GMA applauds bipartisan food safety proposal and other headlines

Food safety bills are beginning to pop, with one Florida source stating that the Costa-Putnam bill could be dropped today. This is from the Grocery Manufacturers Association:

(Washington, D.C.)  The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) today issued the following statement from GMA President and CEO Pam Bailey regarding the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) and Judd Gregg (R-NH).  Additional cosponsors include: Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).

"Ensuring the safety of our products is the food industry's most important priority. I applaud Senators Durbin, Burr and Gregg along with their fellow cosponsors for crafting sensible legislation that will strengthen the foundation of America's food safety systems.  In particular, GMA supports proposals requiring all food companies to have a comprehensive food safety plan in place.  It is absolutely critical that manufacturers take a preventative approach in identifying and evaluating potential hazards, and building food safety into the manufacturing process from the very beginning.  We look forward to working with Congress to enact food safety legislation that will continually improve the safety of America's food supplies."

 

More headlines snatched from the Web:



Plastic bags will be taxed under Texas bill The Dallas Morning News

The Dallas Democrat wants Texas to join two other states pondering the problems, pollution and politics of taxing each of the ubiquitous sacks that start at groceries, hardware stores and retail shops but often end up in sewer systems, landfills, parking lots, riverbeds, up against fences and blowing down highways."If people know that there's an added cost to doing plastic, they're either going to use paper, which is biodegradable, or they're going to bring their own bag," Anchia said.

Salmonella may be more common in surface water than previously thought
A new University of Georgia study suggests that health agencies investigating Salmonella illnesses should consider untreated surface water as a possible source of contamination.Researchers, whose results appear in the March issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, tested water over a one-year period in rivers and streams in a region of south Georgia known for its high rate of sporadic salmonella cases. The team found Salmonella in 79 percent of water samples, with the highest concentrations and the greatest diversity of strains in the summer and after rainfall."Streams are not routinely tested for Salmonella, and our finding is an indication that many more could be contaminated than people realize," said Erin Lipp, associate professor in the UGA College of Public Health. "We found our highest numbers in the summer months, and this is also the time when most people get sick."


Higher food prices not going down well LA Times

The big grocery chains contend that food manufacturers have raised prices too fast and too far, considering the recent drops in prices for fuel, corn, wheat and other commodities.The food companies disagree and say they are still coping with many rising prices themselves.Unilever called the situation "complex," with pricing levels remaining "both volatile and unpredictable in the medium to long term."

Will recession become something worse? AP

No one disputes that the current economic downturn qualifies as a recession. Recessions have two handy definitions, both in effect now — two straight quarters of economic contraction, or when the National Bureau of Economic Research makes the call.Declaring a depression is much trickier.By one definition, it's a downturn of three years or more with a 10 percent drop in economic output and unemployment above 10 percent. The current downturn doesn't qualify yet: 15 months old and 7.6 percent unemployment. But both unemployment and the 6.2 percent contraction for late last year could easily worsen

UC Davis experts Drought and water supply UC Davis
Faculty and staff who can speak to the issues of water supply in the state

Recession proof fun: Whole Foods The Examiner

Wrong direction for farm policy Mike Johanns
This budget proposal is especially troubling for the state of Nebraska. Of the 47,712 farms across Nebraska, nearly 35,000 currently receive federal farm payments. Of that number, 5,921, or 17 percent, have over $500,000 in gross sales, and would be affected by this change in policy. Considering that 10 percent of farms across the United States have sales over that amount, Nebraska's rural communities would feel the negative effects of removing this critical safety net more than in many other states.

Sheriff Joe's circus costly and ineffective Tucson Citizen

Nutritionists: food plan helps kids Des Moines Register

School children could get more healthful meals, including freshly prepared fruits and vegetables, under the president's proposal to cut farm subsidies and use the money for child nutrition, according to school nutrition directors.But they know it won't be easy to persuade lawmakers to go along with the reduction in farm subsidies."Is it going to be hard for the family that is going to lose that subsidy?" said Beth Hanna, director of nutrition services in the West Des Moines school district. "Yes. We're going to have a hard sell." Her own cousins could be affected by the proposal, she said.



Ontario expected to publish list of banned pesticides CP24

It won't be long before Ontario lawns begin to sprout weeds and homeowners head out to pick up some weed killer - but the choices may be limited because of new regulations to ban certain chemicals.The Ministry of the Environment is expected to publish a proposed list of banned pesticides tomorrow. The ban is expected to include 85 targeted substances found in about 250 pesticide products.