As if you needed another reason to cringe at the number of coal-fired power plants operating on our fragile Earth, a new study published in Nature Geoscience links power plants in China and India to the ever-increasing mercury levels of fish in the Pacific Ocean. According to the Los Angeles Times, scientists from the University of Michigan and University of Hawaii traced the chemical “fingerprint” of mercury found in nine species of fish present in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, the largest ecosystem on the planet (also home of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch). They concluded that the mercury contamination originated from coal-fired power plant emissions in Asia.
Last month, the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) Board approved changes to its rigorous food safety standards, or metrics, with respect to animal intrusion and composting practices, according to an Aug. 28 blog post by LGMA board chairman Ryan Talley. These actions represent a significant step forward in the evolution of food safety standards for leafy greens and will provide an improved system to assess and reduce potential risk in leafy greens fields while reducing the impact of food safety metrics on the environment.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) last week outlined a refreshed strategy to reduce the number of people getting ill from campylobacter. The strategy will be discussed by the FSA Board at its meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, on Sept. 11, 2013. Campylobacter is estimated to be responsible for about 460,000 cases of food poisoning in the UK each year, with a significant proportion of these cases coming from poultry.
The National Restaurant Association, in supporting the industry’s commitment to practicing and promoting food safety, is focusing on food allergen awareness during National Food Safety Month. Throughout September, the NRA’s National Food Safety Month campaign will showcase several aspects of the ServSafe Food Safety program, especially the recently launched ServSafe Allergens online course, designed to help front- and back-of-the-house employees better serve the growing number of restaurant customers that have food allergies.
The Associated Press today reported on a large study just released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the presence of arsenic in rice and what consumers should do to minimize their risk of arsenic exposure. Well beyond saying rice is safe to consume in moderation, the FDA's website provides detailed explanations of and data from its research.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho has entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against owner Gregory T. Troost, doing business as T&T Cattle and T&T Cattle Pearl, and manager Mark A. Mourton of Parma, Idaho, for violations including illegally administering animal drugs for uses that are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ingesting food containing excessive amounts of antibiotics and other drugs can cause severe adverse reactions among the general population even at very low levels and can harm consumers who are sensitive to antibiotics.
The World Health Organization (WHO) today released an updated fact sheet (N°368) on foodborne trematodiases, diseases that affect at least 56 million people worldwide, primarily in Southeast Asia and South America. These illnesses, which are caused by trematode worms (also known as flukes) that infect humans who consume raw fish, crustaceans or vegetables that harbor the parasite larvae, result in severe liver and lung damage.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials provided insight on proposed rules for foreign supplier verification programs and the accreditation of third-party auditors during a Sept. 4 web seminar hosted by the United Fresh Produce Association, The Packer reported Sept. 5.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on Sept. 5 called attention (via Twitter) to a page on its website that illuminates the history and objectives of its Microbiological Testing Program for E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).
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