Initiative 522 on the November 2013 Washington state ballot, if passed, would have required labeling of genetically engineered foods on the packaging of raw agricultural commodities, processed foods and seed and seed stock, or on retail shelf signage for unpackaged products.
The Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) announced last Friday that its Food Security Summit, slated for Nov. 26 and 27 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, will go ahead as planned — with the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan acting as a sobering backdrop. The summit will provide a key opportunity for discussions, networking and fundraising to promote concrete solutions for tackling food insecurity in Asia and the Pacific.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Elisabeth Hagen, Agriculture Under Secretary for Food Safety, announced Nov. 15 that Hagen is leaving USDA to take a job in the private sector,
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Nov. 14 issued a draft guidance document on acrylamide in foods and is soliciting comments on the document.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) today announced that it is extending to Nov. 22 (next Friday) the public comment period on the agency's proposed rule on produce safety and preventive controls for human food, due to technical difficulties with the Regulations.gov website.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Nov. 13 announced that it has published the 2013 Food Code (eighth edition). The Food Code establishes practical, science-based guidance for mitigating risk factors that are known to cause or contribute to foodborne illness outbreaks associated with retail and foodservice establishments.
The head of food safety at a Rhode Island sausage company at the center of a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2009 has helped design a new food industry training program at Rhode Island College.The program, to begin in fall 2014, will combine food chemistry and microbiology with practical training in areas such as designing an emergency response plan and managing a food safety crisis.
On Nov. 10, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) publicly denounced what he described as USDA's plan "to allow chickens that are raised and processed in China to be sold [in the U.S.]" Yesterday, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a statement denying that the agency has found China's poultry slaughter system to be equivalent
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Nov. 10 announced that it is collaborating with public health officials in California, Washington, and Arizona; USDA-FSIS; and the FDA to investigate a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC O157:H7) infections. The infections have been linked to ready-to-eat salads produced by Glass Onion Catering, a business of RIchmond, CA-based Atherstone Foods.
Robert Mills, an experienced food safety and quality expert, recently joined GlobalG.A.P. North America as vice president, technical services and training. G.A.P. stands for Good Agricultural Practice, and Baltimore-based GLOBALG.A.P. is the worldwide standards organization that assures Good Agricultural Practice.