Food

It turns out that millennials, perhaps the most important generation in terms of retail sales, are big consumers of organic food and other products, according to new study results announced today by the Organic Trade Association. About 52 percent of household heads that buy organic food are millennials in the prized 18- to-34-year-old age group, the study concluded.  “That's huge and it means we've got a good future ahead of us,” Organic Trade Association CEO Laura Batcha said today at the group's All Things Organic Conference in Baltimore. [node:read-more:link]

For as tasty a reputation as it may have, raw milk may equally be the bane of public health officials everywhere.  Over the weekend, local and state Colorado health officials jointly announced that an outbreak of the foodborne illness campylobacteriosis had so far affected 20 people. [node:read-more:link]

There’s a new food category that is gaining popularity with shoppers, but that’s also becoming an enemy of farmers — both of the conventional and organic persuasion.  The Chronicle reported that Clover Stornetta Farms of Petaluma would be adding non-GMO certification to its conventional milk in early 2017, meaning it would require dairy farmers use GMO-free feed with its conventional herds. Milk is not genetically engineered, and neither are dairy cows. Most conventional milk comes from cows given supplemental feed from genetically engineered corn and soy. [node:read-more:link]

When Massachusetts voters head to the polls in November, supporters of a pro-farm animal ballot question want them to have one question in their minds: What would it feel like to spend their entire lives without enough room to stand up, turn around, stretch their arms and legs and lay down again. Opponents hope voters will have their eyes on their wallets instead, arguing that approving the ballot question will drive up the costs of eggs and meat. [node:read-more:link]

Liberals and conservatives don’t only disagree on presidential candidates; they also differ on their views about food, according to the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2016 Food and Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes Toward Food Safety, Nutrition & Health. The survey shows while more liberals (38 percent) name pesticides as their top food safety concern, more conservatives (40 percent) are most concerned about cancer-causing chemicals in food. [node:read-more:link]

Adams Farm Slaughterhouse, LLC, an Athol, Mass., establishment, is recalling beef, veal, and Bison products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. [node:read-more:link]

A few weeks ago, Stefan Jansson, a Swedish plant biologist, sat down to a plate of pasta with cabbage harvested from his garden. This cabbage was like none any human had eaten before; its DNA had been edited via a much-hyped new gene-editing technique called CRISPR. Jansson’s meal was the first time anyone anywhere had professed to eating CRISPR-modified food—an entirely new category of GMOs.  But far from being some bizarre “frankenfood,” the cabbage looked almost exactly the same as unedited cabbage. [node:read-more:link]

There are new reports of aflatoxin in corn and deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat in the U.S., according toNeogen’s Mycotoxin Report on September 19. Diplodia ear rot also has been reported in corn in Michigan and Ohio. [node:read-more:link]

Eggs from small flocks of chickens are more likely to be contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis than eggs sold in grocery stores, which typically come from larger flocks that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This news comes from researchers from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.  That conclusion—which flies in the face of conventional wisdom that eggs from backyard poultry and small local enterprises are safer to eat than "commercially produced" eggs—was drawn from a first-of-its kind, six-month study done last year in Pennsylvania. [node:read-more:link]

Whole Foods Market says it has launched a series of new environmental efforts related to certain hazardous waste after announcing a settlement deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  The EPA said it fined the organic foods giant $3.5 million after finding about a year ago that it wasn’t properly documenting and disposing of returned items of hand sanitizer, vitamins and other products in several states, including Texas. [node:read-more:link]