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EU to support extended use of RFID in food and drink sector
EU supports research into RFID technology to make it more economical to track food and beverage from field to store shelves and tables
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Scientists: Copper is safer than stainless steel in food processing
According to several scientists the use of copper in food processing may help prevent cross contamination of E.coli
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Viisage acquires Iridian for $35 million in cash
Viisage continues in its aggressive acquisition campaign to expand and enhance its position as a provider of multimodal biometrics
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Cross Match Technologies approved as provider of fingerprint capture stations for HSPD-12
CrossMatch gains an important GSA approval, making its products even more appealing to government agencies which must comply with FIPS-201 by October 2006
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BIO-key and identiMetrics provide biometric solution for young children
Keeping track of small children is now easier as BIO-key and identiMetrics introduce a new solution to identify children biometrically by their fingerprints
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3M acquires British passport maker SPSL
Diversified technology giant — an also scotch tape supplier — 3M is in a deal to acquire U.K. company responsible for RFID technology in biometric passports
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Suspected mad cow disease investigated in Alberta
Authorities in Alberta, Canada, are worried that they have a cow with mad cow disease on their hands; investigations continue
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Suspected avian flu-infected Chinese poultry smuggled into U.S.
The United States does not allow Chinese poultry into the country for fear of avian flu; a Michigan warehouse owner who supplies Detroit’s 300 Chinese restaurants smuggled Chinese foul into the U.S., and the police are looking for him
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France launches food safety Web site
The French agriculture ministry launches a Web site to allow consumers of French food to keep abreast of food safety news
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DynPort in Phase II of plague vaccine
Maryland company now conducting clinical trials of a potential plague vaccine
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Ryder offer RydeSmart trucks
One way to secure the safety of ship-borne freight containers is to lock them with tamper-proof locks, monitor the inside of the container for any changes and disruptions, and use GPS to track them all the way from port of origin to port of destination; Ryder now brings the same idea to monitoring the company’s fleet of 160,000 vehicles; these measures will go some way toward improving the safety of food supplies carried on these trucks from field to store
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Concerns about food safety discussed at annual IFT expo
At the annual Institute of Food Technology meeting in Orlando, experts discuss food safety issues that are becoming more problematic, particularly the lack of food processing demand by consumers, and the danger this may pose
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Cadbury is “unreliable” when it comes to food safety
According to the U.K. Food Standards Agency, Cadbury is “unreliable” when it comes to food safety
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Construction begins on DHS’s NBACC at Ft. Detrick
In several states — Kentucky, Missouri, Massachusetts — there are heated debates about construction of level 3 BioLabs: There is a lot of money and many jobs in these projects, but citizens are worried about lethal pathogens escaping the labs; while these debates go on, the plans for building a large, multi-agency biolab in Fort Detrick, Maryland, are on schedule, and DHS has began construction of its own, $130 million component of the project
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The long view
What We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs
Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
Combatting the Measles Threat Means Examining the Reasons for Declining Vaccination Rates
Measles was supposedly eradicated in Canada more than a quarter century ago. But today, measles is surging. The cause of this resurgence is declining vaccination rates.
Social Networks Are Not Effective at Mobilizing Vaccination Uptake
The persuasive power of social networks is immense, but not limitless. Vaccine preferences, based on the COVID experience in the United States, proved quite insensitive to persuasion, even through friendship networks.
Vaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
“Tulsi Gabbard as US Intelligence Chief Would Undermine Efforts Against the Spread of Chemical and Biological Weapons”: Expert
The Senate, along party lines, last week confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National intelligence. One expert on biological and chemical weapons says that Gabbard’s “longstanding history of parroting Russian propaganda talking points, unfounded claims about Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and conspiracy theories all in efforts to undermine the quality of the community she now leads” make her confirmation a “national security malpractice.”