Food Safety
Pesticide Residue Rankings: Apples and Celery Worst, Onions and Corn Best
They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but the nutritious, fiber-rich fruit has again earned the number one spot in the Environmental Working Group’s annual “Dirty Dozen,” a report that lists the fruits and vegetables most often carrying pesticide residues. On the other end of the spectrum, onions have again topped the group’s “Clean 15” report.
Celery, sweet bell peppers, peaches, strawberries follow in the “Dirty Dozen” report, while sweet corn, pineapples and avocados are the next highest ranked among the “Clean 15.”
Both rankings appear in EWG’s 8th annual “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce” released today.
The ranking system is based on the group’s analysis of more than than 60,700 samples taken from 2000 to 2010 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The consumer guide, however, does not include the pesticide contamination levels, nearly all of which were found to be below federal tolerance thresholds.
Most toxicology experts, nutritionists, and federal health officials agree that the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of low level pesticide exposure.
When USDA released the most recent round of its pesticide testing data last month, the Agriculture Marketing Service said the findings confirmed that “food does not pose a safety concern based upon pesticide residues.”
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Pesticide Residue Common In Fruits, Veggies and Baby Food
Apples, peaches, nectarine and grapes are on “The Dirty Dozen” list of produce with high levels of pesticide residue, while cabbage, corn and sweet potatoes make the “Clean Fifteen” list with low levels, according to the eighth annual Shoppers Guide To Pesticides In Produce, published today by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
“Our shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce gives consumers easy, affordable ways to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while avoiding most of the bug killers, fungicides and other chemicals in produce and other foods,” EWG president Ken Cook said in a statement.
To compile the guide, EWG researchers looked at ten years of data from annual U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pesticide residue tests conducted between 2000 and 2010. The produce samples were washed or peeled prior to testing so the rankings would reflect the level of chemicals present food when is it eaten.
In 2010, 68 percent food samples studied had detectable amounts of pesticide residue. Other findings include:
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Indiana Holding ‘Virtual Public Hearing’ on Raw Milk Sales
Driving to Indianapolis for a public hearing about raw milk in the heat of the season is probably the last thing Hoosiers want to do this summer.
Instead the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) is conducting a three month long “virtual public hearing” on the sale of raw milk. The virtual public hearing got under way June 1 and will not be over until the first of September.
The Indiana General Assembly gave health board’s 11 members, including six veterinarians, the job of studying raw milk over the summer. BOAH has a December 1 deadline for submitting its report in order for it to be in time for the 2013 session of the General Assembly.
“As we began planning our strategy for writing this report, we wanted to find a way for every Hoosier to participate,” said Terry Philibeck, BOAH’s dairy division manager. “Because attending public hearings can be a challenge to busy schedules and people geographically scattered across the state, we decided to host a ‘virtual’ public hearing to gather input.”
Indiana’s current law prohibits the sale of raw milk for human consumption. Before it opted to make raw milk the subject of an interim study, the Indiana Senate passed a bill to allow on farm sales by licensed producers with no more than 20 cows.
Public health officials have long opposed the commercial sale of raw milk in favor of pasteurized milk for its safety. However, raw milk has developed a cult-following in recent years that many small dairies would like to satisfy because retail prices of raw milk are much higher than those of pasteurized milk.
Bill Proposes Tougher Enforcement for Organic Label
A bill that would put some teeth into federal organic food law was introduced Tuesday by a bipartisan pair of representatives from opposite sides of the country.
Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) and Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY), introduced the legislative to ensure that products carrying the USDA’s organic seal comply with the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act.
Their newly proposed Organic Standards Protection Act contains the following provisions:
– Grants USDA the authority to stop the sale of products fraudulently labeled and sold as certified organic while protecting the rights of producers and handlers during the appeals process.
– Streamlines recordkeeping requirements by mandating that all organic producers and certifiers to maintain and provide records to the USDA to improve its investigative process and enforcement efforts.
– Grants USDA the power to impose civil penalties up to $10,000 for those who violate the USDA revocation of an organic certification.
The California Certified Organic Farmers, the Organic Trade Association, and the National Organic Coalition support the legislation.
Senate Farm Bill ‘Vote-o-rama’ Rejects Catfish Inspection Program
Few food safety measures among Senate’s 73 farm bill amendments
The Senate was hard at work Tuesday considering dozens of farm bill amendments in an hours-long “vote-o-rama” that included repealing a 2008 farm bill provision to create a catfish inspection program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Unless the House decides that the program — which the Government Accountability Office has deemed duplicative and an inefficient use of resources — deserves saving, this special office within the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will likely not be created.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) spoke on the floor in support of the amendment, which was introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Kerry said the program was wasteful and should never have been included in the last farm bill.
“This would be entirely duplicative, a waste of time, hurt consumers, and hurt processors,” he said, adding that there would be no food safety benefit from the program.
Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Arkansas, a catfish-producing state, offered “the other side of the story.”
