• Western companies eyeing India's $90 billion processed food market

    The globalization of food supply is a two-way street: More and more Western food companies sell their products in the growing Indian market; rising standard of living and working mothers drive the demand for pre-packaged and pre-prepared food, but local culinary preferences, and government bureaucratic practices, die hard

  • FDA criticized for ignoring health problems in spinach packing

    You may want to think twice before ordering spinach next time: Inspections of sixty-seven facilities found inadequate restroom sanitation, litter piles, and indoor condensation posing a risk of food contamination by microorganisms; the bad thing is that the FDA has taken no action to correct these breaches

  • Company involved in largest U.S. meat recall admits it was at fault

    In February Hallmark/Westland Meat was forced to recall 143 million pounds of meat — the largest recall in U.S. history — after it was revealed that the company processed cows which were potentially sick; a week after the recall, the company went out of business; company’s president admits company was at fault

  • HSDW conversation with Marion Nestle

    Professor Nestle on food safety in a globalized economy, the threat of bioterrorism, government regulation of the industry, and genetic modification

  • FSIS exemplifies growing inadequacy of U.S. food inspection regime

    Decline and fall: In FY 1981, FSIS spent $13.22 per thousand pounds of meat and poultry inspected and passed; by FY 2007, the figure had fallen to $8.26 per thousand pounds; in FY 1981 FSIS employed about 190 workers per billion pounds of meat and poultry inspected and passed; by FY 2007, FSIS employed fewer than 88 workers per billion pounds

  • FDA needs to move with the times

    The FDA tasks and responsibilities grow as its budget and resources are cut; FDA commissioner says agency needs to adapt to changing safety concerns and technological advances in both industries

  • Congress urges companies to do more on food safety

    There are 303,556,795 million people in the United States, according the U.S. Census Bureau (the figure is accurate for yesterday, 3 March); of these, 76 million people — that is, 25 percent — get sick every year with some sort of foodborne illness; 5,000 die; as food imports increase, these grim figures increase apace; Congress wants industry to be more diligent

  • U.S. growing dependence on corn increasingly worries economists

    The U.S. economy’s dependence on corn — to feed dairy cows and egg-laying hens; fatten cattle, hogs, and chicken; make sweet soda; and meet ethanol mandates — leads economist to warn of a “corn shock” in case of a drought across the Midwest

  • USDA sued over relaxation of downer cow rules

    One symptom of mad cow disease, and other serious illnesses, is the cow’s lack of balance and inability to walk (hence the name “downer”); after slaughterhouses were found to be forcing downers to walk so as to appear healthy, USDA banned downers from the food chain; under pressure from the meat industry, it has relaxed that rule, and is now being sued

  • RFID technology to help track donated blood

    Donated blood passes through many hands between donation and patient; to date, there is no good way to track donated blood “vein-to-vein,” with the result being many blood transfusion-related problems; RFID technology will help

  • CBP Creates New Position to Protect U.S. Agriculture

    In the face of an avalanche of unsafe food stuffs being imported from China, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) creates a new position — Deputy Executive Director for Agriculture Operational Oversight — and appoints Kevin Harriger to the post

  • China worries about outbreaks of bird flu over winter and spring

    Two members of the same family are infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the first case in China since June; China has the world’s biggest poultry population and millions of backyard birds, and the authorities are worried

  • Growing concerns about Chinese apple juice imports

    In 1996, the United States imported 4.5 million gallons of apple juice concentrate from China; in 2005, 249.54 million gallons were imported; there is growing concern about what goes into these concentrates

  • New U.S.-China trade agreement calls for tighter product safety measures

    In 2007, $2 trillion worth of goods will be delivered into the U.S. by more than 825,000 importers; experts say the amount of imported goods will triple by 2015; next week the U.S. and China will sign trade agreements aiming to ensure enhanced safety of imported food, drugs, and devices; critics say these agreements do not go far enough

  • Foot-and-mouth disease could cost Kansas nearly a billion dollars

    Researchers say that the losses for the Kansas economy from a large-scale foot-and-mouth outbreak could reach a billion dollars