RV: CSPI Says FDA Findings at Egg Farm are "Stomach Churning"

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From: News from CSPI <cspinews@cspinet.org>

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:39:10 -0500

To: News from CSPI<cspinews@cspinet.org>

Subject: CSPI Says FDA Findings at Egg Farm are "Stomach Churning"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Monday, August 30, 2010  
Contact:  Jeff Cronin, 202-777-8370, or Stacey Greene, 202-777-8316

CSPI Says FDA Findings at Egg Farm are "Stomach Churning"

Statement of CSPI Food Safety Director Caroline Smith DeWaal

While it is really helpful that FDA is disclosing the results of their recent inspections of two facilities linked to a major illness outbreak from contaminated eggs, FDA's findings are truly stomach churning.  FDA found rodents and wild birds in the facilities, and five of the Wright County Egg facilities had giant manure piles inside their buildings. These violations are reminiscent of similar findings in another major outbreak linked to peanut butter.

        Equally troubling is that the inspections occurred the month following the date that the new egg-safety regulation went into effect.  Both companies involved had been on notice that they needed to meet requirements of the new egg-safety rule for over a year. Instead of finding companies that were ready to meet those requirements, FDA's inspections document companies with long-standing violations and apparently little intention to comply. The decrepit conditions in these hen houses reflect the fact that companies know that FDA inspections are so rare—even following the adoption of a new safety regulation—that there is no urgency to fix their buildings and their operations to assure compliance with FDA statutes and regulations.

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The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, DC, that focuses on nutrition, food safety, and pro-health alcohol policies.  CSPI is supported by the 900,000 U.S. and Canadian subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter and by foundation grants.  

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Washington, DC 20009
(202) 332-9110
cspinews@cspinet.org

RV: DELAURO ON LATEST FOOD SAFETY RECALL

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From: "Richards, Kaelan" <Kaelan.Richards@mail.house.gov>

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:47:35 -0500

To: Richards, Kaelan<Kaelan.Richards@mail.house.gov>

Subject: DELAURO ON LATEST FOOD SAFETY RECALL

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CONTACT: Kaelan Richards

August 30, 2010               (202) 225-3661

 

DELAURO ON LATEST FOOD SAFETY RECALL

 

Cargill Corporation recalls thousands of pounds of meat potentially contaminated with dangerous E. coli strain

 

Washington, DC –Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), Chairwoman of the FDA and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement today in response to the recall of approximately 8,500 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26 from the Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation.

 

"This recall highlights the need for legislation I recently introduced – The E. coli Traceability and Eradication Act – which would require USDA to regulate all strains of toxin-producing E. coli.  Currently, the USDA only requires testing for E.coli 0157:H7 despite knowing that there are least six additional strains that can pose a danger to our food supply. It is time for USDA to acknowledge the scientific evidence and classify all toxin-producing E. coli strains as an adulterant that should be made subject to testing.  This would close a significant gap in our food safety system and help minimize additional foodborne illnesses.

 

"As we have seen recently with the huge recall of potentially salmonella- contaminated eggs, there is a dire need to improve and modernize our food safety system, and I will continue to work to make that a reality."

 

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DeLauro.House.Gov

___________________________________

Kaelan Richards

Press Secretary

Office of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)

(202) 225-3661 (office)

(202) 225-1599 (cell)

 

 

 

RV: Super Sizing Alive and Well at Nation’s Chain Restaurants

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From: News from CSPI <cspinews@cspinet.org>

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:40:30 -0500

To: News from CSPI<cspinews@cspinet.org>

Subject: Super Sizing Alive and Well at Nation's Cha in Restaurants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Monday, August 30, 2010  
Contact:  Jeff Cronin, 202-777-8370, or Stacey Greene, 202-777-8316

Super Sizing Alive and Well at Nation's Chain Restaurants

Nutrition Action Healthletter Illustrates How One 'Serving' Is Really More Like Two, Three, or Four

WASHINGTON—A typical burrito weighs about 5 ounces, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Yet a Chicken Burrito at Chipotle weighs four times as much, delivering 970 calories—including 300 calories from the white-flour tortilla alone.  As Nutrition Action Healthletter illustrates in its September issue, Chipotle and other chain restaurants are reprogramming Americans' expectations of what a "serving" of a food is.  

         Fortunately, calorie counts are soon coming to chain restaurant menu boards, thanks to the federal health care reform law now being implemented.  And, from the article, here are 4 other examples of how far an actual serving exceeds the official serving size:

"Chain restaurants have helped dissolve any sense of perspective when it comes to what a reasonable serving of food is," said Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, Nutrition Action's publisher.  "When 300-calorie bagels and 1,000-calorie burritos became the norm, it's easy to understand why two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese."

