Wednesday, the House of Representatives failed to get enough votes to fast track food legislation bill HR2749. Fast tracking would have passed the bill, under the suspension of House rules, with limited debate and no amendments. The supermajority was missed by only a few votes. By Thursday, proponents of HR2749 reintroduced the bill with only minor changes and the resolution was passed with a supermajority... [more]

Scientists at Missouri State University and Davidson University have created a biocomputer using E. coli bacteria as the computer’s processor. The E. coli were able to compute a solution to the Hamiltonian Path Problem, a complex problem where the challenge is to route a path on a graph from beginning to end, visiting each point only once. The scientists accomplished this feat by programming a genetic... [more]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 28th, 2009 – Frontera Produce, of Edinburg, TX, is voluntarily recalling one lot of cilantro because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The company is working with the FDA to inform consumers of this recall, and no illnesses have been reported to date. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young... [more]

According to a recent Reuters’ news story, a European meta-study (a study of studies) of organic food indicated that organic foods are not any healthier that non organic foods. The conclusion comes as no big surprise as the US had conducted a similar meta-study a few years ago and came to the same conclusion. While some organic foods did have slightly higher levels of vitamins, the scientists determined... [more]

Has our focus on addressing foodborne illness been thrown under the bus? Tragically, the House of Representatives failed to fast track the comprehensive food safety bill, House Resolution 2749, into passage on Wednesday. The vote fell just short of the required super majority needed to force the bill into passage under the suspension of House rules, which would limit the debate of the bill and not... [more]

According to the CDC, recommended meat temperatures are as follows: Hamburgers — 160°F Roasts, steaks, chops — 160°F Ground poultry — 165°F Poultry parts — 170°F Pork — 160°F Hot dogs/leftovers — 165°F While this is a good safety recommendation, the best way to avoid food poisoning is to not have the food pathogens in the meat in the first place. Even if meat is cooked properly, it... [more]

Here is another Class I recall… WASHINGTON, July 29, 2009 – Camacho’s Food Processing, a Salinas, Calif., establishment, is recalling approximately 1,450 pounds of ready-to-eat pork skin products because they were prepared without the benefit of federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The following product... [more]

Salmonella typhimurium, aside from the recent King Soopers’ half million pound beef recall, has another dubious place in American history. It was the pathogen used in the largest ever bioterror attack in the US. In 1984, 750 individuals were sickened when the bacterium was placed into salad bars at a ten restaurants in The Dalles, Oregon. Followers of the cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh used the... [more]

Hand washing is an issue that is important to me. I believe hand washing is something all people should do, whether you are a food service worker or not. A little soap and water goes a very long way in preventing illness and contamination of food, friends and yourself. But when it comes to people who work with our food, hand washing isn’t a safety option, it is a safety imperative. The signs are... [more]

It is a common practice among cattle ranchers to enclose cattle into a “Feed Lot” a few months before slaughter. This practice is done to ensure that the cows can get fattened up on unnatural grain heavy diets to add weight and “marbling” to the meat. “Feed lots” are very small enclosures, where dozens of these animals are crammed into tightly fenced in spaces with only enough room for... [more]