“It’s important that we inspect these fish as they come in because they aren’t grown in the same sanitary conditions as we have in the United States,” said Pryor. “They use different herbicides and pesticides and they have different pollutants. In fact we’ve seen documented cases where they’ve been raised in sewage water, water contaminated with sewage.”
According to the GAO, the USDA’s inspection program would have focused on Salmonella, not chemical or drug residues.
The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
Doctors Promote Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Drinks
Sugary drinks were again the target of anti-obesity efforts this week as the American Medical Association threw its support behind a tax on these beverages.
At the AMA annual meeting Wednesday, members of the organization – the largest physician group in the country – voted to adopt a policy that promotes taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages.
A growing body of research has linked added sugars to higher body weight and to health conditions associated with being overweight, such as Type II diabetes. Sugar sweetened beverages account for approximately half of Americans’ added sugar intake, according to AMA.
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Recalls
Hannaford Supermarkets Recall Cookies for Undeclared Egg
Hannaford Supermarkets is recalling Mini Frosted Cookies that contain egg but do not declare that ingredient on the label.
Product details:
Anyone with an allergy or sensitivity to eggs who purchased this product can return it to the store for a full refund.
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NY Firm Recalls Improperly Produced Fish
A New York City-based company is recalling dried bream fish imported from Russia because the fish was processed in a way that puts it at risk for Clostridium botulinum contamination.
Euphoria Fancy Foods Inc. of Brooklyn issued a
voluntary recall of the dried bream after a routine inspection by state officials revealed that the fish had not been properly eviscerated. Evisceration, or complete removal of the gut, is required under New York State Agriculture and Markets regulations because Clostridium botulinum spores are most likely to be concentrated in the fish’s intestine.
Botulism – the illness caused by Clostridium botulinum bacteria – can lead to paralysis and in some cases death.
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Articles of Interest
Lawsuit Filed in Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Unpasteurized Tempeh
The first lawsuit has been filed against the North Carolina tempeh producer and the online spore culture retailer responsible for a Salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 89 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and New York earlier this year.
The lawsuit was filed jointly by Asheville, NC law firm Roberts & Stevens and food safety law firm Marler Clark, which underwrites Food Safety News. The firms represent a Florida woman who was hospitalized after eating contaminated Smiling Hara tempeh on March 19 during a vacation to Asheville.
Top Level Biosecurity Lab to Move to Kansas If Approved
Government faces hitch in moving Plum Island, NY facility to Manhattan, KS
Nobody ever said moving “Plum Island” to Kansas was going to be easy or cheap.
But until that move can occur, Homeland Security won’t have its state-of-the-art facility for combating biological threats to the United States.
Plans for the lab have been in the works since shortly after 9/11. The groundwork has been laid by government documents, including Presidential Directive 9: Defense of United States Agriculture and Food (January 2004); National Security Strategy for Countering Biological Threats (November 2009); and the Congressional Report, “The Clock is Ticking.”
All point to the need for speed in “developing the capability to produce vaccines and therapeutics rapidly and inexpensively.”
Now the project has reached a critical point as a
second National Research Council report to Congress says Department of Homeland Security plans for the “National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility” (NBAF) proposed for Manhattan, KS are much improved since 2010, but not yet up to snuff.
Good News For World Chicken Flock
From a bird flu vaccination in Egypt to advances in probiotics for poultry by scientists in Spain and Finland, it’s a good news week for chicken researchers around the world.
In Egypt, where bird flu has been a problem lately, the National Research Center in Cairo announced it has come up with a vaccine that is effective for chickens and can be updated to meet genetic medications.
The HSN1 bird flu virus first hit Egypt in 2006, causing the country to lose 60 million chickens since then. Imported vaccines came at a high cost. The new Egyptian vaccine will sell in lots of 100 for about $60.
Meanwhile researchers in Spain and Finland aiming to cut down on transmission of foodborne diseases from poultry have found that probiotic products used by humans can reduce the growth of Campylobacter in the digestive tracts of chickens.
Probiotics are live microorganisms thought to be beneficial to the host organism. They are often contained in fermented foods, like yogurt, soy, or dietary supplements.
Traveling Abroad? Be Careful What You Bring Back
The USDA is reminding overseas travelers that they should be careful when bringing products back into the United States. Many invasive species have hitched a ride on agricultural products. Then they can wreak havoc on native plants. You must declare all agricultural items to Customs and Border Protection Officers at customs.
This is a general list of the items that are you are allowed to bring into the country, but should still be declared:
- Condiments
- Oil
- Vinegar
- Mustard
- Catsup
- Pickles
- Syrup
- Honey (without honey combs)
- Jelly
- Jam
- Bakery items
- Candy
- Chocolate
- Hard cured cheeses without meat
- Canned goods
- Vacuum packed jars (other than those with meat, poultry products, and certain dairy products)
- Fish or fish products
- Powdered drinks sealed in original containers
- Dry mixes that are commercially labeled, such as baking mixes, potato flakes, cocoa mixes, drink mixes, and infant formula.