Nutrition Action Healthletter is the largest-circulation health newsletter in North America, with 850,000 subscribers.  Introductory subscriptions are $10 in the U.S. and $15 in Canada.

###

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, DC, that focuses on nutrition, food safety, and pro-health alcohol policies.  CSPI is supported by the 900,000 U.S. and Canadian subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter and by foundation grants.  

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message with the word 'unsubscribe' in the subject line.

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Communications Department
Center for Science in the Public Interest
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW  Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 332-9110
cspinews@cspinet.org

RV: [BITES-L] bites Aug. 30/10

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From: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>

Sender: Bites <BITES-L@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU>

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:19:57 -0500

To: BITES-L@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU<BITES-L@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU>

ReplyTo: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>

Subject: [BITES-L] bites Aug. 30/10

bites Aug. 30/10

USA Today says egg recalls fit pattern of negligence, lax oversight; industry says, no

NEW YORK: New York pols push for bills requiring salmonella vaccination for hens after egg recall

COLORADO schools fail lunchroom inspection mandate

US: Food safety in retail stores and delis

Food safety for 4-H youth: A survey of interests and educational methods

how to subscribe

USA Today says egg recalls fit pattern of negligence, lax oversight; industry says, no
30.aug.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143892/10/08/30/usa-today-says-egg-recalls-fit-pattern-negligence-lax-oversight-industry-says-n
He said, she said in today's USA Today, with the editorial board saying the salmonella outbreak that has sickened thousands means "someone obviously fouled up," and Indiana egg farmer and United Egg Producers chairman, Bob Krouse, saying "completely cooked eggs are completely safe eggs."
Krouse: "Family farms like ours produce 80 billion eggs every year in this country, and we go to great lengths to help ensure the quality and safety of every one of them."
USA Today: "The egg recall is part of a pattern. When problems emerge with America's food supply or in other areas where safety is crucial, it often starts with a rogue company or CEO who sees safety violations as a cost of doing business and outmaneuvers federal regulators while Congress dithers."
Krouse: "Our efforts must be having an effect because the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service estimates the risk of illness to be less than '1 in 1 million' egg servings for the average consumer."
USA Today: "There's no excuse for contamination so widespread that it sickens nearly 1,500 people and requires the recall of more than half a billion eggs."
Krouse: "Egg farmers invest millions of dollars each year in biosecurity and food safety efforts. The vast majority of us already incorporate vaccination programs into our food safety plans."
USA Today: "Regulations requiring egg farm operators to test for salmonella stayed on the shelf through the notoriously anti-regulatory Bush administration until the Obama administration finally got them into place last month. The FDA says those rules could have prevented the outbreak, which presumes that farms would have complied — and that the FDA would have dogged them."
Krouse: "It is disappointing to see some groups try to take advantage of this crisis for their own political or social agendas. We urge everyone to wait until the FDA finishes its investigation of the two companies involved before jumping to any conclusions. "
USA Today: "… instead of just writing up violations, it (FDA) needs to crack down on rogue companies, treating them the same way the criminal justice system treats repeat offenders."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-08-30-editorial30_ST_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-08-30-editorial30_ST1_N.htm

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NEW YORK: New York pols push for bills requiring salmonella vaccination for hens after egg recall
30.aug.10
Daily News
Erin Durkin
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/30/2010-08-30_albany_pols_egged_on_by_salmonella.html?r=news
Two state pols will introduce bills requiring farmers to vaccinate hens against salmonella, they announced Sunday.
The move comes as thousands of people around the country got sick from salmonella this month, leading to a recall of half a billion eggs from Iowa farms.
The federal Food and Drug Administration responded with new egg safety rules, but they didn't require hens to get salmonella shots.
"Requiring salmonella vaccination should be a no-brainer, and if the FDA is unwilling to take the lead, we should start here in New York," said state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn), who himself had a brush with salmonella in college.
"We believe it was from an undercooked omelet," said Squadron, who was hospitalized for four days. "It is a terrible, terrible disease."

