According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 582 million cases of intestinal infection and 351,000 deaths in 2010--the most recent data available--were caused by foodborne viruses and bacteria. To help combat such widespread outbreaks and loss of life, there is much work being done to develop vaccines that fight some of the most common foodborne microbes.
Later this month, thousands of food safety professionals are expected to convene in Baltimore, MD for the 17th Annual Food Safety Summit, taking place April 28-30 at the Baltimore Convention Center.
As we continue to recognize World Health Day’s focus on food safety, it cannot be expressed enough how global an issue this is. In the U.S. alone, much of our food supply is imported from other countries--specifically 20 percent of of vegetables, half of our fresh fruit and a whopping 80 percent of our seafood.
In 2010, it was determined by the Congressional Budget Office that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would require $580 million from 2011 to 2015 to execute the demands of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). To date, Congress has allocated less than half of that amount to the cause, according to the New York Times.
As World Health Day approaches next week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is reasserting its commitment to reduce food waste by launching FoodKeeper--a new food app developed by the agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service along with Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced $19 million worth of funds awarded to 36 grantees for the purpose of “ensuring safe and nutritious food supply while maintaining American agricultural competitiveness.”
At a new conference this week, the Agriculture Union (AU) revealed that meat sold within Canadian borders is not as thoroughly inspected as meat that is exported, creating a “double standard”.
A new national food safety policy for the West African country of Ghana has been adopted by food industry stakeholders in an effort to protect consumers and to ensure that exported food items are indeed safe.
The Consumers Union (CU) has formally raised concerns about the use of pesticides on produce and their impact on human health (workers, consumers and especially children) and the environment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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