Food safety

Senate legislation to be introduced later this week

Sept. 18, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today issued the following statement on the recall of Dole's Hearts Delight bagged salad due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Eighty-eight cases - or 528 bags – of the bagged salad were distributed in Canada and 755 cases containing 4,530 bags in the U.S., according to Dole.    » read more »

September 2, 2007 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has heeded her call to reconsider a plan to close seven of 13 field testing laboratories.    » read more »

Senate Legislation in Works to Reduce Foodborne Illness Caused by Produce

Aug. 30, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today issued the following statement on the recall of 8,118 cases of bagged spinach after they tested positive for Salmonella. The produce, distributed by Metz Fresh LLC of King City, California, has not been linked to any human cases of foodborne illness, yet comes almost one year after an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in fresh, bagged spinach.    » read more »

23 August 2007 -- A senior trade official in China says a global recall of millions of Chinese-made toys was the result of new industry standards, not poor quality products.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing Thursday, Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said that the recall was a responsible move, given that products could affect the health and safety of children.

He added that a recall of more than 18 million toys with magnets was the result of new standards that were put in place in May.    » read more »

PFOS measured in fish tissue poses health concern if species eaten too often

August 16, 2007 -- The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) today issued new advice for people who eat fish caught in several metro area lakes after the chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was detected in fish taken from those waters.

The following lakes have new fish consumption advice:

* Ramsey County – Como, and the chain of lakes including Phalen, Gervais, Gervais Mill Pond, Round, Keller, Kohlman and Spoon.
* Washington County - Demontreville, Olson, Lake Elmo, and Ravine.    » read more »

August 14, 2007 -- The state health department has set up a temporary toll-free hotline to provide information to Montanans about a recent nationwide recall of certain canned foods.

Consumers can call 1-866-505-6064 to get a list of the recalled products, which have been associated with an outbreak of botulism poisoning in several states other than Montana. The products were all canned by Castleberry’s Food Company in Augusta, Georgia.    » read more »

05 August 2007 -- China has reached a food safety agreement with the United States that is intended to improve the supervision and regulation of Chinese exports to the U.S.

The state-run Xinhua news agency says Beijing and Washington agreed on an initial framework Saturday, after a visit by an official from the US. Department of Health and Human Services. Details of the memorandum have not been finalized.    » read more »

August 03, 2007 -- PIERRE, S.D. – Health officials are reminding consumers to check their cupboards for canned foods recalled as a result of botulism contamination. In July cases of human botulism were reported in Texas, Indiana and California and were associated with eating canned chili sauce. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigated and issued a recall of several products manufactured by the Castleberry’s Food Company. Additionally, this week Lakeside Foods is withdrawing canned green beans due to possible botulism contamination.    » read more »

July 12, 2007 -- [WASHINGTON, DC] –U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation to strengthen the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ability to monitor and inspect goods that enter the United States from abroad by imposing a fee on companies and countries exporting food products to the United States. These fees would generate revenues for inspections of imported foods and food safety research.    » read more »

Senator Says Recent Food Import Scares and FDA Ban on Chinese Fish Imports Mean Country of Origin Labeling Must be Mandated Immediately

July 11, 2007 -- Washington, DC – In the wake of recent scares about imported food and feed products, and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) alert concerning imports of certain seafood from China, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on her Senate colleagues to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) as soon as possible.    » read more »

11 July 2007 -- The top U.S. food safety official says he believes the Chinese government is serious about improving the quality of its food products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's David Acheson spoke Wednesday following a series of scandals involving tainted products from China.

The safety of a wide range of Chinese products is global headline news these days.    » read more »

Steps Would Protect American Consumers While Helping Farmers and Ranchers

Jul 10, 2007 -- Des Moines, Iowa – Senator John Edwards today announced a new initiative he would pursue as President to ensure the safety of food for American consumers and to help farmers and ranchers in Iowa and across the nation. Edwards will discuss the initiative on a conference call with Iowa reporters today and will be joined by Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), who is supporting his campaign for President.    » read more »

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight

July 10, 2007 -- (Remarks as Prepared) - Introduction:    » read more »

10 July 2007 -- China's drug watchdog has admitted food and drug safety supervision in the country is poor and in need of improvement. The comments came as China executed the former head of its food and drug administration for allowing unsafe drugs to enter the market in exchange for bribes. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

China's food and drug administration spokeswoman, Yan Jiangying, acknowledged to reporters Tuesday China's food and drug safety was "unsatisfactory" and the country was facing a tough situation in supervising standards.    » read more »

To improve the security of the United States' food supply, two experts at a AAAS-sponsored briefing urged the nation to improve coordination between its federal agencies, local governments, and Cooperative Extension organizations responsible for detecting and responding to a food or agriculture emergency.    » read more »