News
U.S. Auditors Want Tougher Ingredient Oversight
March 8, 2010 4:40 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional investigators say the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should pay more attention to the safety of some food ingredients, including one involved in a widespread recall this week. A report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office points out that some spices, artificial flavors and other ingredients are not subject to frequent safety reviews by the FDA because the agency or manufacturers deem them "generally recognized as safe.
Feds Launch Probe Of Big Agriculture
March 8, 2010 4:40 am | CommentsST. LOUIS (AP) — Some Obama administration officials have made clear their unease with the increasing control a handful of corporations have over the nation's food supply, and this week in Iowa they could show whether they are serious about changing the system. The first joint workshops on agriculture by regulators at the U.
UK Agency Probes Kraft-Cadbury Deal
March 8, 2010 4:39 am | CommentsLONDON (AP) — Campaigners to save British jobs at Cadbury have made a complaint to regulators that Kraft Inc. misled employees during its takeover of the chocolate maker after it backtracked on plans to keep a factory open. Amoree Radford, who led a campaign to preserve the Keynsham factory in Somerdale, western England, said she had lodged an official protest with the Takeover Panel.
Japanese Produce Grown In 'Vegetable Factory'
March 8, 2010 4:38 am | CommentsTOKYO, March 8 (Kyodo News International) — Visiting Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen on Monday sampled leaf greens grown in an artificial indoor "vegetable factory" in Tokyo's Shiodome district. The premier praised the facility for "quite a unique and visionary production method" and said the taste of the greens was "excellent.
FDA Cracks Down On Misleading Food Labeling
March 5, 2010 4:20 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on baby food manufacturers and other companies for misleading nutrition labeling on their products, the beginning of a larger effort to set stricter standards for the labels. The FDA sent warning letters to 17 food companies — including Nestle, which produces Gerber's baby food — for violations it says include unauthorized claims about health, nutrient contents and terms such as "healthy.
Ingredient Used In Many Processed Foods Recalled
March 5, 2010 4:05 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — A wide range of processed foods — including soups, snack foods, dips and dressings — is being recalled after salmonella was discovered in a flavor-enhancing ingredient. Food and Drug Administration officials said Thursday that the ingredient, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, is used in thousands of food products, though it was unclear how many of them will be recalled.
Judge Denies Motions In Iowa Slaughterhouse Case
March 5, 2010 4:04 am | CommentsCEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has denied motions for acquittal and a new trial in the bank fraud conviction of a former manager of an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse. U.S. District Judge Linda Reade ruled Wednesday there was sufficient evidence for Sholom Rubashkin's conviction and none of the grounds argued in the motions warranted a new trial.
AB InBev Sees Flat Beer Sales
March 5, 2010 4:03 am | CommentsBRUSSELS (AP) — The world's largest brewer and maker of Budweiser reported Thursday a fourth quarter profit of $1.28 billion, helped by cost cuts and price hikes, but said global beer sales were stagnant and forecast no rebound in 2010. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA sold 0.7 percent less beer and soft drinks in 2009 during the economic downturn and says that global beer demand is neither growing nor shrinking.
Gold Medalists Grace Wheaties Box
March 5, 2010 4:02 am | CommentsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — U.S. Olympic gold medalists Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Seth Wescott are the latest athletes to grace the Wheaties box. Minnesota-based General Mills Inc. says the three Olympians will each get their own orange cereal box. Vonn will be the first female alpine skier to appear, and White and Wescott will be the first snowboard and snowboard cross athletes to earn the coveted spot.
FDA Hosts Workshop On Food Safety Programs
March 5, 2010 4:01 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (FDA) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will host a joint public workshop on how best to measure progress in reducing foodborne illnesses on March 30, in Washington, D.
China Jails 3 Execs For Tainted Milk Products
March 3, 2010 4:37 am | CommentsSHANGHAI (AP) — Three Shanghai dairy executives have been sentenced to jail after milk products their company made were found to be tainted with an industrial chemical at the center of China's milk safety scandal. Shanghai Panda Dairy Co. was forced to close last year when unacceptably high levels of melamine, which can cause kidney stones or failure, were found in milk powder and condensed milk.
