Growers and Grocers

CBS News reports that despite a rule disallowing the “USDA Organic” designation for fish, some fish is being labeled that way.  Currently, if you see seafood labeled as “organic,” it means that the fish is not from the United States and therefore may have been produced with chemicals and antibiotics aimed at keeping the fish […]

The Canadian Press reports that the United States Department of Agriculture plans to allow “older” Canadian cattle and beef products to come south again.  Canadian beef was entirely banned in May 2003, then in July 2006, cattle under 30 months were allowed to be imported.
Originally, older animals were deemed to have too high of a risk for […]

The AFP reports that “Japan has accepted a major slash in its international quota for prized southern bluefin tuna as punishment for overfishing.” The conclusion that Japan was overfishing was reached by the international Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, which ruled that Japan’s annual quota would be reduced from 6,065 tons […]

The latest in the recent spate of food recalls is the voluntary recall of pork by an Ohio packing company. According to the Ohio Farm bureau, the Herman Falter Packing Co. of Columbus, Ohio, has recalled 1,178 pounds of pork packaged there because it might contain Listeria monocytogenes.
Specifically this is what is affected by the […]

If you’re from New York and regularly drop by McDonald’s for your usual lunch of fries and burger, then this may be good news for you.
New York health officials are seriously considering banning the use of artificial trans fats in restaurants. Artificial trans fatty acids or trans fats increase the risks of coronary […]

Just as the FDA has said that spinach is safe again, they are warning consumers to avoid certain Bolthouse Farms carrot juice packages. A similar warning has been issued in Canada. The farms have issued a voluntary recall on the products in the meantime.
The product from Bolthouse Farms of Bakersfield, Calif., was identified by the […]

Let me begin with full disclosure - I have never had foie gras. According to Wikipedia, foie gras is French for “fat liver” and “is the fattened liver of a duck or goose that has been overfed. Along with truffles, foie gras is one of the greatest delicacies in French cuisine—it is very rich […]

Jeff Barnard of the Associated Press reports that Oregon and California salmon fishermen have seen declining numbers of fish in recent years. Scott Boley, a skipper of a salmon troller, a partner in Fishermen Direct Seafood and a member of the federal panel that selects the fishing season for ocean salmon, returned from three […]

Many thanks to Kate at Accidental Hedonist for the original inspiration for this story.
A funny thing has happened on the way to eating healthier over much of 2006. Organics have positively exploded on grocery store shelves, making well-informed consumer decisions more difficult than ever. A while back, I wrote about the USDA’s […]

Philippine tuna exporters appeal to the government to help persuade Japan to lift its 9-year ban on smoked tuna products.
Japan’s Department of Health and Welfare barred shipments of filter-smoked tuna and tilapia products from the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand citing that the smoking process to preserve freshness posed a health hazard to Japanese consumers. Philippine […]