A new report by the U.S. PIRG (public interest research groups) has found that most supermarkets are failing to post food recalls and don’t make it easy for consumers to find out about recalled products. The report is titled, “Food Recall Failure: Will your supermarket warn you about hazardous food?” It gave a failing grade … Read more
The USDA is offering Super Bowl food safety tips. There are things to think about if you are hosting a party for the big game. Start with party prep, and learn about serving food and what to do when the party is over. First, wash your hands well with soap and water immediately before and … Read more
Most Americans have had food poisoning at one time or another, giving that 48,000,000 Americans contract this form of illness every year. Most people think they have the “stomach flu” or a “24 hour bug” when they actually have food poisoning. How do you report a problem with food? What do you do if you … Read more
It’s back to school time, and that means kids are going to be bringing bag lunches to school. Did you know that if those bags contain perishable foods, they must be handled and stored properly? The USDA has tips to help you keep your child safe. Harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and … Read more
American beef Packers of Chino, California, is recalling about 24,428 pounds of raw beef products that are “deemed unfit for human consumption,” according to a notice by the USDA. FSIS inspection personnel retained the carcass and collected a sample for analysis. Before the test results came back, the carcass was released and processed into raw … Read more
The USDA is offering tips to help keep your backyard barbecue safe from Staphylococcus aureus bacteria this summer. Cooking outdoors presents special challenges, including grilling food to a safe internal temperature, and higher ambient temperatures. The press release focuses on Staphylococcus aureus, which sickens about 240,000 Americans every year. About 1,000 of those patients need … Read more
According to Stericycle Expert Solutions, which releases a summary of recall trends every quarter, recalls of food, pharmaceutical, and consumer products declined “significantly” for the first time since 2012 in the first quarter of 2019. The press release states that “The declines were largely due to reduced oversight from the government shutdown earlier this year … Read more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a best practices guideline to help the meat and poultry industry respond to customer complaints about adulterated and misbranded products, in particular, reports of foreign materials in these products. This document is not regulatory. Since the beginning of 2019, there have … Read more
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has released its 2019 report on federal oversight of food safety, and the results are mixed. Food safety remains on the High Risk List, which is updated every two years. The safety of the U.S. food supply is covered by a system that includes 30 federal laws administered by 15 … Read more
There have been seven recalls of meat food products for possible foreign material contamination since the beginning of January, 2019. This large number of recalls, which has affected more than 427,000 pounds of food. News reports are suggesting that the USDA, which regulates these foods, may make some changes to guidance for food processors. One … Read more