More in Food Safety

March 1 has arrived, meaning that, apparently, as of today, the United States is “all in” on the budgetary sequester that has been in the news for weeks. As you probably know by now, sequestration is an across-the-board reduction in spending mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Dire predictions have been made by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about furloughing meat inspectors as part of the budget reduction process, thus jeopardizing pork marketing channels in coming days....More

What a week in Washington. As a vast divide separates the Republicans and Democrats on budget issues, The Hill is predicting a high likelihood that the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester will be implemented. Food Safety News reported this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could conduct 2,100 fewer inspections at domestic and foreign food facilities and the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) might have to furlough all employees for approximately two weeks to meet the extensive budget cuts. This would, in effect, bring the U.S. meat industry to a screeching halt....More

The December issue of National Hog Farmer magazine should be arriving in your mailbox or e-mail Inbox within the next few days. Each year this issue focuses on current research findings specific to the pork industry. Research topics range from swine health, housing and nutrient management, to swine feeding and meat quality. National Hog Farmer has a long-standing reputation for providing research-based information to our readers. I’m a pretty big believer in making decisions based on sound science, with conclusions drawn on the basis of research that has been replicated, published and endorsed by reputable scientists. Because of this, I’m still somewhat taken aback by the current uproar that is being promoted by Consumer Reports magazine’s advocacy division, Consumers Union, as part of an apparent campaign targeting pork producers. Consumers Union issued a press release yesterday, calling for more government regulations for the pork industry. Even though the group is basing their talking points on a Consumer Reports’ study that cites ractopamine levels well-below those that current research has shown to be safe, and claims about bacteria in retail pork products that appear to be taken out of context, the outcry continues....More

Apparently the fact that Thanksgiving is a recent memory, and food is still top-of-mind, means the timing is right to urge consumers to live in fear of their food. I HATE it when people try to make me fear my food. One of the first big news items to pop up in cyberspace this week was the Consumer Reports magazine article claiming antibiotic-resistant bacteria and traces of ractopamine were found during an analysis of pork chop and ground-pork samples from around the United States. The article is entitled, “What’s in that pork?”...More