Health Law

Salmonella Panama: Del Monte's Dilemma

Posted on March 31, 2011
Cantaloupes grown in Guatemala have been blamed for a baker's dozen of Salmonella Panama illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and various state health authorities.CDC, which released an updated tally Tuesday (March 29th), reports that the 13 outbreak victims fell ill between Feb...

More Suspected Cases of Zeppole-Linked Salmonella

Posted on March 31, 2011
The number of suspected Salmonella infections associated with pastries made by a Rhode Island bakery is up to 43, the state's health department reported Wednesday.Health officials said 22 of the cases have been lab-confirmed and 22 people have been hospitalized...

World Food Supplies Monitored for Radioactivity

Posted on March 31, 2011
Governments are stepping up scrutiny of domestic food and water supplies as radioactive material spreads from the country's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it was increasing its nationwide monitoring of milk, precipitation, drinking water and other potential sources of nuclear exposure...

Biotech Alfalfa Puts Spotlight on Coexistence

Posted on March 31, 2011
Call him the "co-existence kid," if you will. He won't mind. In fact, he readily dubs himself "a poster child for co-existence."He's Don Cameron, manager of Terranova Ranch, a nearly 5,500-acre farm near Fresno, CA. As manager, he oversees the production of a wide swath of conventional, organic and biotech crops, among them tomatoes, alfalfa, carrots, corn, vegetable-seeds, cotton, grains, and garlic...

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Wisconsin Pediatricians Speak Out Against Raw Milk

Posted on March 31, 2011
The Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP) has again voiced "strong opposition" to bills that would legalize the sale of unpasteurized milk in Wisconsin, saying the measures put children at risk."Simply put, this legislation would endanger kids," said Dr...

More Whey Protein Powder Recalled

Posted on March 31, 2011
A California-based company is recalling some of its whey protein products due to a risk that they may be contaminated with Salmonella. This most recent recall comes after two other recalls of whey powder in the past two weeks from companies in Georgia and New Jersey...

Smoked Salmon Recalled for Possible Listeria

Posted on March 31, 2011
A New York company is recalling a batch of Norwegian smoked salmon because of potential contamination by Listeria monocytogenes.The Smokehouse of Mamaroneck, NY, said the recalled smoked salmon was sold on March 7, 2011 under the brand Portier Fine Foods in various sized packages, including 4 oz...

Cantaloupe Outbreak Total Now 13 in Five States

Posted on March 30, 2011
A Colorado resident is the 13th person to be confirmed infected with an outbreak strain of Salmonella Panama tied to cantaloupe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.In its investigation update, the CDC said 12 of the 13 who are infected reported eating cantaloupe in the week before they became ill...

Drug, Chemical Residues Get More FSIS Attention

Posted on March 30, 2011
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has decided to tweak procedures it follows in monitoring for the chemical residues left by animal drugs.  It is going to take more names, and do more testing.In two separate instructional notices, FSIS addresses how it plans to collect more producer information and what public health veterinarians will do when there are multiple violations from same source suppliers...

Listeria Concern Prompts Deli Potato Salad Recall

Posted on March 30, 2011
Price Chopper Supermarkets is voluntarily recalling potato salad sold in its deli section because of a possibility that it may be contaminated with Listeria.According to a news release issued Tuesday by the company, the "Regular Homestyle Potato Salad' was sold by the pound in the stores' delis between Saturday, March 19 and Monday, March 28...

One Dead, 38 Ill from Salmonella Linked to Pastry

Posted on March 30, 2011
One man has died and there are now 38 other cases of suspected Salmonella infections in the Rhode Island outbreak linked to Italian pastries from a Johnston bakery.The Rhode Island Health Department said Tuesday that the man who died March 23 was a Providence County resident in his 80s...

EU Hits Roadblock Over Animal Clones

Posted on March 30, 2011
Despite on all-night session March 28 spent wrangling over the contentious issue of  food from cloned animals and their offspring in the European Union marketplace, it was a "no-go" for a compromise.The goal had been to come up with an agreement that could be used to update the EU's Novel Foods Regulation, which was crafted in 1997 before technologies such as cloning and nanotechnology emerged on the scene...

Audit Chides USDA for Approving Tainted Eggs

Posted on March 30, 2011
The U.S. government's "right hand" was grading and okaying egg shipments while its "left hand" was testing for and finding Salmonella contamination.   And the right hand had no idea what the left hand was doing.That pretty well sums up the findings of USDA's Inspector General, who was brought in to scrutinize the Nov...

Arnica Mislabeled as Spice is Recalled

Posted on March 29, 2011
A New Jersey spice company is recalling arnica products saying the label states "use to enhance the flavor of your favorite dish" when it should have read "recommended for external use only."NAC Foods Corporation of Palisades Park announced its voluntary recall of Mi Pepito Arnica Flower and Stem Arnica on the U...

Listeria Up 19 Percent in EU; Salmonella Down

Posted on March 29, 2011
In 2009, European Union countries experienced a 19 percent increase in Listeria infections, which caused 270 deaths.  At the same time, the EU marked the fifth straight year of reductions in Salmonella illnesses.The European Food Safety Authority and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported on the foodborne illness trends from 27 EU member states for 2009, the most recent year for the data...

Zeppole Outbreak: Why So Many Hospitalized?

