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Lawmaker likens Salmonella probe to Keystone Kops
The reason for what U.S. lawmakers regard as the bungled salmonella probe: One government agency probably zeroed in on tomatoes too early, the committee concluded, while a second failed to tap industry and states’ expertise in trying to trace the source of the contamination
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FDA finds Salmonella Saintpaul strain in irrigation water on Mexican farm
FDA said that jalapeno and serrano peppers grown in the United States are not connected the current outbreak and are safe to eat; traces of Salmonella are found in irrigation water and on a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm
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New, quick method for identifying food-borne diseases
European researchers have developed a system which prepares samples and performs DNA tests on the salmonella and campylobacter bacteria in a portable and cost-effective chip
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Bioterrorism rule ineffective in salmonella outbreak
Rules and regulations passed in the wake of 9/11 were supposed to tighten monitoring and tracking food items, so an outbreak of food-borne illness could be quickly traced to its source; food supply-chain practices make these rules and regulations difficult to implement
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Salmonella outbreak investigation intensifies
Hunt continues for the source of the Salmonella outbreak in the U.S.; FDA and CDC still see tomatoes as the cause; this weekend three states in Mexico became the focal point of the search
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Environmental report on new Biolab
Following a GAO report which criticized how DHS decided on how research into contagious foreign animal and zoonotic diseases should be conducted, the Science and Technology Directorate of DHS issues a draft environmental impact statement and risk analysis for the six locations being considered for the new Biolab
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CDC counts 383 salmonella cases from tomatoes
The toll of the U.S. salmonella outbreak continues to rise; tomatoes from sections of Mexico and Florida remain the main suspects as the source of the outbreak
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Why it takes so long to trace a bad tomato
Tomatoes do not carry bar codes, so it is difficult to trace the source of the recent tomato-borne salmonella outbreak; tomatoes coming from Mexico and parts of Florida are prime suspects
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Making U.S. food safe, II: Tracing the sources of bad food
The United States lacks a system for effective tacking and tracing of food supplies as they are distributed throughout the country; one expert says that “Right now the technology [for tracking food] exists, but it’s not being used widely because companies aren’t required to use them”
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Making U.S. food safe, I: FDA not moving fast enough
The recent outbreak of tomatoe-borne salmonella poisoning moved legislators to charge that the FDA has not made good on its promise last year to make food safer for U.S. consumers
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Background: More on tomato-borne salmonella
Recent census of produce outbreaks between 1996 and 2007 counted no fewer than 33 epidemics from Salmonella-contaminated fruits and vegetables; in five of them, tomatoes were the culprit
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Meaningful farm bill reform effort fails yet again
Current law allows subsidies to farmers with annual adjusted gross income of as much as $2.5 million; the administration and many legislators wanted to to end payments to producers with adjusted gross incomes greater than $200,000; agribusiness industry plowed more than $80 million into lobbying last year — and defeated the measure
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Cargill to promote food safety training in China
Cargill will partner with AQSIQ to provide Chinese government officials, academics, and business leaders with food safety training to expand their knowledge in food safety management
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U.S. food inspection system one step away from breaking point
High FDA official says U.S. food inspection system is not broken yet, but that a few food-borne outbreaks at the same time would push it toward the “breaking point”; official says FDA is “lacking the work force” to be able to respond to more than one major food borne outbreak at a time
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Debating NAIS
Is the USDA’s Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) an essential tool for fighting animal disease and agroterrorism — or is it a threat to civil liberties and a heavy, unnecessary burden on small farmers and pet owners? The debate continues
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