• Intensifying search for solutions to food safety problem

    Solutions to the food safety problem fall into two broad categories: government-mandated reforms and reforms generated by the food industry itself; the three major recommendations for government action: Creating a food-supervision superagency; giving the FDA mandatory food recall authority; and tightening supervision of imported food

  • Metro Group, IBM lead Europe's largest RFID rollout

    IBM, German retailer Metro Group — the world’s fourth largest retailer — roll out Europe’s largest RFID project, using IBM technology; suppliers from China and Vietnam are already participating; health experts argue that implementing similar systems throughout the food supply chain would improve health and safety and protect consumers from tainted food; business analysts say RFID would increase efficiency and allow better management of inventories

  • NIST issues nanotechnology, biomedical standards

    NIST issues its first reference standards for nanoscale particles targeted for the biomedical research community — literally “gold standards” for labs studying the biological effects of nanoparticles

  • Canadian aquaculture operators seek improved biosecurity infrastructure

    Fish stocks in the oceans dwindle, and those still available are exposed the ever-growing levels of pollution; as a result there is a growing interest in fish farming; Canada’s fish farm operators want more government help to address biosecurity issues

  • Worry: First human-to-human transmission of H5N1 strain of bird flu

    A young Chinese man who died of avian flu has passed the disease to his father; scientists fear the virus could mutate into a strain that jumps easily from person to person, risking wider outbreaks

  • Passengers on Israel-to-Canada flight become ill with Noro virus

    Several passengers on Air Canada flight become severely ill with gastroenteritis; 75 of the 201 passengers kept in isolation at Toronto airport for further examination

  • 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

  • Brisk holiday activity in pharmaceutical packaging

    Medicines is not only produced — it has to be packaged, with vaccines and treatments packaged and stored in such a way to keep them potent for years; this specialy field has witnessed some interesting activity toward the end of the year

  • Bioterror surveillance uneven from state to state

    What is even worse than being a subject to bioterror attack? Answer: Being subject to such an attack in Mississippi; state is among six states scoring the worst scores on compatibility with CDC’s National Electronic Disease Surveillance System

  • Two more bird flu deaths in Egypt

    Egypt’s location on major bird migration routes and the wide-spread practice of keeping domestic fowl near living quarters have helped make the country the hardest-hit country outside of Asia

  • Communication's last mile especially vulnerable to pandemic

    As much as 40 percent of the U.S. workforce would be unable to go to work during peak periods of an outbreak, “and you don’t get to pick which 40 percent that could be,” says Greg Garcia, DHS’s assistant secretary of cybersecurity and communications

  • Two stillbirths lead to food warnings

    Two recent stillbirths in North Carolina prompt health officials to issue a warning regarding eating habits of pregnant women; cold cuts and soft cheeses may expose pregnant women to the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes

  • Nanocavity sensor capable of detecting virus-sized particles

    University of Rochester researchers develop a nanoscale device capable of detecting one quadrillionth of a gram of biological matter, which is about the size of many viruses

  • Epidemic preparedness varies widely from state to state

    If an epidemic breaks out in the United States, you don’t want to find yourself in Arkansas or Mississippi: Research organization scores states’ epidemic preparedness level, and these two states brought up the rear

  • New, quick test for dehydration

    In-the-field exertions by soldiers and first responders may cause dehydration, the result of fluid loss of only a few percent of body weight; Philips offers a transducer which measures how much the skin deforms when sucked — a clear indication of dehydration