Posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2012 by Michele Simon
In my role as policy consultant for the Center for Food Safety (CFS), I recently wrote about how the Obama Administration is playing politics and putting public health at risk by stalling on critical food safety regulations needed to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act. I am happy to report that the lawyers at Center for Food Safety aren’t waiting any longer. Along with the Center for Environmental Health, CFS has filed a lawsuit in federal court against both the Food and Drug Administration and the White House Office of Management and Budget for failing to comply with mandated statutory deadlines.
The latter story celebrating government action to “help farmers” — prompted by this U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) press release — was trumpeted by major media outlets across the nation without any questions raised. Of course American farmers need help during times of drought and that effort is well worth supporting, but is the indiscriminate buying up of meat really the best and only idea the feds can come up with? Read rest at Center for Food Safety…
Postscript: Since writing this article, the federal government reported that two people have died and 141 were made sick by salmonella in yet another cantaloupe outbreak, this one in 20 states.
Posted on Friday, July 13th, 2012 by Michele Simon
The United Fresh Produce Association Foundation says it’s “proud to be a Founding Partner of the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools Initiative.” I thought the First Lady should know this trade group is responsible for killing a vital produce testing program that helps keep kids safe from infection.
Dear Mrs. Obama,
I am writing out of deep concern over Let’s Move’s partnerships with the United Fresh Produce Association and the Produce Marketing Association. These two groups have lobbied to kill a vital pathogen testing program. While the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools program is to be applauded, its association with these trade groups is not.
Posted on Friday, February 24th, 2012 by Michele Simon
You’ve probably never heard of the Microbiological Data Program (MDP) but if you eat fresh produce, you should, because it’s currently on President Obama’s budgetary chopping block. The MDP is a small ($5 million annually) pathogen monitoring program tucked away in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It tests fruits and vegetables for deadly bugs like E. coli, salmonella, and listeria.
Posted on Saturday, August 20th, 2011 by Michele Simon
In an email exchange with Dr. Richard Raymond over my recent article on the massive Cargill recall of Salmonella-tainted ground turkey, the former head of food safety at USDA warned me that a likely result of tightened food safety laws would be “higher food prices making meat and poultry unaffordable sources of protein to some.” To which I replied: “I have no problem with that.” Read the rest at Food Safety News.
Posted on Friday, August 12th, 2011 by Michele Simon
As a lawyer who writes about food policy, one of my biggest frustrations is how reporters often get the law wrong, or omit critical pieces of information. Last week the latest massive food safety recall hit the news – 36 million pounds of ground turkey possibly tainted with Salmonella, courtesy of meat giant Cargill. While some media outlets were asking good questions about why it took the federal government so long to release such vital information (problems began in March), others reported that it’s currently legal to sell Salmonella-tainted meat. While the meat industry might like it that way, that’s not the entire story. Read the rest over at Food Safety News. See also this handy 6-point summary by Mark Bittman of the New York Times.
Posted on Monday, February 14th, 2011 by Michele Simon
Last Friday I spoke at the Government Accountability Project Food Integrity Campaign conference. During the lunch break, food safety attorney and advocate Bill Marler hosted a press event with 10 family members of victims of the 2009 Salmonella outbreak in peanuts. Hundreds of companies recalled thousands of products made with peanuts from Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). At least 700 people became ill with Salmonella infections after eating those products, and 9 died.
Posted on Sunday, August 29th, 2010 by Michele Simon
In case you missed it, either because you don’t watch the news, don’t eat eggs, or like me, both, about 1,500 people have so far been sickened by an outbreak of Salmonella in eggs. A massive recall of half a billion eggs from two Iowa factory farms ensued. I was planning to write my own blog post on this when I realized that others have already done such a good job saying what needed to be said. So instead, I am offering up my list of favorite articles by people I already knew or have just come to admire. Continue reading →
Posted on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 by Michele Simon
Today I was interviewed on the Dylan Ratigan Show about the massive egg recall this week, now at more than half a billion eggs, with at least 1,000 people made ill and counting. The host understood that the root cause of the problem is our industrialized, factory farm food system. The segment starts about a minute into the video clip.
