In 1992 in response to a growing risk of pathogenic E. coli being linked to hamburger being cooked to the 140 degrees then suggested by the FDA Food Code, the State of Washington Department of Health increased the recommended temperature to 155 degrees – the only state to do so. Officials disseminated the new temperature
Wait, Didn’t I just get Home?
I was in Alaska, Minnesota and Washington D.C. last week and now need to start thinking of packing for New York City.
Eating Through Time: Food, Health and History The New York Academy of Medicine – We are pleased to announce our 3rd Annual Festival celebrating the intersections of the humanities and health. Join chefs
North to Alaska
The Johnny Horton song keeps running through my head as I try to sleep before heading North to the Alaska Environmental Health Association annual meeting in Anchorage.
A Stiff, Cold Wind
A week ago last Monday, I was sitting in a bar in the Boston airport across the gate from my delayed flight (I would eventually get home a day late) monitoring tweets and texts for the outcome of the sentencing of Stewart Parnell, his brother Michael Parnell, and their “food safety” director Mary Wilkerson, which
Off to Chicago to ACI Food Safety Conference
I think this might well be my 10th ACI Conference – looks like a good one:
From Peanut Butter and Jelly to Peanut Butter and Jail
In 2009 President Obama was quoted:
“At a bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter,” the president said.
“That’s what Sasha eats for lunch,” Obama said, referring to his 7-year-old daughter. “Probably three times a week. I don’t want to worry
Food Safety and Food Terrorism
Imagine this: At 10:00 PM, after yet another story about Donald Trump, a foreign TV network begins airing a video taken inside a facility showing someone treating wash water in a cucumber packing house with an unknown liquid. There is a claim that this was the terrorist act that has so far sickened 341 and
FSMA and the CEO
In the spring of 2007, I was asked to testify before the U.S. House of Representative’s Energy and Commerce Committee, which was the committee tasked with modernizing our food safety system. From those hearings, which stretched from 2007 to 2009, came the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). On the Senate side of the hill, work
Another Friday and Another Food Safety Speech
Over the last 10 years, I have been averaging about 20 speeches a year on issues surrounding food safety. The talks have taken me to most parts of the United States, as well as Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and China. However, it is always nice to be a bit closer
American Association for Justice (AAJ) Weighs in on Food Safety – Welcome Aboard
Food manufacturers have created dangerous production systems that are sending Americans to the hospital all too often, a new report today by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) says. Because regulators have been unable to keep up with an ever-changing industry, the civil justice system has become consumers’ most important protection against unsafe food.
Every