Farmers Move From Cows To Chardonnay
March 3, 2010 4:37 am | CommentsWARREN, Conn. (AP) — A winter breeze rustles through the brittle and dormant vines twisting along the hills of Bill Hopkins' vineyard, the latest transformation of a Connecticut farm that since 1786 has been keeping up with changing agriculture, markets and consumer tastes. The 100-acre family farm on Lake Waramaug in western Connecticut's Litchfield Hills has raised sheep, race horses, tobacco, grain crops and dairy cows.
Study: Food-Borne Illnesses Cost U.S. $152B
March 3, 2010 4:36 am | CommentsYAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli and salmonella, cost the United States $152 billion annually in health care and other losses, according to a report released Wednesday by a food safety group. The report comes as the U.S. Senate considers legislation that would require more government inspections of food manufacturers and give the Food and Drug Administration new authority to order recalls, among other things.
Seafood Company Recalls Oysters In 10 States
March 3, 2010 4:35 am | CommentsNEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — OM Seafood Co. is recalling oysters that were harvested from Yaquina Bay on the Oregon coast and distributed to nine other states. The Portland-based company said Tuesday that the oyster meat and oysters in the shell, harvested from Feb. 1 through Feb. 24, may be contaminated with norovirus.
TreeHouse Acquires Sturm Foods
March 3, 2010 4:34 am | CommentsWESTCHESTER, Ill. (AP) — Food maker TreeHouse Foods Inc. said Tuesday it has completed the $660 million acquisition of Sturm Foods Inc. TreeHouse announced the acquisition of Sturm, a maker of hot cereal and powdered soft drink mixes, in December. The transaction will strengthen TreeHouse's presence in private-label groceries, TreeHouse has said.
Cutting 'Junk Foods' From Schools May Level Obesity Rates
March 3, 2010 4:34 am | CommentsSAN FRANCISCO (AScribe Newswire) — New policies that eliminate sugary beverages and junk foods from schools may help slow childhood obesity, according to a San Francisco State University study released today and published in the March issue of the journal Health Affairs. "This is one of the very first comprehensive investigations that examined whether childhood obesity trends changed after new statewide policies were enacted in California," said the study's first author Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, assistant professor of health education at SF State.
HSUS Backs Idaho Senator On Cockfighting
March 2, 2010 4:34 am | CommentsBOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho senator is walking a tightrope on poultry-related legislation. Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, has secured the Humane Society of the United States' support for his bill to make cockfighting a felony but its ire on another measure he hopes will help thwart the animal-rights group's efforts to outlaw cramped cages for chickens.
Local Growers Seek Helpful Policies
March 2, 2010 4:33 am | CommentsATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia's longtime agriculture commissioner, Tommy Irvin, has spent more than 41 years building the state's agricultural empire on international trade. But as Irvin retires this year and the state enters a new era of agricultural leadership, the organization that represents the state's organic and naturally grown producers, Georgia Organics, is looking to rebuild at home.
Sen. Collins Announces Funding For Fishing Industry
March 2, 2010 4:32 am | CommentsWASHINGTON, D.C. (CQ Transcriptions, LLC) — U.S. Senator Susan Collins has announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) will provide $10 million in additional funding to support New England's groundfish industry. The Maine Department of Marine Resources will receive $2 million to set up a permit bank for fishing permits, through which fishing opportunity will be preserved for small and remote communities in Maine.
Mass. Food Company Plans Expansion
March 2, 2010 4:31 am | CommentsFALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Officials at a 120-year-old food manufacturing company in Fall River say business has been so good that they plan to double the size of their plant and hire as many as 100 new employees. Todd Blount, president of Blount Fine Foods, tells The Herald News of Fall River that business is up about 10 percent in the restaurant end of their sales and nearly 30 percent in sales to markets and wholesale clubs.
