Food

Health officials have issued a warning about potentially tainted raw milk that was sold in four states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising anyone who consumed Udder Milk products to seek medical attention. According to the CDC, people who drank raw milk from the company may have been infected with a rare germ called Brucella abortus RB51, which can cause an illness called brucellosis.Officials say a New Jersey woman became sick with an antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria after consuming Udder Milk earlier this year. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today provided local food service professionals the flexibility they need to serve wholesome, nutritious, and tasty meals in schools across the nation. The new School Meal Flexibility Rule, published today, makes targeted changes to standards for meals provided under USDA’s National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, and asks customers to share their thoughts on those changes with the Department.The interim final rule published today gives schools the option to serve low-fat (1 percent) flavored milk. [node:read-more:link]

 new technique developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia can identify unwanted animal products in ground beef within minutes, the school announced in a news release. Using a laser-equipped spectrometer and statistical analysis, food science students led by professor Xiaonan Lu determined with 99 percent accuracy if ground beef samples contained other animal parts, and could say with 80 percent accuracy which animal parts were used and in what concentration.The new method can do so in less than 5 minutes. [node:read-more:link]

Low-income consumers in Canada are well educated on nutritious food choices but are unable to afford the best food for their families because of financial pressures, according to a new report. The results of the study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto counter conventional opinions that low-income consumers make poor food choices because they don’t know what foods are healthy. The data indicate that money dictates the decisions made by these consumers rather than a lack of knowledge about which foods are healthier for their families. [node:read-more:link]

What would happen if U.S. farmers stopped producing animals for food and Americans went vegan? Noting some have called for a move toward veganism to address concerns about U.S. health, eating habits and climate change, researchers at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Virginia Tech set out to explore the nutritional and greenhouse gas impacts of removing animals from U.S. agriculture.They found that a complete shift away from food animal production would present major challenges to meeting America's nutritional needs. [node:read-more:link]

Udder Milk’s product has been linked to one illness. A North Jersey woman tested positive for Brucella RB51 infection but has recovered. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department’s Public Health and Food Protection Program, with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, are investigating to determine the suppliers. [node:read-more:link]

I was stunned to hear a mother express guilt about being “unable to afford meat that doesn’t have antibiotics in it.”I wondered how many parents who are trying to provide the best for their children have the misconception that their kids are consuming large doses of antibiotics because they can’t afford meat labeled “antibiotic free.”One look at common questions being asked on Internet search engines tells us this misconception is distressingly common: “Are there antibiotics in my meat?” “Why is it bad to eat meat with antibiotics?”There is one undeniable fact that should bring comfort to p [node:read-more:link]

Butterball, the largest turkey producer in the United States, has quietly entered the organic turkey market in time for the Thanksgiving holiday next week. It did so with so little fanfare that unless you are a reader of USA Today, you probably didn’t know the company even got involved with organic turkey production.Why didn’t Butterball shout it out loud and proud to all of the consumers who are preparing to put a turkey on the table on November 23? [node:read-more:link]

Sir Paul McCartney is a gifted musical artist.  In his former Beatles life as well as in his solo career, he has always been at the top of the popular musical scene even now at the tender age of 75.  After meeting his future wife Linda, a vegan, he joined her in that gastronomic choice.  Now, however, he is proselyting for others to join him in this vegan lifestyle by promoting a new movie that extolls the virtues of a non-meat eating day per week. Ok, my concern isn’t the movie.  After having viewed it a few times, I can say that it is professionally produced, but factually disingenuous. [node:read-more:link]

Turkey buyers in select Texas markets will be able to either text or enter on the Honeysuckle White website the code found on the tag on the packaged bird to find out where it was raised and get information about the farm's location, view farm photos and read the farmer's message. "What traceability does is just allow us to connect with the consumer," Glaser said. "And I think over time there has been a disconnect. People have kind of lost where their food comes from and this is a way to re-establish that line of communication." [node:read-more:link]