WASHINGTON, DC: After spinach scare, FDA calls for handwashing - (Bloomberg News)
February 23, 2008 – 7:54 pmhttp://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008/02/23/after_spinach_scare_fda_calls_for_hand_washing/
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has published guidelines that suggest employees of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable processors wash their hands to help stop the spread of contamination.
The voluntary guidelines, posted on the FDA website, took effect yesterday and include admonitions on hygiene and produce tracking. The FDA said the advice, proposed in March, “complements FDA’s current good manufacturing practice requirements for foods.”
Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, was quoted as saying, “What is necessary to reform the food safety system are strong mandatory standards that will restore the American people’s confidence in the foods they purchase. Self-regulation and voluntary guidelines do not work and, in fact, contribute significantly to the problem.”
Contaminated food and the responsibilities of producers are scheduled to be discussed Tuesday at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight subcommittee in Washington.
MORE:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/news/fsnews.cfm?newsid=24485
Related posts:
WASHINGTON: Industry committee aims to avert food-safety scares - (Good Fruit Grower (Vol. 58 No. 15))
US: FDA to permit irradiation of spinach, lettuce - (San Francisco Chronicle)
Food warnings by U.S. drop after tainted spinach - (Bloomberg.com)
CALIFORNIA: A year after spinach scare, growers strive to keep produce safe - (San Jose Mercury News)
WASHINGTON: FDA hit for slow progress on improving food safety - (Reuters)
WASHINGTON: Global Handwashing Day: a little bit of soap, a powerful affect on human health - (Soap and Detergent Association)
WASHINGTON, DC: FDA: Irradiating spinach, lettuce OK to kill germs - (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, DC: Irradiation step doesn’t quiet debate on FDA moves - (Chicago Tribune)
BARFBLOG: Michele Samarya-Timm, guest barfblogger: Hillary Clinton loves handwashing - (barfblog)
WASHINGTON: Salmonella probe likened to ‘Keystone Kops’ - (Los Angeles Times)
BARFBLOG: Water, soap and paper towel: Aggieville bars have the handwashing tools - (barfblog)
US: Report criticizes FDA over spinach packers - (Washington Post/Bloomberg)
ABSTRACT: Survival and transfer of murine norovirus 1, a surrogate for human noroviruses, during the production process of deep-frozen onions and spinach - (Journal of Food Protection)
WASHINGTON, DC: Salmonella probe puzzles investigators - (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, DC: F.D.A. allows some irradiation - (New York Times/ )
N.Y. media eateries score health violations - (Newsmax.com)
BARFBLOG: Global Handwashing Day: no hand left behind - (barfblog)
BARFBLOG: Handwashing rates low in hospitals: report - (barfblog)
US: Lettuce rejoice - (The Wall Street Journal)
US: Report: FDA and fresh spinach safety - (YubaNet.com)
CALIFORNIA: Opinion: The dirty truth - (Nurse.com)
US: More E.coli predicted for America’s beef & salad greens - (Health Inspections.com)
EDITORIAL: When dinner makes you sick - (The Boston Globe)
iFSN: Handwashing public service announcements - (International Food Safety Network)
In the fight to save lives, washing hands takes centre stage - (UNICEF UK News)
UNICEF ambassadors, The Wiggles, use jingle to encourage kids to wash hands - (UN News Centre)
BARFBLOG: Proper handwashing requires proper tools - (barfblog)
CALIFORNIA: Meritech’s handwashing ads win at Mobius Awards - (from a press release)
BARFBLOG: Doggie dining, handwashing and Hurricane Fay - (barfblog)
Hub food safety inspectors find violations - (The Boston Channel)
CALIFORNIA spinach sales down 1 year after outbreak - (CBS 5)
US: Your salad could soon be irradiated; FDA approves germ killer for lettuce, spinach - (USA Today)
ONTARIO: Hand-wringing over handwashing; Patients don’t want to ask doc if hands are clean - (The Hamilton Spectator)
NEW YORK: E. coli scare: Dining hall meat not affected - (Washington Square News)
Bhutto’s widower calls for unity
WASHINGTON, DC: Brasher: Unsafe food leads to calls for increased FDA authority more authority - (Des Moines Register)
US: FDA clears two states, part of Mexico as source of salmonella - (Bloomberg.com)
US: After last years E. coli outbreak, produce testing diverged at border - (Washington Post)
US: New online resource from CSPI offers researchers, journalists & consumers the best data on outbreaks of foodborne illness - (Center for Science in the Public Interest)
Tomato scare costly for GEORGIA growers - (Southeast Farm Press)
New International Food Safety Network Infosheet — Hepatitis A scare at Amherst, New York Wegmans store - (International Food Safety Network)
iFSN: Dude, wash your hands - (International Food Safety Network)
US: Poultry workers at increased risk of carrying antibiotic-resistant E. coli - (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health)
ONTARIO: Another food scare - more meat inspectors really the answer? - (Food and Farming in Canada)
