-)
19°25’16” N 155°17’13” W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary for past 24 hours: The summit continued to inflate slowly while back-to-back DI events continued. Overnight, glow was visible within the Halema`uma`u gas plume and from sources within Pu`u `O`o crater. Surface flows continued to be active along the base of the pali advancing across the coastal plain but there was no ocean entry. Seismic tremor levels were low; gas emissions were elevated.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php

ALASKA

CLEVELAND VOLCANO (CAVW #1101-24-)
52°49’20” N 169°56’42” W, Summit Elevation 5676 ft (1730 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Satellite views from early this week suggest that a small lava dome has again extruded into the summit crater. AVO has received no other reports of activity at the volcano.

While the volcano remains active, sudden explosions of blocks and ash are likely. It is possible for associated ash clouds to exceed 20,000 feet above sea level. If a larger ash-producing event occurs, seismic, infrasound, or volcanic lightning networks should detect the event and alert AVO staff. There is no real-time seismic monitoring network on Mount Cleveland so AVO is unable to track activity in real time.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/activity/status.php

Mariana Islands

PAGAN VOLCANO (CAVW #0804-17=)
18°7’48” N 145°48′ E, Summit Elevation 1870 ft (570 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW

Clear to partly cloudy satellite images of Pagan show a gas and steam plume continued to extend downwind from the summit vent throughout the past week. The USGS received no further reports of unrest or activity at Pagan volcano.

Pagan Volcano is not monitored with ground-based geophysical instrumentation and the only sources of information are satellite observations and occasional reports from observers who pass by or visit the island. We will continue to evaluate satellite imagery, on-island, and mariner reports when they become available, but because the volcano is not monitored with ground-based instruments, we cannot provide advanced warning of activity.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/activity/status.php

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Extreme Temperatures

Record breaking warmth across the United States in March 2012

It is technically winter, and the United States is experiencing a weather pattern typically seen in early summer. Unseasonably warm temperatures have developed east of the Rocky Mountains and have extended north into Canada. Synoptically, or looking at the big picture, the weather pattern resembles a late May and early June pattern. More than 2,000 high temperature records have been tied or broken since March 1, 2012, and more are expected to be broken for the next couple of days, because the weather pattern is very slow to budge or move. What is causing this heat, and will this be a sign of a brutally hot summer?

Read Full Article Here

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Storms

Storm bringing more mountain snow in Washington

SEATTLE — It may be spring, but the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch through Thursday for the Olympics and Cascades.

Forecasters expect 1 to 2 feet of new snow, with more at higher elevations such as Mount Baker and less at the passes, although drivers are likely to be affected

Read Full Article Here

Small Hail In Thunderstorm Elkhart, Indiana March 30, 2012

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Solar Activity

Huge ‘Tornado’ Churns on Sun’s Surface – Close-Up Video

Uploaded by VideoFromSpace on Mar 28, 2012

A circular storm as wide as five Earths was captured churning on the Sun’s surface on Sept. 25, 2011, by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. Time-lapsed multiple filter views are looped in this video. – Original Music by Mark C. Petersen, Loch Ness Productions

Solar Watch [March 30 – April 7]

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Mysterious Booms / Rumblings

MILWAUKEE

Geological officials said Wednesday they are considering putting a seismometer in a Wisconsin city where a small earthquake was recorded last week after strong booms and rumblings shook residents once again.

♦ Clintonville booms: U.S. Geological Survey asks residents to report events to website

Clintonville police received 65 calls Tuesday night between 10:35 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. and another 19 calls came in between 3:25 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Clintonville Police Chief Terry Lorge said. Several of the booms were heard by officials at City Hall, he said.

Residents reported the most recent booming as the worst yet, city administrator Lisa Kuss said. Most of the previous calls came in from March 18 to March 20, when a 1.5-magnitude earthquake was detected by the U.S. Geological Survey. The calls had since decreased.

Read Full Article Here

Food Safety and Health News – Friday March 16th, 2012

Food Safety

The Hill: Dem presses USDA to ban ‘pink slime’ in school lunches

By Mike Lillis

A Maine Democrat is pressing the Obama administration to ban “pink slime” in school cafeterias.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/216109-dem-presses-usda-to-ban-pink-slime-in-school-lunches

Catering Service Focus of Ottawa Outbreak Probe

By Dan Flynn

Three of 16 children with laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections are being treated in Ottawa hospitals in an outbreak that has also sickened four adults.Health officials in Canada’s capital city investigating the outbreak have focused on a catering company called The Lunch…

Catering Service Focus of Ottawa Outbreak Probe

FDA Warning Letters:

By News Desk

From U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning letters posted March 13, 2012:Staples, Incorporated of Framingham, MA warned that an October/November 2011 inspection of the company’s Stockton, CA facility documented serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods,…

