Archive for February, 2008

UK: Food standards agency blames WAG underfunding for delaying report - (Media Wales)

Friday, February 29th, 2008

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/02/29/food-standards-agency-blames-wag-underfunding-for-delaying-report-91466-20538901/ A lack of money meant problems with the way Bridgend council conducted food hygiene inspections were not made public until after the 2005 E.coli outbreak began. The public inquiry heard the Food Standards Agency Wales – the body charged with inspecting the inspectors – found “deficiencies” in the authority’s environmental health ...

AUSTRALIA: Gut pains, courtesy of Macdonald - (Sydney Morning Herald)

Friday, February 29th, 2008

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/gut-pains-courtesy-of-macdonald/2008/02/29/1204226990390.html http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/02/articles/food-safety-communication/restaurant-inspection-results-in-australia-not-happening/index.html If you want to know why the public is so disillusioned with the State Government, look no further than Ian Macdonald. Moore writes that as well as being responsible for primary industry, farms, power stations, mines and the development of the state, Macdonald is supposed to ensure the safety of food ...

Many dead in Pakistan funeral blast

Friday, February 29th, 2008

An explosion at the funeral Friday for a district police officer killed earlier in the day in northwest Pakistan has left several people dead, sources say.

Turkish incursion over, Iraq says

Friday, February 29th, 2008

The Turkish military has completely withdrawn from northern Iraq a week after launching an offensive there, the Iraqi foreign minister told CNN on Friday.

Body of top model Katoucha found

Friday, February 29th, 2008

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Rape case Marine returned to U.S. custody

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Japanese authorities on Friday released an American Marine accused of raping a teenager in Okinawa after the girl dropped the allegations, the U.S. military said.

‘Hope is back’ for Kenya

Friday, February 29th, 2008

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‘Chemical Ali’ execution approved

Friday, February 29th, 2008

The cousin of Saddam Hussein, known by the nickname “Chemical Ali” for his role in a chemical weapons attack on Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s, will be executed, Iraqi officials said Friday.

UK pulls Harry from Afghanistan

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Prince Harry is to be pulled out of Afghanistan immediately amid fears for his safety after news of his deployment was made public, the British defense ministry said Friday.

Bomb blast in Spain ahead of elections

Friday, February 29th, 2008

A bomb has exploded at a political party office in northern Spain early Friday, causing damage but no injuries — just 10 days ahead of national elections.

Iraq approves execution of ‘Chemical Ali’

Friday, February 29th, 2008

The Iraqi presidency approves the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majeed who earned the nickname “Chemical Ali” for his role in a chemical weapons attack on on Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s.

S. Africa students sorry for racist video

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Two of the four white students who were seen in a video allegedly mocking black housekeepers and serving them stew seemingly laced with urine have have apologized for their part in the stunt.

Deposed Thai PM begins PR blitz

Friday, February 29th, 2008

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Interpol alerts on terror suspect

Friday, February 29th, 2008

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Beijing opens jumbo air terminal

Friday, February 29th, 2008

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Kenya power deal ‘on the right track’

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Kenya’s new power-sharing deal is a “critical step toward the legitimate government of the country,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer has said, pledging the United States would keep the parties “on the right track.”

U.S. sanctions target Syria group

Friday, February 29th, 2008

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U.S. Navy ships move closer to Lebanon

Friday, February 29th, 2008

The U.S. Navy has moved the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole and other ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

Children killed as Gaza violence flares

Friday, February 29th, 2008

The Israeli military said it pounded Hamas and militant targets in Gaza overnight and into Thursday morning in an attempt to end a barrage of rockets coming from the Palestinian territory.

2 white students apologize for racist video

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Two of the four white college students who were seen in a video mocking black housekeepers and serving them stew purportedly containing urine have apologized, their lawyer said Thursday.

Denmark to oppose Sudan debt relief

Friday, February 29th, 2008

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Kenya deal needs constitution change

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Kenya’s rival politicians sign a peace deal to end the violent post-election crisis in which hundreds died. President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed to form a coalition government after weeks of wrangling, mediator Kofi Annan said.

UK’s Prince Harry fought in Afghanistan

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

The UK’s Prince Harry is in Afghanistan and has seen combat, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed Wednesday.

Prince Harry fought in Afghanistan

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

The UK’s Prince Harry is in Afghanistan and has seen combat, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed Wednesday.

