Food News
Legislation compliance costs European egg sector dearly
Watt Ag Net | Posted on October 23, 2017Complying with European Union legislation adds, on average, an extra 16 percent to the cost of egg production in Europe, a new study reveals. These additional costs of egg production at the farm level directly relate to European legislation on animal welfare, environmental protection and food safety, according to new research from the Economic Research Institute (LEI) of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Most of the additional cost arises from the minimum 750 square centimeter space allowance per bird in enriched cages in the EU.
Feds trying to seize raw camel milk suspected in interstate case
Food Safety News | Posted on October 23, 2017Federal officials are attempting to seize more than $70,000 in raw camel milk products stored in a warehouse in Kansas City, KS, including some bearing labels from a Missouri dairy, because they were allegedly shipped in interstate commerce in violation of federal law. In an action filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, KS, the Department of Justice states that inspectors from the Food and Drug Administration estimate about 4,300 8- and 16-ounce bottles of frozen camel milk, colostrum and kefir are stored in the My Magic Kitchen Inc. refrigerated warehouse.More than 3,800 of the bottles contain raw camel milk and products made from it, which sell for $10 to $18 on the internet. A few hundred of the bottles contain pasteurized camel milk products. Kansas does not have any licensed camel dairy operations. If it did, sales of raw camel milk/products would be limited to “on-farm” scenarios. Kansas law prohibits retail sales and herd share sales of unpasteurized milk.The Kansas Department of Agriculture embargoed the products in question in August.Illegal interstate commerce isn’t the only problem with the camel milk products stored at My Magic Kitchen warehouse. They are also considered “new drugs” under federal law because of health claims made on their labels and on the website of Desert Farms Inc., a California company that contracts with a network of raw camel milk producers across the country.
The Influence of Food Store Access on Grocery Shopping and Food Spending
USDA | Posted on October 23, 2017Six percent of U.S. households are access-burdened: they do not use their own vehicle to travel to the store for groceries and live more than 0.5 mile from the nearest SNAP-authorized supermarket or superstore (SM/SS), which we use to proxy the nearest source of healthy and affordable food. Further analysis showed that: • Seventy-seven percent of access-burdened households reported a shopping event at a supermarket, superstore, large grocery store, or warehouse store during the survey week compared to 87 percent for households with sufficient access. Of those who visited these large stores during the survey week, sufficient-access households had 2.8 shopping events at such a store, while access-burdened households averaged 2.4 shopping events. • Although they average fewer trips, access-burdened households spend almost the same percentage of their weekly food expenditures at large stores as households with sufficient access—57 percent of total spending for access-burdened households and 58 percent for sufficient-access households.The per capita spending of access-burdened households at such stores is slightly lower—$28.77 on average for the survey week compared with $29.97 for households www.ers.usda.gov United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Economic Information Bulletin Number 180 October 2017 The Influence of Foodstore Access on Grocery Shopping and Food Spending Michele Ver Ploeg Elizabeth Larimore Parke Wilde Summary with sufficient access. These findings suggest that access-burdened households overcome limited food retail options to spend similarly to sufficient-access households at large stores. Access-burdened households have a median monthly income of $1,240 compared to $4,388 for sufficientaccess households, which may account for some of the differences in spending patterns at restaurants and other types of stores.
Audit finds shortcomings in USDA foreign meat oversight
Capital Press | Posted on October 20, 2017An internal USDA audit has found shortcomings in the agency’s system for ensuring foreign meat and egg inspections are equivalent to those in the U.S. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspections Service is charged with ensuring meat and egg products imported into the U.S. are subject to equivalent protections against food safety hazards.Auditors from USDA’s Office of Inspector General said the agency has a “robust system” for scrutinizing countries that apply to export meat and eggs to the U.S. but found fault with its ongoing monitoring of trading partners once they’ve qualified.The audit said that “without more robust controls” for determining the equivalence of foreign inspections, the FSIS program is “vulnerable to weaknesses that increase the risk of adulterated or unsafe meat, poultry, or egg products being imported into the United States.”In response to the audit, FSIS said it was making improvements to enact many of the audit’s recommendations, though the agency disagreed with some of the characterizations in the report.The report claimed FSIS didn’t consistently follow its own policy for auditing countries based on performance assessments, for example.
