"Little progress has been made in combating many types of food-borne illnesses in recent years, according to new federal data, an outcome that food safety advocates say underscores the need to put into place the landmark food-safety bill signed by President Obama more than a year ago."
"WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department says a statement on its website encouraging its employees not to eat meat on Mondays was made without proper clearance."
New SEJ member Paula Crossfield is a founder and managing editor of the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN), the first and only independent, nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism in the critically under-reported areas of food, agriculture, and environmental health. She is also a founder of Civil Eats, a national news site on sustainable food issues.
EPA says it could instead compile a database partly from information collected by some states. But that information is often spotty and inconsistent — which will make it hard for EPA to compile it and even harder to make useful conclusions from it. And the withdrawal may make it harder to get the information disclosed.
"WASHINGTON — Ten consumer groups that helped promote a landmark food safety law passed in 2010 say the Obama administration is holding up the rules that would put it into effect, a delay they say could cost money and lives this summer, the peak season for food contamination outbreaks."
"Congress is poised to scrap funding for the only program that consistently tests select vegetables and fruit for pathogens — an initiative that’s led to about 30 recalls since 2009."
"ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michael J. Potter is one of the last little big men left in organic food. More than 40 years ago, Mr. Potter bought into a hippie cafe and 'whole earth' grocery here that has since morphed into a major organic foods producer and wholesaler, Eden Foods."
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