Serb president wants Kosovo and EU keys

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Serbia will not give up its claim on breakaway province Kosovo or its bid to become a member of the European Union, Serbian President Boris Tadic said in an interview published Thursday.

MISSOURI: Walker’s Food Products Company recalls Four Bean Salad because of possible health risk - (Walker’s Food Products Company)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/walkers02_08.html Walker’s Food Products Company of North Kansas City, Missouri, is recalling its 16oz., 5-lb. and 10-lb. containers of Four Bean Salad because of potential contamination with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. Consumers are warned not to use the product, even if it does not ...

PENNSYLVANIA: State helping local cities with food safety standards - (WJAC TV)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.wjactv.com/news/15431526/detail.html Altoona — Cities across Pennsylvania, like Altoona, Johnstown and Pittsburgh, do their own food and safety checks for local establishments. However, the state is pushing for all municipalities to use one online system, so diners can make informed choices about the restaurants where they are eating. While inspectors from the Pennsylvania ...

US: Witnesses call for revamped federal food safety regulations - (Science Progress)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/02/hearing-on-food-safety/ A hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Tuesday reviewed a recent scandal over beef safety, which led to a massive recall of 143 million pounds of meat. The hearing raised serious questions about both the ability of the United States Department of ...

EDITORIAL: Bad beef: Lessons learned from the largest meat recall in U.S. history - (Washington Post)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/27/AR2008022703193.html Not since Upton Sinclair’s 1906 book “The Jungle” has the American meat market, according to this editorial, been this shaken. On Jan. 30, the Humane Society of the United States released undercover video showing employees at a Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. plant abusing and forcing into the slaughterhouse animals that could ...

ABSTRACT: The UNITED STATES and CANADA as a coupled epidemiological system: an example from hepatitis A - (BioMed Central)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/8/23 Background Hepatitis A (HA) is a low-incidence, non-endemic disease in Canada and the United States (US). However, a large difference in HA incidence between Canada and HA-endemic countries has made travel an important contributor to hepatitis A prevalence in Canada. There is also a (smaller) incidence differential between Canada and the ...

WASHINGTON: Ag Sec resists ‘downer’ cow ban - (Associated Press)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gjgIDJ5Z2xZSLp6TUi-kRcCFXmPgD8V3IJMO0 WASHINGTON — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer was cited as telling a Senate hearing Thursday that calls from Democratic senators for a complete ban on so-called downer cattle — those unable to walk — from entering the food supply were excessive, but did announce new steps to ensure the ...

ABSTRACT: Pathogen detection and control in fresh broccoli sprouts - (Nutrition Journal)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.scientistlive.com/food/?/Ingredients/2008/02/28/19895/Pathogen_detection_and_control_in_fresh_broccoli_sprouts/ Background The recent increased interest in consuming green vegetable sprouts has been tempered by the fact that fresh sprouts can in some cases be vehicles for food-borne illnesses. They must be grown according to proper conditions of sanitation and handled as a food product rather than as an agricultural commodity. When ...

VIRGINIA: Woman sues over sickness - (Richmond Register)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_059101341.html Pamela Short of Richmond was cited as suing the makers of Peter Pan peanut butter alleging she became sick after eating peanut butter which was recalled nationally last year. In her suit, Short said she consumed the tainted food on Feb. 15, 2007, the day after the company nationally released a ...

BARFBLOG: TomKat buys fish tank for Jlo’s twins: can you say Salmonella? - (barfblog)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/02/articles/salmonella/tomkat-buys-fish-tank-for-jlos-twins-can-you-say-salmonella/index.html E ntertainmentWise is reporting that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes wanted to create a splash for Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s new twins so they bought a fish tank. http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=40839 A source tell the Daily Star, “Tom and Katie wanted to get them something different and special so they thought a giant fish ...

CANADA: Allergy alert- Undeclared wheat and soy proteins in Bahay-Kubo and Ongpin Cuisine meat products - (CFIA)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning people with allergies to wheat or soy not to consume certain meat products described below. These products contain wheat or soy which is not declared on the label. All sizes and codes of the following products are affected by this alert: Brand Product UPC Allergen Bahay-Kubo Chicken Embutido Chicken ...

US: AMI president says undercover video reflects multiple failures at plant, in government and at activist groups - (American Meat Institute)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

AMI Says Situation Reflects Plant-Specific Failures and Does Not Reflect Industry-Wide Problems; Record-Setting Class II Recall of Safe Meat Defies Common Sense Washington, DC, February 28, 2008 – An undercover video depicting animal abuse in a California meat plant reflects multiple problems – in plant practices, in inspection oversight at the ...

