Mercury Found in Corn Syrup

(NEWSER) - The FDA would gain broad new powers to oversee food safety under a far-reaching bill passed by the House yesterday, the Washington Post reports. The measure—representing the first major changes to food safety laws since the 1930s—would give the agency vastly increased oversight of the nation's food chain from field to store, and would boost the number of food-related inspections. Support for the bill was sparked by a string of serious food-borne illnesses the last three years. More»

Food poisoning outbreaks traced back to dangers cut-price auditors missed

(NEWSER) - The job of monitoring America's food plants is falling more and more to private inspectors who often miss hazards, a New York Times investigation finds. Plants hire such auditors to reassure customers and reduce liability, but the companies often pick the cheapest and least rigorous audits available. Some of the largest food poisoning outbreaks in recent years can be traced to plants where private auditors failed to spot problems. More»

Critics worry move will compromise public safety

(NEWSER) - The US Department of Agriculture announced plans to close 259 offices, labs, and other facilities yesterday, in a move that will save the agency $150 million per year. But the announcement has some farmers and food safety experts worried, the AP reports. "They wiped out the entire Midwest," says one stunned deputy district manager, who discovered that his office—which oversees Minnesota, Montana, the Dakotas, and Wyoming—was on the chopping block. More»

Made in big batches and left sitting out, dips can cause trouble

(NEWSER) - As guacamole and salsa become more popular, they also account for a rising number of cases of food poisoning, new statistics show. The dips once represented 1.5% of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurants and delis, but between 1998 and 2008, that fraction climbed to nearly 4%. Part of the problem: Salsa and guacamole often sit out at room temperature, and they're prepared in such large quantities that contamination can spread to many people, reports MSNBC . More»

A quarter contaminated beyond EPA safety limit

(AP) - Catch a fish in one of America's streams, and there's a good chance it will have at least trace amounts of mercury. The most comprehensive survey to date from the US Geological Survey tested more than 1,000 fish from nearly 300 streams around the nation—and found mercury in every single one of them. The good news? Only about a quarter had levels exceeding what the EPA says is safe for people eating average amounts of fish. More»