As a near-year-round body, the California Legislature does things a little differently. Until the middle of September, it has adjourned most of its committees to put the Upper Chamber’s focus almost entirely on floor action.
Continue Reading Just before the final vote, one item was removed from AB418’s list of substances banned in foodDan Flynn
Editor Dan Flynn is a Northern Colorado-based writer and editor with more more than 15 years of food safety experience. As a public affairs professional, he worked with government and regulatory agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. His career as a journalist included working for newspapers throughout the West, from the Black Hills to Seattle. His on-scene reporting on the collapse of the Idaho’s Teton Dam and the suicide bombing at Washington State University’s Perham Hall was carried by newspapers around the world and was recognized both times regionally by the Associated Press for Best Reporting on a Deadline. Most of the disasters he attends these days involve food illnesses.
New food safety laws take effect in Texas
The 88th Texas Legislature passed two bills impacting food establishments with Sept. 1 implementation dates. The new laws benefit the 55,000 food service establishments in the Lone Star State that employ more than 1.4 million Texans…
Continue Reading New food safety laws take effect in TexasOregon invests $9 million to become one of 29 states approved to inspect meat
By legislative action, Oregon is putting up $9 million for the Oregon Department of Agriculture to conduct state meat inspections.
Oregon’s State Inspection Program meets the same regulatory safeguards that USDA requires. Before the Oregon State…
Continue Reading Oregon invests $9 million to become one of 29 states approved to inspect meatUSDA Enforcement Report for the 3rd quarter is in
The Quarterly Enforcement Report for April 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023, shows carcass inspections for livestock fell to 39,410 570. It was the first time in Fiscal Year 2023 that the number fell below…
Continue Reading USDA Enforcement Report for the 3rd quarter is inFDA Commissioner names EPA insider to agency’s top food safety post
EPA’s James “Jim” Jones was named Wednesday as the first FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods.
In an expanded position, he will fill the voids left at the FDA by the February departure of Frank…
Continue Reading FDA Commissioner names EPA insider to agency’s top food safety postThe skin may come off on more than a baseball in this no holds battle in Congress
Competition in Congress over the EATS Act is unusual because it’s being played for keeps. Usually, concerns about relationships and the near certainty that a current opponent will be an ally next time mean such…
Continue Reading The skin may come off on more than a baseball in this no holds battle in CongressEATS Act brings delay and risk to new $1.5 trillion Farm Bill
The soon-to-expire Farm Bill is now at risk from an agriculture civil war that has broken out over the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act. While Congress remains on its summer recess, the battle over…
Continue Reading EATS Act brings delay and risk to new $1.5 trillion Farm BillWashington State Health names milkshakes as source of deadly Listeriosis outbreak
The mortality rate hit 50 percent, with three deaths out of six Listeriosis illnesses in a recent Washington State outbreak blamed on milkshakes served at a Frugals restaurant in Tacoma.
The Washington State Health Department…
Continue Reading Washington State Health names milkshakes as source of deadly Listeriosis outbreakRecess dust-up may turn into fall’s Battle Royal as pork-producing states want California out of their business
The EATS Act, to stop California from regulating America’s farms and ranches by protecting states’ authority to regulate agriculture within their borders, is turning into a significant dustup that is not waiting for the congressional…
Continue Reading Recess dust-up may turn into fall’s Battle Royal as pork-producing states want California out of their businessLetter from the Editor: Stewart Parnell’s ride on the ‘Great Writ’ is about to start its 5th year.
Stewart Parnell is the most reviled character from one of food safety’s worst tragedies.
By their convictions and sentencing, Stewart Parnell, 69, and brother Michael Parnell, 64, respectfully still have 15 and 8 years before…
Continue Reading Letter from the Editor: Stewart Parnell’s ride on the ‘Great Writ’ is about to start its 5th year.