FDA Warning Letters: March 13, 2012

CDC: Outbreaks Linked to Imported Foods Increasing

By Helena Bottemiller

Foodborne illness outbreaks linked to imported food appeared to rise between 2009 and 2010, according to a new analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wednesday.CDC reported that half of the foods implicated in outbreaks were imported…

CDC: Outbreaks Linked to Imported Foods Increasing

Health

One US state is gagging doctors who want to tell you about the fracking chemicals in your blood

Pennsylvania, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed and where the U.S. coal, oil and nuclear industries began, has adopted what may be the most anti-democratic, anti-environmental law in the country, giving gas companies the right to drill anywhere, overturn local zoning laws, seize private property and muzzle physicians from disclosing specific health impacts from drilling fluids on patients.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/154459/fracking_democracy:_why_pennsylvania%27s_act_13_may_be_the_nation%27s_worst_corporate_giveaway_

Antibiotic May Reduce Time Patients Carry E. Coli

By Gretchen Goetz

Antibiotics are not usually recommended for treating E. coli infections; however one of these drugs showed promising results when given to victims of last year’s massive European outbreak linked to sprouts. Azithromycin, administered to patients to prevent the spread of meningitis,…

Antibiotic May Reduce Time Patients Carry E. Coli

Gastroenteritis Deaths Have Doubled

By Mary Rothschild

Most people erroneously call it “stomach flu” and think of it as an unpleasant nuisance, but the vomiting and diarrhea caused by inflammation of the stomach and intestines — gastroenteritis – can be lethal, and appears to be growing deadlier.The..

Gastroenteritis Deaths Have Doubled

O104:H4 Genome Sequencing Used to Kill the Bug

By Dan Flynn

The deadly pathogen known as E. coli O104:H4, which devastated northern Europe last year, can itself be killed, San Francisco-based AvidBiotics Corporation announced Wednesday.Dean Scholl, who leads a team of scientists from AvidBiotics and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said…

O104:H4 Genome Sequencing Used to Kill the Bug

CBO: Health law could cause as many as 20 million to lose employer coverage

By Julian Pecquet

As many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-provided coverage because of President Obama’s healthcare reform law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new report Thursday.

The figure represents the worst-case scenario, CBO says, and the law could just as well increase employer coverage by 3 million people in 2019.

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/216223-cbo-millions-of-americans-could-lose-their-employer-coverage

Monsanto’s Roundup is Killing Human Kidney Cells

Anthony Gucciardi, News Report:

“Monsanto’s ‘biopesticide’ known as Bt is not only developing mutated insects and requiring excessive pesticide use, but new findings show that it is also killing human kidney cells — even in low doses. Amazingly, Monsanto’s superweed-breeding Roundup also has the same effect. Scientists have demonstrated in new research that the Bt pesticide, in addition to Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup, exhibit direct toxicity to human cells.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/monsanto-s-roundup-killing-human-kidney-cells-1331826999

Plan to Cut Benefits for Injured Federal Workers Stirs Concern

Jim Morris, News Analysis:

“The measure, championed by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is included in a postal reform bill that may come up for a vote this month. Collins said it would stamp out abuses while saving money. Officials with federal employees’ unions say the legislation would unfairly punish victims of workplace violence and other traumatic injuries — and their families. Under the proposal, compensation would be capped at 50 percent of pre-injury pay for FECA recipients at age 65.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/plan-cut-benefits-injured-federal-workers-stirs-concern-1331824363

Holistic Health

Honey, I killed the superbug

by: John Stapleton

Australian researchers have been astonished to discover a cure-all right under their noses — a honey sold in health food shops as a natural medicine. Far from being an obscure health food with dubious healing qualities…

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/honey-i-killed-the-superbug/story-fna7dq6e-1225737035676

FDA petition to label GMOs nears one million signatures – sign it today!

By Jonathan Benson,

(NaturalNews) Only a few more weeks remain before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stops accepting public comments about a petition filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) seeking the FDA’s compliance with requiring mandatory labeling of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). And with more than 850,000 comments already submitted, according to Just Label It!, truth in labeling advocates everywhere are hopeful that the petition will reach its target of at least 1,000,000 signatures by…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035223_GMO_labeling_petition.html

Gluten attacks the brain and damages the nervous system

By Sarka-Jonae Miller,

(NaturalNews) Some people are literally stumbling through life thinking they are a klutz when really gluten is to blame. Before gastrointestinal symptoms like upset stomach appear, neurological damage may already be done, according to the Center for Peripheral Neuropathy. The Gluten Free Society calls gluten a “potential neurotoxin.” Gluten damage may cause everything from unexplained dizziness to numbness in the hands and feet. Gluten ataxiaApproximately 10 percent of people with Celiac disease…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035224_gluten_nervous_system_brain_damage.html

