Halloween is this weekend. While the holiday is fun, there can be problems that we have written about in other years. This year, the CDC has some ideas on different types of fun and safe Halloween activities you may want to do with your family and friends, and ranks activities from lowest to highest risk. … Read more
According to the Centers for Disease Control and PRevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for the week of September 11, 2020, there is a coronavirus risk in eating out in restaurants. These are the findings from a case-control investigation of symptomatic outpatients from 11 health care facilities. The researchers found that close contact with … Read more
The International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) has released an opinion paper on the relationship of the novel coronavirus to food safety. In brief, the ICMSF opinion on coronavirus and food safety is: “SARS-CoV-2 should not be considered a food safety hazard since a true food safety hazard enters the human body with … Read more
The FDA is resuming domestic inspections with a new risk assessment system during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspections were suspended in March 2020 as the pandemic was just starting. FDA inspectors have still “conducted mission critical inspections,” as they put it, even though regular inspections were suspended. The agency continued to maintain reviews of consumer products, … Read more
According to a study published in the CDC’s Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for June 5, 2020, many Americans are using bleach and disinfectants improperly during the coronavirus pandemic. Calls to poison centers regarding exposure to cleaners and disinfectants have increased during the pandemic. An internet panel survey found gaps in knowledge about the … Read more
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is asking the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take enforcement action against supplement COVID-19 false claims. The watchdog group found 46 products on Amazon that claimed their supplements fight viruses in a scan on May 29, 2020. CSPI also wants Amazon to delist … Read more
One of the more unpleasant realities caused by the coronavirus shutdown is that rats and mice are moving into suburbs in search of food as restaurants close. The rodents rely on food and waste that those venues generate. With more restaurants closed down, the animals have had to search further afield to find something to … Read more
Federal regulators are investigating six meatpacking plants after large COVID-19 outbreaks have been linked to those facilities. The plants include JBS Packerland in Green Bay, Wisconsin, American Foods Group in Green Bay, Smithfield Foods in Cudahy, Wisconsin, and Salms Partners in Denmark, Wisconsin, Pizza crust manufacturer TNT Crust in Green Bay and Birds Eye Foods … Read more
While the USDA and FDA reassure the public that the shortages they are seeing in grocery stores are primarily the result of panic buying and shortage and not due to problems in the supply chain, other consumer advocate groups are increasingly concerned. COVID-19 outbreaks at meatpacking plants across the country are decreasing supply. That doesn’t … Read more
As the coronavirus pandemic has closed many restaurants and is forcing more people to cook at home, we are starting a new series helping beginning cooks learn about potentially hazardous foods. It is unfortunately true that many foods are inherently risky for foodborne illness. If you know how to handle and cook these foods you … Read more