FDA Condones Irradiation Of Certain Types Of Produce

After several incidents of contaminated produce sickening people across the nation, the Food and Drug Administration has decided to allow food producers to use irradiation to kill dangerous organisms such as E-coli and salmonella on fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce. While the FDA contends that the process will make food safer, some food safety advocates have argued that the agency’s decisions could lower nutritional value, create unsafe chemicals and ruin taste. The FDA disputes those claims, insisting that the agency has found no serious nutritional or chemical changes associated with irradiation. Read more

CDC Says Not Much Progress in Fight Against Foodborne Illness

“More needs to be done,” according to Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His assessment is based on 2007 data taken from the CDC’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). FoodNet was designed to monitor the development and spread of foodborne diseases and to conduct epidemiological studies accordingly. FoodNet’s population closely resembles that of the United States in general but does not represent the entire US population. Instead, it is based on just 10 states’ data. Read more

Gastric Acid May Help Protect Against Foodborne Diseases

New data provided by the American Society for Microbiology in February shows evidence that gastric acid may help prevent foodborne infections from developing in the body. Read more