Food & Drug Safety

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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more news

Another Recall, Another Mystery

Jun 23, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is once again chasing after a food safety mystery that is already putting consumers at risk. The agency announced June 19 that E. coli contaminated Nestle cookie dough is tied to a recent rash of illnesses.

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Obama Signs Bill Regulating Tobacco

Jun 22, 2009 by Rick Melberth*

President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 today giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) powers to regulate tobacco for the first time. The law bans tobacco advertising within a thousand feet of schools and playgrounds and curbs the marketing of products to children.

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FDA Won’t Pull Punches under Hamburg

Jun 17, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Newly minted FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has pledged to toughen up the agency’s enforcement practices, according to The New York Times.

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Food Safety Legislation Progresses Slowly

The first steps on real food safety reforms were the subject of a House hearing June 3 in the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health. The subcommittee unveiled the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, a synthesis of several different bills that had been introduced earlier this session.

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FDA Missed Chances to Halt Contaminated Syringes

Jun 10, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Food and Drug Administration failed to stop a derelict manufacturing plant from shipping contaminated syringes that led to more than 160 illnesses and at least four deaths, according to an investigation by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune.

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Food Safety Agency Left Untended; Nomination Forestalled by Lobbying Order

Jun 5, 2009 by Matthew Madia

President Obama has yet to nominate an individual to lead the Food Safety and Inspection Service, leaving the agency headless at a time when food safety consistently shows up on the national radar.

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How Do Regulatory Agencies Fare in Obama’s Budget?

May 8, 2009 by Matthew Madia

President Obama’s FY 2010 budget proposal, released yesterday, makes major investments in a few agencies critical to protecting the public but shortchanges others. Let’s dive in.

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Signs of Salmonella Date Back to 2007

Apr 7, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The latest salmonella scare, this one tied to contaminated pistachios from California, has, thankfully, not proven to be a major public health crisis like the months-old peanut scandal. But an examination of the facts can be just as frustrating.

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FDA Delaying Creation of Food Safety Registry

Apr 3, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has once again announced that it is behind schedule in creating a registry for the reporting of food safety problems, according to Congress Daily (via nextgov.com).

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Bad Recordkeeping Leaves Food Safety Net Frayed

Mar 26, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Today, Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Daniel Levinson testified before an appropriations subcommittee to discuss the FDA’s ability to keep track of the comings and goings of food. “FDA’s ability to fulfill its duties largely depends upon whether it can follow a food product’s movement through each stage of the food supply chain, a process referred to as traceability,” Levinson said in testimony.

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