Finally -- More Direction at the USDA

S.T.O.P.—Safe Tables Our Priority extends our congratulations to Dr. Elisabeth Hagen on her nomination for the position of Undersecretary for Food Safety.

Dr. Hagen has hands on experience working for the United State’s Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in addition to being board-certified in both internal medicine and infectious diseases. She has also been in various management positions that include risk assessments and applied epidemiology activities that include foodborne illness investigations. I am confident that these qualifications and her background make her more than capable for the job. Having someone leading in the position of Undersecretary who understands the importance and need for regulatory measures that promote food safety and prevent foodborne illness is encouraging.

It is unbelievable that this position of Undersecretary for Food Safety—which is the highest food safety position at USDA—has been vacant for so long. Every week at S.T.O.P. we send out E-alerts that have far more food meat and poultry recalls than we would like to see. We look forward to the Senate confirming Dr. Hagen’s appointment quickly, so she can help provide the much-needed leadership and oversight that is necessary to reduce the numerous product recalls.

S.T.O.P. is eager to work with Dr. Hagen to further food safety policies that will keep consumers safe from contaminated foods that lead to devastating foodborne illnesses. We look forward to seeing her take this new position.

As always, you can find more information about food safety and recalls by signing up for our S.T.O.P. E-alerts which are delivered right to your e-mail inbox.

Help Us Pick A Topic For Our Next TeleSeminar!

I hope you all have had a great week.    At S.T.O.P.- Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.), we sponsor call-in TeleSeminars with food safety experts on interesting topics several times throughout the year.  We’re planning our Spring 2010 call now and want to know which food poisoning and food safety topics  you would like to hear about most….what interests you and what will benefit you the most?  Here are a few possibilities to choose from:

Option 1: School Lunch Safety

We’ve been seeing a lot of news articles and blog posts these past few weeks about the safety and quality of school lunches.  Considering many children rely on food provided by schools, it’s not hard to understand why contaminated lunches have become such an issue for the public.

Option 2: How to Protect Yourself from Risky Foods

While there often seems to be a lot of tips and information available on keeping yourself safe from risky foods and unsanitary cooking conditions, there are also many myths and just plain wrong information floating around.  There are many surprisingly easy ways to be conscientious about risky foods.

Option 3: Import Food Safety - Where is Our Food Coming From?

Many of us enjoy food from high-end supermarkets, organic sections of the grocery store and restaurants thinking that the foods we eat are coming from a safe and clean source.  This is not always the case, and you can be a lot smarter about choosing safe foods when you know where it’s coming from.

Option 4: BPA in Plastics - Problems in Baby Bottles, Water Bottles, etc.

There have also been recent articles about Bisphenol A in plastic bottles.  There is a lot of uncertainty about the health risks associated with consuming BPA and educating ourselves is the first step to understanding how best to guard ourselves from any possible harm it could cause.

Option 5: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Food Safety

Any questions you might have about food safety can be answered by our experts.  Sometimes we all need a refresher course on the basics, and there are always more complex questions about food safety that need answers.

We would love to hear from you and find out what you want to discuss the most.  You can either take the poll on our facebook page and tell us what topic you’d like for our next Teleseminar, or you email us at mail@safetables.org and let us know!  Of course, when you sign up for our S.T.O.P. E-alerts you will be automatically invited to S.T.O.P. Teleseminars in addition to receiving timely news and alerts on food safety and recalls delivered right to your email inbox.

One Year Later and Still Waiting for a Solution…

This week is the one year anniversary of the PCA outbreak when Salmonella- contaminated peanut products caused a major, multi-state foodborne-illness outbreak -- an outbreak that occurred as a result of outdated and ineffective regulation and oversight by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Nine people died, over 700 were sickened, and close to 3900 products containing peanuts or peanut paste were recalled.  Many people lost mothers, fathers, and other close relatives; others had children or other family members who fell ill, or were sickened themselves.   Outraged Congressmen and Senators convened hearings, during which they promised to implement meaningful food safety reforms. Despite, the immediate action, concern and bustle of activity, we are still waiting for Congress to enact FDA food safety legislation containing the types of provisions that would have prevented the PCA outbreak.
 

While the tragedy of 9 deaths and hundreds of illnesses is devastating in and of itself, the massiveness of the PCA outbreak created a life of its own.  Contaminated peanut products
touched the lives of nearly every American a year ago. You couldn’t go to the gym and eat your favorite protein bar because it had peanut paste in it, you couldn’t make a simple peanut butter sandwich for yourself or your kids, you had to think twice about what snacks to buy at the grocery store because so many of them contain peanut products.  To still be waiting on a solution one year later is preposterous.
 

Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.) along with our coalition partners is sending a letter to Congress today signed by almost 60 victims and family members who were directly affected by the PCA outbreak to urge movement by Senate leadership and ask that S. 510—the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act be scheduled for a floor vote, finalized by a conference
committee, and presented to President Obama for signature before Valentine’s Day, February 14th.  Even though many people were lucky enough to not become ill from the outbreak, it still affected all of us.
 

Contact your Senator to push the Senate to schedule S. 510 for a floor vote.  And remember, for to keep up to date on information about food recalls and outbreak, sign up for our S.T.O.P. E-alerts, delivered right to your email inbox.

Weekly Round Up

It’s a New Year with New Updates in the world of food safety!  Here is a sampling of what to look out for and what to know as 2010 begins.  Remember, you can receive this information and more by signing up for our S.T.O.P. E-alerts!  Have a safe and happy 2010!!