Depending on the country of origin, you may be able to bring back:
- Some fresh fruits and vegetables
- Animal products and by-products
- Plants and plant parts for planting
- Cut flowers
- Firewood
- Miscellaneous agricultural products
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New Antitoxin Targets Many Pathogens
A team of researchers at Tufts University has developed a powerful and efficient way to weaken toxins and clear them from the body.
Toxins produced by dangerous bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum or certain strains of E. coli can cause serious damage or even death if allowed to take their course. Current strategies for combating these toxins involve the use of multiple antibodies derived from immune animals. Such therapies can pose health risks such as serum sickness and unknown viruses, and are expensive to produce. Other toxin-neutralizing approaches stop immediate illness but generally do not clear the toxin from the body.
Now scientists at Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine have developed a strategy in which a single, cloned antibody is directed to multiple places on the targeted toxin, resulting in a stronger attack on the toxin along with the ability to flush it from the system.
“So we’re getting the benefit of both neutralization and clearance but we’re doing it with much more simple and defined reagents,” explained lead researcher Charles Shoemaker, a professor of Biomedical Sciences in the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, in an interview with Food Safety News.
The study – published in
PLoS ONE online journal earlier this year – focused on targeting botulinum neurotoxins, which cause paralysis, usually starting in the eyes and face and progressing down through the body. The toxin comes from Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which can be transmitted via food or open wounds, and is considered to be one of the most dangerous potential agents of bioterrorism.
The strategy developed by the team was able to prevent symptoms of botulism in infected mice, as well as tag the toxins for removal from the mice’s bodies.
Advocates Launch New Campaign to Combat Antibiotics in Ag
Poll finds most consumers want antibiotic-free meat at the grocery store
Advocacy groups are ramping up their push to reduce antibiotics in meat production with a new consumer campaign and another lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Consumer Reports released a new poll Wednesday that found that 86 percent of consumers think meat raised without antibiotics should be available in their local grocery store. More than 60 percent of those polled said they would be willing to pay at least five cents more and 37 percent said they would be willing to pay a dollar or more extra per pound for antibiotic-free meat. The 1,000 person poll has a margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
The group released their findings along with a report on the “overuse” of antibiotics in animal agriculture and announced a new “Meat Without Drugs” campaign to pressure retailers into selling antibiotic-free meats.
The Natural Resources Defense Council also sued FDA again this week — the group has been part of multiple lawsuits and has two recent court victories — seeking access to agency risk assessments documents that looked at the human health risk posed by antibiotics in animal feed. NRDC said it is suing FDA after it “failed to respond in a timely fashion to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”
Public health advocates have been frustrated by what they believe is too slow a response to an urgent public health threat. Around 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States each year are given to food animals to boost growth as well as treat and prevent disease and scientists have long known that all antibiotic use, whether in medicine or agriculture, fuels antibiotic resistance, which can make diseases harder to treat.
County Approves Food Code after Testimony from Young E. coli Victim
Jacob Goswick, 13, helps persuade officials to update food standards
When Arizona’s Yavapai County Board of Supervisors were first asked to consider approving the 2009 FDA Food Code on June 4, two of the three board members spoke strongly against it. They characterized the code, which introduced five new regulations for the food industry, as an example of overreaching government control.
One rule in particular — a provision requiring that children’s menu hamburgers be cooked well-done — received targeted criticism. Board member Carol Springer said that the government shouldn’t decide what a parent orders for a child.
“Do we have a lot of kids getting sick in Yavapai County from eating rare hamburgers?” asked board member Chip Davis.
County health officials said they could not say for certain, as the majority of foodborne illnesses go unreported.
But they did know of one county resident with a compelling food poisoning story: 13-year-old Jacob Goswick, a Prescott, AZ resident who fell seriously ill with E. coli O157:H7 in the 2006 bagged spinach outbreak at the age of 8.
Along with his mother, Juliana, Jacob spoke before the board at its June 19 meeting to share his experience of being hospitalized at Phoenix Children’s Hospital for two months, a time that included one month on dialysis due to complete kidney failure, he said.
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No Need for Labeling, Just Test GMOs First, Says AMA
About 1 in 4 of the nearly one million physicians in the U.S. still belong to the American Medical Association, but at its 161st House of Delegates meeting in Chicago, the AMA found a way to remain relevant.
It weighed into the policy debate over genetically modified foods, and made both sides mad. AMA called for mandatory pre-market safety testing for all GMO foods. However, it also supported continued use of genetically engineered ingredients in food and beverage products with no need for labeling GMO products.
Consumer Union’s Michael Hansen commended AMA for coming out for mandatory pre-market safety assessments, but remained disappointed about the group’s stance on labeling. Meanwhile, the Grocery Manufacturers Association immediately put out a statement commending AMA for its continued use of genetically engineered ingredients.
“Today’s action is in line with the position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and numerous regulatory and scientific bodies that agree that foods and beverages that contain GE ingredients are safe and materially no different than those foods that do not contain GE ingredients,” said the GMA statement.
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