The FDA’s Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb and Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas are announcing a new strategy to modernizing government oversight of imported food. This country imports about 15% of its food supply from more than 200 countries or territories around the world. Other countries supply 32% of our fresh vegetables, 55% of fresh fruit, and … Read more
Almanza’s restaurant at 2502 8th Avenue in Garden City, Colorado has been closed bye the Board of Weld County Commissioners. The restaurant will remain closed until it fixes “repeated health code violations.” The Weld County Department of Public Health requested the closure. Chairwoman of the Board, Barbara Kirkmeyer, told the Greeley Tribune that the restaurant … Read more
The USdA is going to begin sharing food safety data specific to slaughter and processing facilities on Data.gov. The FSIS Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan will let consumers make more informed choices. It may also motivate these establishments to improve their performance, and uncover the strengths and weaknesses of different food safety and processing practices. USDA … Read more
On June 23, 2016, the FDA sent a warning letter to Lavella Brothers food warehouse in Chester, Pennsylvania after an inspection on May 4 through May 26, 2016 found “significant violations of the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations. The violations “cause the food products stored at your facility to be adulterated, in that they … Read more
Food & Water Watch released a list of poultry plants, along with their supermarket brands, that are participating in the USDA’s New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) that removes government inspectors from slaughter lines and gives that responsibility to company employees. This comes right after reports that some employees are denied bathroom breaks, so have taken … Read more
The FDA has released a 483 inspection report about the conditions at CRF Frozen Foods plant in Pasco, Washington. That report, released on May 12, 2016, gives more information about the conditions at that plant. Food produced at that facility has been linked to a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that goes back to 2013, and has led to dozens of … Read more
According to two letters sent to the FDA in mid-February, 2016, Blue Bell thinks they have identified where the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria were living in two of its plants last year. But the problem areas were redacted in the letters that the FDA published recently, to “protect trade secrets.” The company found the pathogenic bacteria … Read more
The USDA has released a report detailing the foods the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) most often rejects at our nation’s ports for problems. They are seafood/fish products, vegetables/vegetable products, and fruit/fruit products. The countries that have the most shipments refused are Mexico, India, and China. Data for this report was analyzed over the years 2005 … Read more
The FDA sent a warning letter to Preferred Meal Systems in Illinois in February 2016, detailing violations of Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing or Holding Human Food (CGMP) regulation. FDA inspectors collected environmeal samples that found Listeria monocytogenes in the facility. That facility makes ready-to-eat cold cut sandwiches and boxed lunches, for which … Read more
Food & Water Watch has sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, stating that the recent recall of 170,000 pounds of imported pork and nine other recent recalls highlights the fact that the Trans Atlantic Trade Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreements may be flawed and problematic for food safety … Read more