UPDATE: Applebee’s, Darden also hit by beef recall

The Nation’s Restaurant News gives us an update of which restaurant chains have been affected by a December recall of beef. 

FDA Seizes More Than $1 Million Worth of Food from Nashville Food Processor and Warehouse 

This release discusses the FDA’s actions to prevent the distribution of food from a rodent infested facility.

New York Times cafeteria food may be past its deadline: Health Dept. probe after staffers get sick

The New York Times cafeteria was shut down last week due to possibly being the cause of food poisoning for at least 15 of its staffers. 

Soda Fountains Squirt Fecal Bacteria, Study Finds

This informative ABC News article details a small study showing 70% of beverages coming from soda fountains having SOME type of bacteria.

Thank God for food safety reporters and bloggers

Let’s have a small round of applause for all the food safety reporters and bloggers who give us information on recalls and alerts when other organizations lag behind. 

Weekly Round Up

Here is the round up for this week.  A lot of interesting articles and concern for food safety, which is good.  Remember, to receive articles and food safety information and recalls sign up for our S.T.O.P. E-alerts.  Have a great weekend!



26,500 school cafeterias lack required inspections
USA Today article with more coverage on the un-safe conditions in school cafeterias, including the number of schools that fail to have their kitchens inspected enough or even AT ALL.

Va.-based peanut company executives seek bite of $1 million policy
Update on a Lynchburg VA peanut distributor’s executives who are seeking legal fees from their insurance company after a salmonella outbreak caused 714 people to become sick in 46 states and Canada as a result of the outbreak. Infections from the outbreak may have contributed to nine deaths

Two Families Sue Simsbury Dairy, West Hartford Store Over Tainted Raw Milk
This article tells the story of two families’ suing a dairy and grocery store after their children fell sick and suffered kidney failure after consuming contaminated milk.

Congress must pass food-safety rules
A poignant response to John F. Keane’s attack on Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s support for a new approach to food safety.

Raw Oyster and Food Safety Legislation
An update on the recent debate of pasteurizing gulf oysters during the warm months before selling them to consumers, and what that will cost the oyster industry.

Overhaul of U.S. food safety system is overdue
“FDA oversight hasn't had a major revision for more than 50 years. Farms are inspected about once a decade; about 1% of imported food is examined. Congress should act now to protect the public.”—It always feels good to know that others support our cause.  This editorial lays out exactly why the food safety bill needs to be passed.
 
U.S. opens import food safety center
Progress is being made. The Department of Homeland Security has opened a new Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC) in an effort to ensure the safety of foods imported into this country.

Holiday Food Safety: STOP Tele-seminar on How to Eat Safely and Stay Healthy This Holiday Season

With H1N1 casting a shadow on all our social interactions, food safety is particularly important this holiday season. Not only do we need to think about how long that egg nog has been sitting on the buffet table – or left on the counter in the kitchen before it was served – we also need to worry about food handling and not passing along Swine Flu.

That’s why S.T.O.P. Is conducting a special tele-seminar on Holiday Foods and Food Safety, next Thursday, December 17 at 3pm ET. Chef Myron “Keith” Norman will join me in a conversation about what to look out for and what questions to ask to help you and your family stay healthy as you attend parties or prepare for festivities at home.

Chef Keith is food safety manager of the South Point Hotel Casino and food safety service instructor at the Art Institute of Nevada. I am executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, with close to two decades of experience in food safety.

During this event, there will also be a concurrent twittercast at #foodsafety. We’ll also take call-in questions, though we do ask people to send questions beforehand to mail@safetables.org so that we can have them ready to address during the tele-seminar.

Please let us know if you’ll be joining us by Tuesday, December 15, 2009. You can RSVP to mail@safetables.org or to safetables1@gmail.com. 

Weekly Round Up

I hope you all had a good week.  We’ve been hustling and bustling over here at S.T.O.P. but we still wanted to give you a heads up on the interesting stories regarding food safety this week.  Here are some articles and blog posts that caught our attention.  Remember to sign up for our free S.T.O.P. E-alerts to get this and more information delivered to your inbox!

Mayo reports on slaughterhouse illness research
Doctors from the Mayo Clinic confirm that 24 illnesses in slaughterhouses were caused by an autoimmune response to a mist of pig brain tissue
 
Some Premium Edge cat food products recalled; FDA warns dog owners about possible salmonella contamination in Pet Carousel pigs' ears, beef hooves
An article informing cat owners about a voluntary recall of Premium Edge cat food.
 
How safe is that chicken?
A consumer report article on the amount of pathogens being found in chicken sold in stores and reminding readers to cook chicken properly!
 
Why a recall of tainted beef didn't include school lunches
School lunches are still very much a hot topic in the food safety world as a recall of tainted beef didn’t include school lunches despite 39 people in 11 different states being reported sick.
 
UPDATE 1-US warns Tyson on seafood violations at Texas site
Tyson Foods, Inc. has been warned by U.S. regulators about violations in their Texas plant where seafood sauces and soups were “prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health…”
 
Tales From the Crypt: Gross Food Stories
An interesting (and disgusting) blog post about chicken coop waste being fed to cattle which would then be unsafe for human consumption
 
Paralyzed Woman Sues Cargill in E. coli Lawsuit for $100,000,000
A legal food safety blog post about a young woman who was left paralyzed by eating a burger tainted by E.coli.