USDA Starts Surveillance Of Pigs For Flu

The U. S. Agriculture Department will soon launch a pilot surveillance project to look for new strains of flu virus in pigs, including the new strain of H1N1 flu, chief veterinarian John Clifford said June 2. The program will examine samples from sick pigs voluntarily submitted to government and private labs, as well as any

U. S. Making Little Progress On Food Safety

Efforts to improve food safety in the United States have “plateaued,” exposing the need for an overhaul of the nation’s food safety system, government health officials said April 9. Despite work to improve food safety in recent years, the number of foodborne infections remained steady, with little change in the past few years, suggesting fundamental


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.

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