CALIFORNIA: Local potato company a global leader in food safety - (The Republican Herald)
WASHINGTON: E. coli illnesses tied to romaine - (Salinas Californian)
MEXICO ends spinach ban triggered by E. coli outbreak - (Salinas Californian)
CHINA’S illicit farm practices threat to health, top vet says - (Bloomberg)
WASHINGTON: DeLauro to push food act again - (The Hartford Courant)
Chemical in cans, bottles called safe by U.S. staff - (Bloomberg.com/AP)
UTAH: Lawyers continue work on E. coli settlements - (The Salinas Californian)
ENGLAND: Cleanliness clampdown at hospital reveals worst offenders are doctors - (Hemel Today)
BRITAIN: Handwashing more useful than drugs in virus control - (Reuters)
BARFBLOG: Im not sending officers down to enforce the making of your cheeseburger - (barfblog)
Produce Safety & Security International provides follow up for solution to the spinach issue - (World Stock Wire)
Covering food safety scares - (Business Journalism)
IDAHO: 300 people vaccinated in hepatitis A scare - (FOX 12 Idaho)
WASHINGTON: E. coli loophole cited in recalls - (The Chicago Tribune)
WHO calls for universal coverage
WHO calls for universal health coverage
Preparation-free method for detecting Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the presence of spinach, spring lettuce mix, and ground beef particulates - (Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 70, Number 11, November 2007 , pp. 2651-2655(5))
Spinach-associated Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak, UTAH and NEW MEXICO, 2006 - (Emerging Infectious Diseases 2008 October)
WASHINGTON: Ag Sec resists ‘downer’ cow ban - (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, DC: In middle school, hand hygiene gets a good “Rap” - (The Soap and Detergant Association)
INDIANA: New Washington student has confirmed case of E-coli - (wlky.com)
U.S. Sen. Harkin: Restoring confidence in food safety - (Iowapolitics.com)
Seven Soaper-Heroes search for the cleanest hands in AMERICA’s classrooms - (NSF International)
OREGON: Norovirus outbreak responsible for P.F. Changs closure: More than 40 cases confirmed so far - (kptv.com)
Michéle Samarya-Timm: Cupcakes and confections without infections - (barfblog)
Michéle Samarya-Timm: Cupcakes and confections without infections - (barfblog)
US: FDA OKs irradiating iceberg lettuce, spinach - (The Packer.com)
US: FDA OKs irradiating iceberg lettuce, spinach - (The Packer.com)
MEXICO: Amid salmonella scare, UTEP researchers document pepper problems - (ABC-7)
WASHINGTON pea-lentil, asparagus boards to receive federal grants - (Tri-City Herald)
FS -3- Food scares and trust: A EUROPEAN study - (Journal of Agricultural Economics, Volume 59, Number 1, February 2008 , pp. 2-24(23))
ARIZONA: Gross out: roaches, slime, and bad hand washing at Texas Roadhouse on Stapley - (Chow Bella Blog)
EDITORIAL: We think: Zapping greens boosts safety, but there’s more to do - (Orlando Sentinel)
IRELAND: Handwashing must become a habit, says minister - (Nursing In Practice)
FLORIDA students teach hand hygiene, garner national award - (Soap and Detergent Association)
OPINION: Would you buy irradiated spinach or lettuce? - (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
BARFBLOG: Chinese poop turns heads in Lawrence (Kansas) - (barfblog)
AUSTRALIA: Cockroach sandwich? Calls to name and shame dirty school canteens - (Live News)
Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Feral swine near spinach fields and cattle, central CALIFORNIA coast - (Emerging Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control)
UK: Challenge hospital staff about handwashing, advises trust boss - (Echo News)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Birch Hill cleared to drink from taps: Government OK for new well is silver lining to rash of parasite sickness - (Mount Washington Valley)
MICHIGAN: Food scares could drain local raw milk supply; farmer fears federal crackdown - (The Flint Journal)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: NH health-care workers handwashing put at 69 percent - (UnionLeader.com)
Hepatitis A scare at New York Wegmans store - (Newsday.com/ Wkbw.com)
US: Irradiation gets the green light - (Miami Herald)
US: FDA advises on bagged salad greens - (Chicago Tribune)
US: FDA steps up testing of peppers, cilantro in Salmonella probe - (Bloomberg News)
MARYLAND: Norovirus sickens 65 at medical meeting - (New York Times)
AUSTRALIA: Salmonella scare linked to raw eggs - (Sydney Morning Herald)
ONTARIO: Restaurant anxious to welcome back customers after E. coli scare - (The Standard)
Pros and cons of commercial irradiation of fresh iceberg lettuce and fresh spinach: A literature review - Part III. Food quality. - (Marler Blog)
School-wide handwashing campaigns cut germs, absenteeism - (Eductation World)
AUSTRALIA: SA food contamination scare - (ABC News Online (Australia))
CALIFORNIA: Farmers say salmonella scare has hurt tomato sales - (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, DC: Massachusetts firm recalls chicken products due to possible Listeria contamination - (USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service)
CANADA: Teen’s illness stirs pet food debate, Case prompts calls for industry-wide safety regulations - (Calagary Herald)