The Humane Society of the UNITED STATES sues to keep sick and injured cows out of food supply: USDA loophole contributed to the largest beef recall in U.S. history - (from a press release)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?bf6e34e4-2d14-42e2-8072-e112f3222e19 The Humane Society of the United States today filed suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to close a dangerous loophole in the agency’s regulations that contributed to the recent recall of more than 143 million pounds of beef — much of which was fed to schoolchildren in at ...

HONG KONG gears up for public health and food safety during equestrian events - (from a press release)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://media-newswire.com/release_1061661.html The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, today (February 26) met with the visiting Vice-Minister of Health and Head of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) Healthcare Leading Group, Dr Chen Xiaohong, Deputy Director of the Games Services of BOCOG, Dr Dai ...

Looking for tips to find icebergs - surveillance of haemolytic uraemic syndrome to detect outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection - (Eurosurveillance)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/edition/v13n09/080228_4.asp To the Editor: In a recent article, De Schrijver et al. described an outbreak of Verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli, syn. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), linked to the consumption of ice cream produced at a farm in the province of Antwerp, Belgium [1]. Interestingly, the outbreak was identified through the time-clustering ...

WASHINGTON, DC: CDC tells congress MRSA not from food animals - (from a press release)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Claims that food animals, such as pigs, are increasingly the source of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria in humans are greatly exaggerated, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a recent letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and panel members Leonard Boswell, ...

ALABAMA: 8 get E. coli at pot-luck, Eastern Shore Baptist Church’s annual Beast Feast and Wild Game Supper plagued by bacterium - (Baldwin County Now)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2008/02/27/local_news/doc47c60132e633d646643262.txt Daphne — The Baldwin County Health Department was cited as saying that a men’s outreach session Saturday turned anemic during the Eastern Shore Baptist Church’s 10th Annual Beast Feast and Wild Game Supper, where al least eight people contracted E. coli. Associate pastor, Rev. Ken Wilson, was cited as saying 15 ...

The first report on Campylobacter coli family outbreak detected in POLAND in 2006 - (Eurosurveillance)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/edition/v13n09/080228_3.asp A family outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by Campylobacter coli occurred in May 2006 in Bielsko-Biala, in the south of Poland. Four members of a family had non-bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. C. coli were isolated in three of the four patients. PFGE and PCR-RFLP-flaA patterns confirmed the link between cases, ...

TASMANIA: Government must develop new protocols to guide public responses to Salmonella - (State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://tas.greens.org.au/News/view_MR.php?ActionID=2831 The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Lennon government to develop new protocols to lessen the impact of Salmonella outbreaks on retail food outlets, which have often been devastated by negative publicity despite not being responsible in any way for an outbreak. Greens Shadow Deputy Leader Nick McKim MP, who attended ...

AUSTRALIA: Business wants govt acknowledgment after Salmonella damage - (ABC News)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/28/2175540.htm http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/02/articles/salmonella/passing-the-buck-tasmanian-style/ The owner of the Venus Cafe in Hobart was cited as saying business is down 60 per cent after the salmonella outbreak and says she will ask the State Government for some formal recognition of the impact on her business of the recent salmonella outbreak. Venus Cafe at Bellerive used eggs ...

Witness in Taylor war crimes trial in hiding

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

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U.S. denies firing deadly Pakistan missile

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

A missile strike in a remote part of Pakistan killed at least eight suspected militants and wounded three others Thursday, Pakistan’s state media reported.

Kenya rivals sign power-sharing deal

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Kenya’s rival politicians sign a peace deal to end the violent post-election crisis in which hundreds died. President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed to form a coalition government after weeks of wrangling, mediator Kofi Annan said.

Israel pounds Hamas targets in Gaza

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

The Israeli military said it pounded Hamas and militant targets in Gaza overnight and into Thursday morning in an attempt to end a barrage of rockets coming from the Palestinian territory.

Kenya power deal bid to end crisis

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Kenya’s rival politicians have agreed to form a coalition government after weeks of wrangling on how to end the country’s deadly postelection crisis, mediator Kofi Annan says.

Gates pressures Turkey on Iraq

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates encouraged Turkey not to drag out its military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq any longer than was necessary.