Food Safety


FDA, CDC Link Raw Alfalfa Sprouts to Salmonella Contamination

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination. Other types of sprouts have not been implicated at this time.

OSHA Proposes $66,000+ in Fines against Massachusetts Food Packager

OSHA has cited Brady Enterprises Inc. of Weymouth, Mass., for alleged, willful, repeat, and serious violations of safety and health standards at its 45 Finnell Drive plant. The food products packager faces $66,500 in proposed fines, following a Nov. 14 accident in which an employee was caught in a labeling machine while cleaning it.

Study Finds Consumers Willing to Pay Extra for Safer Foods

Consumers are willing to pay extra for food processed using new technology once they understand how it works and what it does, according to a study presented in the Journal of Food Science Education, published by the Institute of Food Technologists.

Georgia Poultry Processor Fines Total $23,275

OSHA is proposing 22 safety and health violations with fines of $73,275 against Fieldale Farms Poultry LLC. A January inspection of the company's processing plant in Gainesville, Ga., has resulted in the agency proposing two repeat violations with $27,500 in proposed penalties, 18 serious violations with $45,775 in proposed penalties, and two other-than-serious violations with no monetary penalties.

Quest Diagnostics to Pay $302 Million to Resolve Misbranding Allegations

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and its subsidiary, Nichols Institute Diagnostics (NID), have entered into a global settlement with the United States to resolve criminal and civil claims concerning various types of diagnostic test kits that NID manufactured, marketed, and sold to laboratories throughout the country until 2006, the Justice Department announced on April 15, 2009.

ION Labs Inc. Recalls Influend Cough and Cold Products

ION Labs Inc. of Clearwater, Fla. is voluntarily recalling all of the Influend Cough and Cold products sold on or after May 30, 2008, due to the products not being tested in conformance with the specifications of the lab, therefore, the products may have a possibility to be super potent.

FDA Obtains Permanent Injunction against Two Drug Manufacturers

The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that it had obtained a permanent injunction barring Neilgen Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Westminster, Md., its parent company, Advent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Advent), of East Windsor, N.J., and two of their officers, Bharat Patel and Pragna Patel, from manufacturing and distributing any unapproved, adulterated, or misbranded drugs.

logo of CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

CDC Report Finds Foodborne Illness Prevention has Reached Plateau

According to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the incidence of the most common foodborne illnesses has changed very little over the past three years.



Safety Marketing Group Presents Top Awards

SMG's Preferred Supplier of the Year, Jon Cal Murray Distributor of the Year, and Rich Harper Commitment to Excellence Supplier and Distributor Award winners were announced April 9 at the organization's annual conference in Tampa, Fla.

McDonald's Vows to Reduce Pesticide Use

Through the agreement brought on by a shareholder resolution, the company has committed to survey its current U.S. potato suppliers and compile a list of best practices in pesticide reduction that will be recommended to the company's global suppliers (through the company's Global Potato Board).

FDA Alerts Consumers to Pistachio Recall

The Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Public Health are investigating Salmonella contamination in pistachio products sold by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., Calif.

a salt shaker

CDC: Americans Consume Too Much Salt

According to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most Americans consume more than double the amount of their daily recommended levels of sodium.

Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc. Added to FDA Peanut Recall List

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to consume any peanuts or peanut-derived products sold by Irvington, New Jersey-based Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc. (Westco/Westcott) due to possible Salmonella contamination. Peanuts in such products may have been distributed by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which recalled the peanuts because of concern about Salmonella contamination.

FDA Assesses New Nanotechnology Test to Detect Anthrax

The Food and Drug Administration recently completed a "proof-of-concept" study of a test that quickly and accurately detects the presence of even the smallest amount of the deadly anthrax toxin.

Nanotechnology in Food Focus of London Seminar

The latest developments in nanotechnology and its potential for use in the food industry is the subject of a seminar on April 30 in London.

Turkey Feed Producer Gobbles OSHA's Praise

The California, Mo.-based company, which produces bulk turkey feed for 197 independent producers, earned VPP recognition after implementing a comprehensive employee safety and health management system in accordance with VPP standards, which exceed minimum OSHA standards.

New FDA Guidance for Food Makers Using Peanut-Derived Products

Separately, numerous news organizations report President Obama will soon nominate Dr. Margaret A. "Peggy" Hamburg to be FDA administrator.

Canada Releases Fact Sheets on Safe Produce Handling

The fact sheets, which provide practical tips on how to choose, handle and store fruits and vegetables, focus on those types of fresh produce that are most often associated with foodborne illnesses in Canada.

FDA Forms Nanotechnology Alliance

The Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled a new collaboration initiative with the Houston-based Alliance for NanoHealth (ANH) and its eight member institutions to help speed development of safe and effective medical products in the emerging field of nanotechnology.

FDA Alert Warns About Risk of Wearing Medicated Patches during MRIs

Certain adhesive patches that deliver medication through the skin have been found to be a risk to patient safety, said the Food and Drug Administration. The patches, if worn while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging scans or MRIs, can cause skin burns.

Featured

Artificial Intelligence

Webinars