Category: Food Safety

Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. Coli Outbreak That Changed the Way Americans Eat by Jeff Benedict

When six-year-old Lauren Rudolph was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, and fever, doctors were mystified as to the cause of her sudden and terrifying symptoms. Just five days later Lauren would become the first victim of a mysterious bacterial pathogen. Hundreds of sick children began to show up at hospitals across the Western states, three more children died. After frantic research, health officials managed to trace the deadly outbreak to a single source: undercooked hamburgers eaten at the popular fast-food chain Jack in the Box.

USDA’s Food Safety Vision

The nation’s highest-ranking food safety official laid out the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s vision for strengthening the food safety system to better “meet the demands of the 21st century” before the annual American Farm Bureau meeting.”No one … no one … is more important to that farm-to-fork system than you,” said Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety, in her remarks Sunday at the conference in Atlanta.

Does the New Food Safety Bill Prevent Internet Sales by Small Producers?

The new law will contain a provision that is intended to give small, local farmers and food producers some protection from the cost of developing risk management plans and product testing required by larger producers. Many small farms and food producers have embraced the Internet as a low-cost sales and marketing tool, and more and more consumers are buying online. The law can be interpreted in such as way as to restrict online sales as well.

Pacific Coast Oysters, Louisiana Oysters, and Food Safety

A plate full of raw oysters is a delicious treat for discriminating diners. But that treat can be risky too, if contaminated with the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, relative of V. cholerae, which causes cholera, or Karenia brevis, a microscopic marine algae that causes “red tide.” The algae that causes red tide is clearly visible and occurs irregularly, however the V. vulnificus bacteria is invisible and can be persistent.