Food law leaves Maine meat producers squealing for a fix
Maine Press Herald | Posted on October 20, 2017The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will override Maine’s ability to run its own meat inspection program unless the state clarifies the law. Maine’s Department of Agriculture is concerned that the law would keep it from inspecting any meat slaughtered and processed in a town that is food sovereign, negating an agreement it has with the USDA to meet federal standards. The prospect that meat-processing facilities like Bisson’s could close, even temporarily, has sent food producers across Maine into a state of near panic and confusion. The cause of the problem is the food sovereignty bill that Gov. Paul LePage signed into law in June despite opposition from his chief agricultural advisers. The bill, called “An Act to Recognize Local Control Regarding Food Systems,” endorses the right of Maine communities to declare themselves “food sovereign,” something 20 communities, including several on the Blue Hill Peninsula, already have done.In practical terms, it means consumers can buy directly from farmers and food producers in those communities who are operating outside of state and federal licensing. The legislation was intended by those who shaped it, including state Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, its sponsor, and state Rep. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, who has put forth numerous similar bills, as a means to encourage local food production and consumption.
The future of meat
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on October 19, 2017Unsurprisingly, the session that left me with the most questions was one titled “The Mystery of Meat,” featuring speakers from Beyond Meat (plant-based burger company), Mosa Meat (cultured meat) and Memphis Meats (cultured meat). The speakers (aided by representatives in the audience from HSUS and The Good Food Institute, which is a spinoff of Mercy for Animals focused on promoting meat alternatives) pushed the term “clean meat” for their products. If you follow my blogs, you know I have a bone to pick with that word choice. To its credit, the Wall Street Journal referred to “so-called ‘clean meat’” in the conference program.
Dairy industry group continues to attack food companies over alleged 'fear-based' labeling
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted on October 19, 2017A dairy industry group with strong ties to Wisconsin has added more examples to its list of what the group says is “fear-based” food labeling. The latest examples range from “non-GMO” labels on products for which no genetically modified version exists to “no added hormone” labels on poultry products when the addition of hormones is already prohibited by federal law.Some food companies have turned to “fear-based” labeling that plays on the fears of things like GMO products, synthetic animal-growth hormones and high fructose corn syrup, the National Milk Producers Federation says about its “Peel Back the Label” campaign.
50,000 line up outside Tropical Park seeking post-hurricane food assistance
Miami Herald | Posted on October 19, 2017Tens of thousands of wilting South Floridians stood hours in the sweltering, soggy heat Sunday at Tropical Park, waiting to apply for special food stamps available only to victims Hurricane Irma, stunning state officials who were expecting just a fraction of that response. “We’ve been dealing with about 10,000 people a day,” said Ofelia Martinez, the Miami site manager for the state Department of Children and Families (DCF). “But when we opened the doors this morning, the police told us there were already 50,000 people waiting outside.”
Crowdsourcing website identifies foodborne illness outbreak
Food Safety News | Posted on October 19, 2017For at least the third time this year, the crowd-sourced website iwaspoisoned.com has identified a foodborne illness outbreak, this time among students who ate at a Georgia Tech dining hall. The “North Avenue Dining Hall” at the university in Atlanta started showing up in reports on the foodborne illness website in the past couple of days. When such clusters of reports at one foodservice location pop up, Patrick Quade keeps a close eye on the website he launched in 2009. The iwaspoisoned.com founder alerted local health officials in Fulton County, GA, as well as officials at the Georgia Institute of Technology, when he noticed the flurry of reports from students who ate at that specific dining hall. They were reporting the same symptoms of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Seventeen reports hit Quade’s website in less than 24 hours. Statistically speaking, that’s more than a little significant.Tuesday afternoon, university officials notified Georgia Tech students about a possible foodborne illness outbreak and cautioned them to avoid contact with others if they become sick. The school leaders also reminded the student body about proper hand washing.
This Steak-Sharing Startup Targets Foodies Looking for High-End Beef
Bloomberg | Posted on October 18, 2017Crowd Cow delivers premium beef from small, independent farms to foodies nationwide. “People are looking for more clarity about what they’re eating,” says co-founder Ethan Lowry. The company sells one cow at a time, offering shares to customers who’ve signed up for email alerts.