1/12/15 Health News: China arrests 110 people selling tainted pork ♦ TWO DAIRIES CITED FOR DRUG RESIDUES ♦ Cockroach-infested CA bakery ♦ Protect your heart

China arrests over 110 people for selling tainted pork

FBR Staff Writer Published 12 January 2015 In the latest food scandal, China has arrested over 110 people and seized over 1,000 tonnes of contaminated pork for allegedly selling pork from pigs that died from disease. According to the Ministry of Public Security, the arrested people belonged to a network that comprised 11 groups, who had been buying pigs that had died from disease, …Continue Reading

FDA WARNING LETTERS: TWO DAIRIES CITED FOR DRUG RESIDUES

In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to two dairy farms regarding illegal drug residues in animals sold for slaughter for food. Hageman Dairy Farms in Ossian, IA, was cited for selling a feeder steer in May that had neomycin in its kidney tissue at 50.52 parts per million (ppm)... Continue Reading

Over 30 sick ill after eating bread from cockroach-infested CA bakery

More than 30 people are sick after eating Rosca de Reyes bread, also known as Three Kings bread, distributed by Cholula’s Bakery in Santa Ana, The agency closed the bakery after an investigation revealed traces of cockroach infestation.Continue Reading

Hold your breath to protect your heart

A simple technique may be most effective in preventing heart disease after radiation therapy for breast cancer. New research shows a woman who holds her breath during radiation pulses can greatly reduce radiation exposure to the heart. Continue Reading

11/24/14 Illegal Drug Residue in Beef ♦ History of Contaminated Sprouts ♦ Polyps do not cause cancer ♦ Fluorescent nanoprobe identify and monitor tumors

FDA WARNING LETTERS: DRUG RESIDUES TOP LIST OF PROBLEMS AT FOOD FIRMS

Illegal drug residues in dairy cows slaughtered for meat were the main problem cited in recent warning letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to firms found in violation of regulations stipulated by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Letters to four dairy producers warned that illegal levels of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs...Continue Reading

PUBLISHER’S PLATFORM: ONE, TWO THREE SPROUTS YOU’RE OUT

Three sprout outbreaks caused by Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria outbreaks since August?  One has been deadly and all have sent dozens to the hospital. As of yesterday, the CDC has reported a total of 63 persons infected with Salmonella Enteritidis from 10 states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode... Continue Reading

Marker polyps do not cause cancer, experts say

Although serrated polyps usually are associated with colorectal cancer, it turns out that such polyps are themselves not dangerous, according to a study Continue Reading

Fluorescent nanoprobe could become a universal, noninvasive method to identify and monitor tumors

Researchers have developed a hybrid metal-polymer nanoparticle that lights up in the acidic environment surrounding tumor cells. Nonspecific probes that can identify any kind of tumor are extremely useful for monitoring the location and spread of cancer and the effects of treatment, as well as aiding initial diagnosis Continue Reading

10/21/14 Health News; FDA WARNING LETTERS ♦ USDA NEEDS TO TIGHTEN UP STANDARDS FOR POULTRY ♦ WHAT U.S. CAN LEARN ABOUT POULTRY INSPECTION

FDA WARNING LETTERS: DRUG RESIDUES, SEAFOOD PROCESSING, COCONUT BUTTER

In recently posted U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letters, three producers were cited for holding animals “under conditions that are so inadequate that medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply.” Papas Dairy of North Bangor, NY, was cited for illegal drug residue in a calf sold... Continue Reading

GAO: USDA NEEDS TO TIGHTEN UP SALMONELLA AND CAMPYLOBACTER STANDARDS FOR POULTRY

The U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) take action to reduce pathogen contamination on chicken and turkey products, make sure that agency food-safety standards are being met, and better assess whether on-farm practices are effective in reducing pathogens in live poultry. In... Continue Reading

WHAT U.S. CAN LEARN FROM OTHER COUNTRIES ABOUT MEAT, POULTRY INSPECTION

As the new Modernization of Poultry Inspection rule went into effect Monday, the Pew Charitable Trusts and Center for Science in the Public Interest released their review of global meat and poultry inspection systems. They recommended that U.S. policymakers begin a broader, data-driven effort to update the Department of Agriculture’s inspection system. Traditional slaughter inspection methods for beef, pork and... Continue Reading

10/7/14 Health News: GLOBAL BURDEN OF LISTERIA ♦ Latest on soy and breast cancer ♦ RODENTS, INSECTS AND DRUG RESIDUES

WHO STUDY MEASURES GLOBAL BURDEN OF LISTERIA

In 2010, Listeria monocytogenes was estimated to infect 23,150 people worldwide. It killed 5,463 of them, or 23.6 percent, according to a new study by European researchers in the World Health Organization (WHO) published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The researchers say that an urgent effort is needed to fill in information on Listeria infections... Continue Reading

The latest on soy and breast cancer: What you need to know

Could your daily soy lattes up your risk of breast cancer or lend a protective effect? So far, the research has been conflicting. While some studies have shown that soy can increase tumor growth at the cellular level, other research has found that soy may actually have a protective effect. Continue Reading

FDA WARNING LETTERS: LISTERIA, RODENTS, INSECTS AND DRUG RESIDUES

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials recently sent warning letters to owners of a pizza dough and cheese grating/repackaging facility in NY, a fortune cookie manufacturing plant in GA, a rice storage/milling facility in FL, two dairies in NY and one in OH. Losurdo Foods Inc. of Hackensack, NJ, was a sent a letter... Continue Reading