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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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How one candy maker complies with the FDA-mandated bioterrorism regulation
The U.S. 2002 bioterrorism law is not only about anthrax, it is also about something as benign as candy: just ask this large European candy maker can tell you (by the way this candy maker makes the popular candy Airheads)
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European Commission releases annual report on RASFF
The annual report on food safety in the European Union show that notifications of possible food risks have rose 22 percent; this may seem alarming to some, but in the EU, it seems to just show that more people are following food safety rules, and that new member states have become stricter at borders and during food inspections
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The rate of salmonella falls in first quarter of 2006
Salmonella in raw meat products has fallen in the first quarter of 2006 owing to changes in the FSIS inspection of processing plants, reporting, and product testing
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Innovative UV-based bioterror protection device
Another CCAT-supported promising solution: Novatron developed a UV-based protective system against bioterror agents; the military is already interested, and non-military markets may soon warm up to the solution
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U.S. to buy $165 million worth of anthrax medicine from HGS
After fourteen years, HGS has their first product sale; the company is experimenting in anthrax therapies and the U.S. government is buying; 20,000 doses to be exact
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Bush administration releases master plan for bird flu emergency
Administration comprehensive plan hinges on tight cooperation between U.S. government and international bodies, and between federal and state authorities; travel restrictions contemplated
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GAO: Security of water treatment facilities below par
Water treatment facilities are inviting targets for terrorists because of the toxic chemicals they use and their proximity to population centers, but the water collection system is also vulnerable, and a recent report says not much has been done to protect it
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U.S. draws up bird flu response plan
A few months ago the U.S. government issued its first plan for coping with bird flu epidemic, emphasizing the medical aspects; the second preparation plan outs emphasis on government activities during a flu scenario — including, for example, contingency plans for printing U.S. money abroad if too many of the mint’s employees become sick
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The long view
Vaccine Myths That Won't Die and How to Counter Them—Part 1
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has spent decades promoting vaccine skepticism. He has replaced scientists at different HHS such as CDC and NIH with vaccine skeptics and anti-vaccine activists. They have polluted the information environment with, and base their policy changes on, myths about the supposed risks of vaccines. Each of these myths has been studied extensively. Each has been refuted. And yet each persists, because misinformation travels faster than correction and because these myths tap into fears that are genuinely human.
Vaccine Myths That Won’t Die and How to Counter Them—Part 2
This article and its Part 1 catalogue the debunked myths driving the vaccine skeptics who now run HHS. These myths share four fundamental errors: First, the conflation of temporal association with causation. Second, the confusion of regulatory paperwork with the totality of scientific evidence. Third, the demand for impossible standards. Fourth, the selective citation of evidence. The current political moment has given unprecedented platforms to vaccine skepticism. But politics cannot change biology.