World renowned heart surgeon renounces mainstream heart health practice

By Paul Fassa,

(NaturalNews) It is very encouraging to see a mainstream medicine insider with impressive credentials come out and confirm what some of us outsiders have known for a while. Dr. Dwight Lundell has been a heart specialist MD and surgeon for 25 years, having performed 5,000 open heart surgeries. He was Chief Surgeon at the Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa, AZ, and he ran a successful private practice. This is how he begins his personal testimony: “We physicians with all our training, knowledge and…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035226_heart_surgeon_statin_drugs_health.html

Bye-bye allergy head – Six tips for easy breathing this allergy season

By Kelly Pepper, D.C.,

(NaturalNews) Spring – what a beautiful time of the year, unless this means suffering with hay fever, itchy eyes, itchy skin, runny nose or asthma. Fortunately there are some simple, natural strategies to use instead of antihistamines or steroids (which actually worsen the underlying problems that are causing the allergies). 1. Boost the immune systemWhen we talk about allergies, boosting the immune system is integral to relief. Eliminate things that can weaken the immune system such as high sugar…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035227_allergy_season_breathing_remedies.html

FDA admits mercury in cosmetic products is extremely toxic – so how is it safe in dental fillings, vaccines?

By Ethan A. Huff,

(NaturalNews) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an updated warning about skin care products that may contain mercury, including many anti-aging, smoothing, skin-lightening, and beauty lotions and creams sold at ethnic beauty shops and online. Some of the tainted personal care products, most of which are imported, have been found to contain mercury levels far higher than acceptable limits, including one product that reportedly contained 131,000 times the acceptable limit of mercury…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035229_cosmetic_products_mercury_toxicity.html

New Jersey children nearly poisoned to death with pharmacy fluoride pills

By Ethan A. Huff,

(NaturalNews) More than a dozen families in New Jersey were shocked to learn recently that some of the supposed fluoride pills they had received from a CVS/pharmacy in Chatham were actually tamoxifen pills, a chemotherapy drug used to treat breast cancer. ABC News reports that an unknown error resulted in some of these families administering this chemotherapy medication to their children rather than the fluoride pills, a monumental error that could have life-threatening consequences. The Chatham…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035230_fluoride_pills_poison_children.html

Nutrition Alert for Patriots – urgent infographic released by NaturalNews

By Mike Adams,

(NaturalNews) We’ve just published a new infographic with an urgent health message for patriots — and by “patriots” I mean anyone who believes in America as a nation of free people… Constitutional America, with its Bill of Rights intact and respected. This infographic reveals a recipe for greatly improved health, vitality and longevity by following a few simple guidelines. It covers toxic foods and products to avoid, nutritional sources that boost courage and energy, and even tips on surviving…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035231_Nutrition_patriots_infographic.html

Whey protein and lactose intolerance

By Derrell Jones,

(NaturalNews) Many people are interested in shedding fat and building lean muscle essentially sculpting their bodies into works of art or maybe looking for a slimmed down version of their current selves. The benefits of being a little leaner these days help with many conditions such has diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular health and cholesterol to name a few. After all, sculpting lean muscle is the surest way to sustained, long term weight loss with the added benefit of increased health. One of the…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035233_whey_protein_lactose_intolerance_powder.html

Vitamin D found to shrink fibroid tumors

By Jonathan Benson,

(NaturalNews) Each year, roughly 200,000 women undergo a surgical procedure that involves the removal of their uteruses due to the growth of non-cancerous tumors known as uterine fibroids, which commonly develop in and around the walls of the uterus. But a new study published online in the journal Biology of Reproduction has found that vitamin D may effectively reduce the size of existing uterine fibroids, and may even help prevent them from forming in the first place. For their study, Sunil K…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035234_vitamin_D_fibroids_tumors.html

Agriculture

California Farming Communities Threatened by Nitrate Pollution

By James Andrews

A quarter-million residents of California’s Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley may be drinking water contaminated with nitrate from fertilizer and animal manure, according to a study released Tuesday by a researchers at the University of California, Davis. As a result,…

California Farming Communities Threatened by Nitrate Pollution

How the FBI MonitoredOrganic Farmers’ Market Under the Guise of Combating Terrorism:

The FBI conducted a three-year investigation, of activists for no apparent reason aside from the fact that they were anarchists, or protested the war in Iraq, or were “militant feminists.” Here’s the file.

http://gawker.com/5892639/how-the-fbi-monitored-crusty-punks-anarchist-hangouts-and-an-organic-farmers-market-under-the-guise-of-combating-terrorism

Pet Health

Three Main Brands Tied to Illnesses from Chicken Dog Treats

By Mary Rothschild

Nestle Purina PetCare Co.’s Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch jerky treats or tenders, and the Del Monte Corp.’s Milo’s Kitchen Home-style Dog Treats were the brand names most often cited by pet owners and veterinarians in complaints to the…

Three Main Brands Tied to Chicken Dog Treat Illnesses