Listeria is a bacterial infection, which is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and their unborn children. A news article on MyFox8.com describes how a North Carolina pregnant woman, who battled this disease and almost lost both her life and that of her baby, is now lobbying for stronger governmental food safety regulations. The mother contracted Listeria from cheese and delivered her daughter... [more]

Whether it’s a Food Safety Inspection Service recall notice or an improvement in the safety evaluation techniques for the nation’s school lunch program, the government as well as producers are apparently beginning to realize the urgency associated with food safety. Foodborne illness outbreaks, whether they are associated with bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella or any other host of food poisoning... [more]

The South Dakota Argus Leader recently published an article entitled “Officials Wary of Agri-Terrorism,” which discussed the state’s readiness for an agri-terrorism attack. When people normally think of terrorism, they think of 9-11 scenarios. However, terrorists could potentially utilize the U.S. food supply as a weapon of mass destruction. The article describes how South Dakota has developed... [more]

Good news for a change. USA Today reported that changes are being made to the standards established for testing of beef bought by the USDA for the National School Lunch Program. The changes will focus around stricter testing of beef for bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. According to the planned changes, beef will be sampled in fifteen minute intervals as it moves through the production... [more]

Two companies, Ecolab and AvidBiotics, are cooperating to develop new food safety techniques associated with preventing foodborne illness bacteria in red meat. The companies are currently working specifically with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. E. coli bacteria is a foodborne illness which can cause diarrhea, nausea, and other food poisoning symptoms. E. coli prevention is especially important as it can... [more]

Louisiana politicians and oyster industry lobbyists converged on Capital Hill this week. The Louisiana oyster industry is battling a potential FDA regulation that would impact oyster production. In November 2009, Louisiana lawmakers successfully petitioned for a postponement of these bans. Check out one of my earlier blogs on this subject. The FDA is concerned with a possible bacterial infection known... [more]

As today’s food marketplace becomes increasingly international, consumers profit from a culturally diverse array of food items as well as lower prices.  U.S. consumers benefit from imported shellfish, meat, poultry, eggs, as well as fruits and vegetables.  According to the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), in 2008, the U.S. imported over 3 billion pounds of meat and poultry.  Additionally,... [more]

Yesterday, the FDA named Michael R. Taylor as the new Deputy Commissioner for Foods. This is a newly created position within the brand new “Office of Foods”.  Mr. Taylor will be responsible for overseeing the FDA’s various food and nutrition programs. No doubt qualified for this position, Taylor is a nationally recognized food safety expert, author, lawyer and professor who has held various... [more]

The FDA has been pretty busy the past few weeks. The regulatory agency recently filed a lawsuit to prevent, a New Jersey cheese manufacturer from making food ever again. The permanent injunction came in response to continued cleanliness issues and repeated positive tests for Listeria. Shortly after the announcement of the injunction against the cheese maker, a Denver catering company was almost shut... [more]

LSG Sky Chefs, a catering company that prepares food for major airlines, says a warning by the FDA was serious enough to overhaul its Denver facility after FDA inspectors found large numbers of living as well as dead roaches and also found the presence of the deadly Listeria bacteria.    The FDA warned LSG Sky Chefs that the company it could be barred from selling food to the airlines at the Denver... [more]