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COLORADO schools fail lunchroom inspection mandate
30.aug.10
Education News Colorado
Rebecca Jones
http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2010/08/30/7417-colorado-schools-fail-inspection-mandate
Federal regulations require school lunchrooms be inspected at least twice a year by local health authorities but more than half of all Colorado schools fail to meet that mandate. Many aren't inspected even once a year.
It's a record that put Colorado in the bottom five of all states in 2008-09, the most recent year available, when an average 29.5 percent of schools nationwide fell short of the required number of inspections.
The reason so many schools lag: While the 2004 School Lunch Reauthorization Act requires schools to obtain twice-yearly inspections, Congress didn't set aside any additional money to pay for those increased inspections.
Cash-strapped county health departments — who aren't answerable to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the school lunch program — often choose to put their inspection resources elsewhere, and schools are caught in the middle. Since there's no penalty for non-compliance, few school districts press the issue.
In Colorado, at least, no major illnesses have ensued. The last widespread illness traceable to food served in a school lunchroom was in 2000, when some 50 students at an elementary school in Adams County fell ill with shigella after eating tainted gelatin.
But with more and more schools abandoning frozen processed foods and returning to scratch cooking from fresh raw ingredients, officials acknowledge the possibility for food contamination will grow.
"We use a risk-based approach in our inspections, and many of our schools are in a lower risk category now based on the fact the menu consists of pre-packaged prepared food," said Lane Drager, consumer protection program coordinator for Boulder County Public Health. "That's very low-risk from a food safety standpoint.
"Schools will change their risk profile with a different menu," Drager said. "But we don't have any different resources with which to do more inspections. It will be a huge challenge for us."
Fresher food means higher risk

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US: Food safety in retail stores and delis
30.aug.10
Meatingplace
James Marsden
http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/blog/BlogDetail.aspx?topicID=6984&BlogID=11
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
The United States is fortunate to have a variety of excellent food retailers. For the most part, retail stores and deli's keep foods clean and safe. Food safety issues can usually be traced back to problems that occurred upstream during manufacturing. Retailers are in a good position to establish performance standards and other requirements from their suppliers to enhance food safety. This is especially important as the food supply supply becomes increasing globalized. There are also steps that could be taken at stores that would further reduce the risk of contamination.
Here are some actions that could be taken by food retailers that would provide a greater margin of safety for consumers.
1. The food safety systems employed by suppliers should be fully certified through an independent third party. This should go beyond GMP (good manufacturing practices) audits, COAs (certificates of analysis) and determining whether plants are operating under a HACCP Plan. The SQF (Safe Quality Food) program is a good start, but I believe that more is needed. Certification should evaluate the effectiveness of food safety systems; including documentation of scientific validation studies for CCP's (critical control points) and regular verification audits to assure that food safety controls are operating properly during food production and processing. A comprehensive system that includes process validation and regular verification would help prevent major food safety events like the current massive recall of shell eggs.
2. Food safety validation and verification systems need to be implemented for all suppliers, including those in developing countries. The Global Food Safety Initiaive (GFSI) is well positioned to coordinate this effort. In order for it to be effective, a single certification process will be required.
3. When possible, retailers should specify that food products be processed using technologies that minimize the risk of pathogen contamination and foodborne disease. For example, the use of growth inhibitors and high pressure processing can virtually eliminate risks in many ready-to-eat food products.
4. Retailers should evaluate improved packaging systems for raw meat and poultry products. Leaky packages can cause cross-contamination.
5. Many retail stores operate a variety of food service operations, including delis, mini-restaurants, salad bars and other self- service counters. Great care should be taken to assure that foods are properly prepared and that systems are in place to prevent cross contamination. For delis, it may be necessary to operate different slicers for different types of products,
6. In stores that have meat preparation areas, care should be taken to separate meat, poultry and seafood operations. In addition, many of the technologies that are employed in meat and poultry plants to prevent contamination have applications in retail stores.
7. Fresh produce areas should be treated as ready-to-eat rooms. Care should be taken to reduce sources of environmental contamination.
8. Visual cleanliness and sanitation in retail stores is already a consumer requirement. The same attention should be given to areas of the stores that aren't seen by consumers. Warehouse and staging areas should be just as clean and sanitary.
9. Traceability systems that allow a rapid response to a food safety crisis should be in place.
These along with improved employee training, continued emphasis on temperature control and GMPs would go a long way towards making an already excellent system of food retailing even better.

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Food safety for 4-H youth: A survey of interests and educational methods
01.aug.10
Journal of Extension
David C. Diehl, Dale W. Pracht, Larry F. Forthun, Amy H. Simonne
http://www.joe.org/joe/2010august/a5.php
Abstract
Improper food safety practices cause numerous illnesses and cost Americans billions of dollars each year. The study reported here addressed food safety issues by analyzing data from surveys with 4-H youth about their food safety attitudes, behaviors, and preferred methods of educational delivery. Analyses of gender differences indicate that males and females have distinct attitudes, behaviors, and preferences, necessitating more tailored educational approaches. Youth are most interested in food safety information that is fun, interactive, and built around cooking demonstrations. 4-H staff and others in Extension can optimize youth learning and practice change by approaching food safety from this experiential perspective.

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