A Few Thoughts On The State Of The FDA
1. People keep being surprised that the FDA does not have the power to invoke food recalls itself. Marion Nestle says the FDA’s authority relegates it to asking the companies to “pretty please” recall tainted food (link). This must be why the ‘A’ stands for administration and not authority. The FDA alert [...]
April 11, 2009
Tags: Barack Obama, FDA, food safety, Health, policy Posted in: Health, Politics 
2 Comments
Big Organic Versus Small Organic
To many naturalists, hippies, granolas, etc., big organic is a big oxymoron. For them the ideal, sustainable farming model remains the small, organic farmer, like Polyface Farm (which was featured in Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma). For others, big organic is simply the most pragmatic, efficient way of promoting the organic process. It’s the best [...]
April 7, 2009
Tags: agriculture, farmers, FDA, green, marketing, USDA Posted in: Health 2 Comments
FDA Food Recalls on Twitter
If installing your own CDC widget to monitor recent food recalls doesn’t have you on the edge of your seat, either in excitement or cringing in fear, then following FDA recalls via Twitter may be just the thing you are after. Â A quick browse of the recent updates shows that the FDA is announcing mostly [...]
March 17, 2009
Tags: FDA, food safety Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health No Comments
Obama Addresses Nation’s Food Safety
President Obama has said before that food safety is important to him. His radio address this past Saturday demonstrates that he is willing, rather literally, to put his money where his mouth is. In his speech he outlined the many issues befouling contemporary food safety regulation and defines part of the solution. [...]
March 16, 2009
Tags: agriculture, Barack Obama, FDA, food event, food safety, heroes, policy, USDA Posted in: Health, Politics No Comments
FDA Seeks Rapid Test For Salmonella, Should Go After Root Cause Too
The recent outbreaks of food-borne illness, some from peanut butter, others from tomatoes and peppers, have had people pointing their fingers at the Food and Drug Administration. Needless to say, the FDA is looking for ways to defend its role as monitor of public safety. They blame the outdated modes of laboratory technology [...]
March 13, 2009
Tags: agriculture, farmers, FDA, food, food safety, policy, USDA Posted in: Health, Politics, Science & Technology No Comments
Lawmakers Seeking New Food Safety Protocols Should Seek One Agency
One should not let a crisis go to waste. Still, it is rather sad that it took a food catastrophe of this magnitude to convince lawmakers  that it is time to revamp a system so integral to our nation’s well-being:
DeLauro and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., have been proposing an overhaul of the nation’s food [...]
March 9, 2009
Tags: FDA, food, food safety, policy, USDA Posted in: Politics One Comment
Food Safety and Big Government
When I read headlines like “Peanut Recall Wipes out Energy Bar Company,” it confounds me to see that there are still people that who complain about regulations being bad for business in all cases. They continually insist that governmental oversight is bad for both everyday citizens and businesses. However, the lack of oversight [...]
February 23, 2009
Tags: Barack Obama, FDA, food event, food safety, Health, melamine, policy, USDA Posted in: Health, Politics One Comment
Who Put Fish in My Peanut Butter? Scientists Disover Quicker Way to Test for Salmonella
Okay, so they aren’t really putting fish into the peanut butter.  The recent outbreak scandal involving salmonella in peanut butter has brought food safety to the fore.  The slowness of the FDA to identify and recall contaminated peanut butter has been widely criticized (link).  Scientists, thankfully, have come to the FDA’s aid. They have found [...]
January 22, 2009
Tags: FDA, fish, salmonella Posted in: Science & Technology No Comments
Coke Gets Sued for Advertising VitaminWater as Healthy
Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a class-action lawsuit against Coca-Cola, the parent company of Glaceau Vitamin Water. Vitamin Water, says CSPI, makes sugary drinks that promote obesity but positions these products as healthful because they contain added vitamins and herbs. Does this make them healthier? No, but [...]
January 20, 2009
Tags: FDA, Health, nutrition, obesity, policy, soda Posted in: Health, Politics No Comments
The Truth About Expiration Dates
Contrary to popular belief, there is very little science behind expiration dates. Â Beyond infant formula and some meats, expiration and ’sell by’ dates are mere suggestions that hint at dates of freshness or quality, not safety.
Baby formula is regulated by the FDA to have exact amounts of certain nutrients, and because these nutrients degrade over [...]
December 30, 2008
Tags: FDA, food safety, USDA Posted in: Health, Politics 2 Comments
