Displaying Articles 1 to 5 of 5
Prev
|
Next
Going 'All Natural' Gets Old: Organics Faltering
6/26/2009
RICK CALLAHAN Associated Press Writer
Associated Press
The organic dairy industry was thriving when Allen and Jean Moody bought a 200-acre Wisconsin dairy farm in 2006 and joined the ranks of farmers churning out milk raised without growth hormones, pesticides or other chemicals.
Three years later, the good days are gone and the Moodys aren't alone in wanting out.
A growing number of farmers who went all-natural in the years when organic food sales were growing at a double-digit pace are giving up their organic certifications. Organic farming is costly and labor-intensive, and many consumers are no longer willing to pay the price in a recession.
Sales in the U.S. of organic foods sold mostly at supermarkets are expected to drop 1.1 percent to $5.07 billion this year, according to the Chicago-based research firm Mintel. While the drop is small, it is the first in an industry that has seen annual growth of 12 percent to 23 percent since 2003.
For the complete news item, please visit http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=7935580
Read the whole story: Going 'All Natural' Gets Old: Organics Faltering
Food and drug expiration dates: what happens in your own kitchen
6/26/2009
Liz Kay
Baltimore Sun
Clearly food and drug dating is a problem that many retailers struggle with, given the reports of supermarkets that don't move expired yogurt from their dairy aisles and the drug stores that can't keep up with the expired over-the-counter medicine and infant formula on their shelves.
But are consumers really in danger when they use products past these dates? What do they really mean, anyway?
For the original blogpost, please visit http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/consuminginterests/blog/2009/06/food_and_drug_expiration_dates.html
Read the whole story: Food and drug expiration dates: what happens in your own kitchen
Nestlé Recall Leaves A Mystery in Its Wake
6/25/2009
Lyndsey Layton and Valerie Strauss
Washington Post
Federal microbiologists and food safety investigators have descended on the Danville, Va., plant that makes Nestlé's refrigerated cookie dough, trying to crack a scientific mystery surrounding a national outbreak of illness from E. coli 0157, a deadly strain of bacteria, which has been linked to the product.
Health officials and food producers puzzled yesterday over how E. coli 0157, a bacterium that lives in the intestines of cattle, could have ended up in a product that seems so unlikely to contain it. "It's a fascinating outbreak," said Craig Hedberg, an expert on food-borne diseases at the University of Minnesota. "By just looking at package labeling, there is no reason you would expect an event like this to occur."
The outbreak, which has sickened at least 65 people in 29 states, is the latest worry for consumers in the Washington area and across the country unnerved by a wave of food-borne illnesses, including botulism associated with canned chili and infections from salmonella linked to peanut products. With cookie dough, like peanut butter, being a favorite of children, the latest outbreak is particularly alarming because the young and the elderly are more likely to develop severe complications if infected with E. coli 0157. More than two-thirds of the 65 victims are younger than 19, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. None has died.
For the original news item, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/20/AR2009062001835.html
Read the whole story: Nestlé Recall Leaves A Mystery in Its Wake
Food-safety rules face biggest change in years
6/25/2009
Martha Lynn Craver
KIPLINGER CONSUMER NEWS SERVICE
A sea change in food-safety regulation is on the way. By the end of the year, Congress will pass legislation that brings the first major overhaul of the nation's food-safety laws in more than 70 years. The action was prompted by a series of foodborne-disease outbreaks as well as tainted imports from China, which laid bare the gaps in U.S. food-safety laws.
There is broad consensus on the need for such reform and surprising agreement on how it should be done. Consumers, industry groups, scientists, President Barack Obama and members of both parties in Congress are all on board. Industry groups recognize the need to increase consumer confidence in the food supply and to avoid costly recalls. The recent salmonella outbreak alone cost the peanut industry more than $1billion.
For the original news item, please visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/orl-lklake-kiplinger-food-safety-r062509jun25,0,5907642.story?track=rss-topicgallery
Read the whole story: Food-safety rules face biggest change in years
New products shown at All Things Organic trade show in Chicago
6/24/2009
Judy Hevrdejs
Chicago Tribune
You've got to love a trade show that boasts distilled-in-Chicago ginger liqueur, lavender-enhanced gin and peppered beef jerky -- each sporting a "USDA Organic" seal. But you'd expect that and more at the All Things Organic Conference and Trade Show, held last week at McCormick Place.
Yes, there were dozens of new products. But consumers also should expect to find a lot more logos and seals on food labels. Biodynamic, fair trade, natural, non-GMO, probiotic and prebiotic, and more. Beginning in July, for example, you'll see the Canada Organic Biologique logo. That's because the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have come to an equivalency agreement that allows products certified by either group to move freely across the border.
Beyond the labels, we spotted a few interesting products, some in stores or restaurants now, others on the way:
For the complete news item, please visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/chi-0624-organic-showjun24,0,2543519.story
Read the whole story: New products shown at All Things Organic trade show in Chicago
Displaying Articles 1 to 5 of 5
Prev
|
Next
Food safety news is compiled from a number of sources and is provided only for informational purposes. Many of the news stories have been compiled, selected, and edited by bites.ksu.edu with permission. News stories from other sources are added as appropriate. Accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Iowa State University. Headlines are sometimes rewritten for clarity or to fit space. Original sources are indicated whenever possible and full stories may not be posted to honor the original author copyright.
Print this Page