Posted on March 29, 2011
As of Monday, the Rhode Island Department of Health reports 33 possible cases of Salmonella with 17 hospitalized in an outbreak linked to holiday pastries called zeppole. (Tuesday update: 39 ill including one fatality; 24 hospitalized.)Having over one third of victims in a Salmonella outbreak require hospitalization is a rarity...

Study Suggests Less Salmonella in Organic Chicken

Posted on March 29, 2011
The prevalence of fecal Salmonella and anti-microbial Salmonella is lower in certified-organic broiler chickens than in chickens that are conventionally raised, according to a study recently published in the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease...

Beef Companies Opt to Settle It Among Themselves

Posted on March 29, 2011
Not much of the story behind the story of the 2008 Nebraska Beef recalls was ever going to see the light of day anyway.But in another month-- when U.S. Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett III gets all the papers collected, signed, and filed--a federal court case over responsibility for the recalls of upward of 6...

FDA Meeting: Do Food Dyes Cause Hyperactivity?

Posted on March 29, 2011
When Bobby comes home from school bouncing off the walls, his parents could attribute his behavior to a number of factors: pent-up energy, overstimulation, or maybe a behavioral disorder. But is it possible that dyes in the foods he's eating could be contributing to his rowdiness? On Wednesday, the U...

Suspect Bologna Went to BJ's, Walmart

Posted on March 28, 2011
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has released a list of retail establishments that may have bologna possibly contaminated with E. coli and that has been recalled by Palmyra Bologna Company.  The bologna, which is thought to be responsible for at least 14 confirmed illnesses in Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, was distributed to the following stores and states:--    BJ's Wholesale Club (New Jersey): 1910 Deptford Center Road (Deptford NJ), and 152 Route 73 (Voorhees, NJ)--    BJ's Wholesale Club (North Carolina):  2370 Walnut St...

Recalled 'Toxic Waste' Brand Gum May Contain Lead

Posted on March 28, 2011
A company that markets imported candy under the "Toxic Waste" brand name is having more problems with lead in its products.Circle City Marketing and Distributing, doing business as Candy Dynamics, of Indianapolis, IN, has issued a voluntary recall of Toxic Waste® Short Circuits? Bubble Gum...

Call for Nominations to USDA Biotech Committee

Posted on March 28, 2011
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has issued a request for nominations to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st century Agriculture (AC21). The committee will provide the USDA with practical recommendations on how to incorporate agricultural biotechnology alongside existing agricultural methods...

Extra $100 Million for Canada's Food Inspection

Posted on March 28, 2011
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is getting an extra $100 million to improve food inspection capacity over the next five years.  But the union president representing CFIA employees says the agency's 2011-12 budget is also being cut by $30 million...

Rhode Island Hunts Bakeries for Bad Zeppole

Posted on March 28, 2011
The Rhode Island Department of Health's state laboratories were working over the weekend to pinpoint the exact source of the Salmonella infections that have apparently made 25 people sick and put 10 (corrected from 13 originally reported) in the hospital...

Melons Stand Out As Produce Safety Problem

Posted on March 28, 2011
As the result of a recall of about 4,000 cartons of Del Monte melons (about 60,000 melons) in March of 2011, we are again reminded of the risks due to Salmonella associated with melons. At this time, the exposure seems limited, and apparently traceability worked; the reported number of ill stand at a little more than two dozen cases...

Letter From The Editor: 'Good Death'

Posted on March 27, 2011
We've been asking a lot of questions about radiation during the past two weeks because there is a lot of interest in the subject.  This past week we've seen the United States, through the Food and Drug Administration, and other countries halt food shipments from some areas of Japan...

Outbreak in Rhode Island Linked to Pastries

Posted on March 27, 2011
A foodborne illness investigation in Rhode Island has prompted a recall of cream-filled baked goods suspected as the cause of a Salmonella outbreak that may involve at least 19 people,  the state's Department of Health reported Saturday.In a news release, the Rhode Island Department of Health said nine of the 19 people have tested positive for Salmonella and 13 people have been hospitalized...

Publisher's Platform: GOP's Love for Lawyers

Posted on March 27, 2011
You really have to wonder about Republicans. They always say they hate those damn ambulance-chasing trial lawyers but, short of sending flowers, defunding food safety is the best gift ever.Cutting the budgets for the CDC, FDA and FSIS will only mean more food poisoning outbreaks, more illnesses, more lawsuits, and more money in my pocket --  to give to Democrats who want to drive foodborne illness down...

Egg Farmer May Face Punitive Damages

Posted on March 26, 2011
An Iowa egg producer at the center of last year's nationwide outbreak of Salmonella may face punitive damages, a federal judge ruled Friday.U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett said plaintiffs suing Austin J. "Jack" DeCoster have a legal basis for pursuing punitive damages if they can prove conditions at his egg facility and the record of conditions at his other farms demonstrate a "willful and wanton" pattern contributing to the contamination that sickened at least 1,939 people and led to a recall of more than 500 million eggs...

Louisville Mayor to Hear JBS Ammonia Leak Concerns

Posted on March 25, 2011
The anhydrous ammonia leak Wednesday at the JBS pork plant in the Butchertown neighborhood east of Louisville's downtown was called "an extremely scary industrial accident" by a local resident leader who plans to meet with Mayor Greg Fischer on Saturday...

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