Americans Confident of U.S. Food Supply Safety
The International Food Information Council’s 2012 Food & Health Survey reveals that most Americans (78 percent) are “somewhat confident” or “very confident” in the safety of the food and beverages that they consume. In 2011, just 50 percent of respondents had the same level of confidence in the safety of what they consume. Other highlights of the survey include that although...
Read MoreIndustry Braces for Another Meat Story
According to the American Meat Institute, the same ABC reporter who pushed the issue of lean finely textured beef (LFTB) into a national controversy is working on a story about transglutaminase. Transglutaminase are enzymes used in the food service industry to bind meat and other food products together. For example, they can be used to attach bacon around a filet mignon or to help bind two large...
Read MoreBPI to Close Three Plants
Company officials with Beef Products Inc., the nation’s largest producer of lean finely textured beef, announced the permanent closure of three plants on May 25. The plants are located in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Kan; and Waterloo, Iowa. The company’s plant in South Sioux City, Neb., will remain open, operating at reduced capacity. More than 650 people will lose their jobs after the...
Read MoreMore BSE Info Released
USDA is continuing its epidemiological investigation of a California dairy cow determined to be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service—in collaboration with the California Department of Food and Agriculture—has identified that one progeny born to the positive cow in the last two years was stillborn, and another has been...
Read MoreBSE Detected in CA Dairy Cow
A dairy cow in California tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), USDA announced Tuesday at a press conference. The animal was identified at a renderer and was never presented for slaughter. The cow never entered the food chain and poses no risk to beef supplies of human health. “It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk...
Read MoreMelon Growers Get Organized
Southeast Colorado melon growers are forming a new COOP to help increase safety and consumer confidence in the Rocky Ford brand following last year’s deadly listeria outbreak. The COOP is being organized by every melon grower in the region and will be the center of a new food safety auditing and tracking system for the regions melons. In addition to hiring a new third party auditor and...
Read MoreLegislative Tracking 2013
