Editor's Note: We apologize for the delayed delivery of today's Sunday Edition due to technical issues. We are addressing those and will resume our normal publication schedule next week.

Quick bites from the food safety arena this week

Food safety investigators report that they have found the source of botulism that contaminated ByHeart infant formula and sickened more than 50 babies across the country. The contamination originated in powdered milk produced in a Dairy Farmers of America facility in Nevada.
Argentina has recorded almost 100 confirmed foodborne botulism cases in the past six years, according to data from its National Surveillance System. Six people died from the effects of consuming botulinum toxin type A.
For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has created a center to help measure the burden of foodborne diseases. The Research Group for Risk Benefit at the DTU National Food Institute in Lyngby, Denmark will fill that role. The center will support research that combines risk-benefit analyses for food safety and nutrition in an effort to reduce the burden of food-related disease globally.
Two states are considering legislation that would make it easier to sell unpasteurized, raw milk. The bills in the Michigan and Oklahoma legislatures would only apply to in-state sales as it is against federal law to sell raw milk across state lines. Research has shown that people who consume raw milk are 840 times more likely to experience an illness and 45 times more likely to be hospitalized than people who drink pasteurized milk.
Michigan cherry farmers credit small falcons called kestrels with helping to reduce pests in their orchards. An additional benefit appears to be a lower risk of food-borne illnesses as the birds of prey reduce the amount of songbird feces containing campylobacter that may contaminate the fruit. Research about the effects was published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

Today’s topic: “Forever chemicals”

The first thing we knew about Teflon was when those “happy pans” hit the market. A cast-iron pan coated with Dupont’s Teflon meant cooking without sticking. What could go wrong?

Eighty-eight years after the accidental discovery that led to Dupont’s Teflon products, 3M’s Scotchgard stain repellents and a host of other products are showing that almost everything has gone wrong, with potential dire consequences for food and water safety.

Food Safety News

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