Person holding fresh lettuce

Are you taking steps to ensure safe fruits and vegetables are in your kitchen?

Prairie Fare: Asian-style Cobb Salad and B.L.A.T. Wrap with Bacon Mayo

Are the cucumbers at the store safe? Have any recent foodborne illness outbreaks occurred with spinach, peppers or lettuce? Lately, you might have heard or read about a recall of cucumbers imported from Mexico that reached various U.S. restaurants and retail stores. At the time of this column, 341 people in 30 states were sickened

CFIA’s Powers Have A Long Reach

ACanadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspector stopped at a farm and talked with the old farmer: “I’m here to inspect your farm.” The old farmer replied, “You better not go in that field.” The CFIA inspector replied in a solemn tone, “You don’t seem to understand. I have the authority of the federal government with


New Listeria Policy Claims A Success

While it was nothing on the scale of last year’s incident with Maple Leaf deli meats, a recall of sliced meat products from a Montreal company suggests new federal listeria rules help. The recall involved Delstar Foods of Montreal that distributes ready-to-eat products under its own and Compliments brands. It recalled all its sliced meats

FDA Tries To Get Ahead Of Food Recalls

Not a single person was diagnosed with food poisoning, but the U. S. Food and Drug Administration made the move anyway – on March 31 it announced a nationwide recall of pistachios after salmonella was found in one producer’s 2008 crop. Since then, recall announcements have come daily, for a total of 290 so far.


Grocer Calls For Heightened Food Inspections

The U. S. Agriculture Department should expand its risk-based inspection system to focus on products neglected by the Food and Drug Administration to help stop a rash of massive food recalls, an official from a U. S. grocery chain said on April 2. The U. S. food supply system is under fire after a series

Salmonella outbreak may spur U. S. food safety

The latest U. S. salmonella outbreak could spur food safety reform in the U. S. Congress, but the process will be slow and consumers will remain at risk until the shattered regulatory regime can be fixed. “Congress is poised to take early action on food safety legislation,” said Caroline Smith DeWall, a director of food