Tag Archives: food supply

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Monday a human case of avian influenza A(H5N1), also known as bird flu, in the state. According to a press release from the department, the person had direct contact with dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza. DSHS did not specify where the person lives or …

Reuters reports: Chick-fil-A announced it is allowing certain antibiotics in its chicken, overturning a commitment it made in 2014. The company said in a recent statement posted on its website that the change will take effect in spring 2024, and is intended “to maintain supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from us.” The statement said the antibiotics that will …

The Washington Post reports: A U.S. inspection of a plant in Ecuador that manufactured pouches of contaminated applesauce linked to at least 125 cases of suspected lead poisoning in children found “extremely high” levels of the metal in a key ingredient: cinnamon. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that samples of cinnamon from the plant that were tested contained …

NBC News reports: The lead contamination in recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches that potentially poisoned at least 65 children may have been intentional, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. The FDA has been investigating the lead contamination in the cinnamon-flavored applesauce products from Florida-based food manufacturer WanaBana since October. The agency has homed in on the cinnamon specifically as …

Reuters reports: Avian flu has reached new corners of the globe and become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts, who warn it is now a year-round problem. Reuters spoke to more than 20 experts and farmers on four continents who said the prevalence of the …

Australia’s ABC News outlet reports: A company commercialising seaweed feed product, which slashes the amount of greenhouse gases cattle burp and fart into the atmosphere, has won a $1 million international prize for its work reshaping the food system. According to the science agency, methane emissions from livestock make up around 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Future Feed …

ABC News reports: The Food and Drug Administration today has recalled bagged salad distributed to a dozen Midwestern states by Hy-Vee, Aldi and Jewel-Osco grocery stores after 122 people in seven states were sickened. Nineteen have been hospitalized. The salad mix is contaminated with cyclospora, a parasite that can cause severe diarrhea. The salad mix is packaged as Hy-Vee Brand …

The Washington Post reports: Over the past month, the number of infections tied to three of the country’s biggest meat processors — Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and JBS — has gone from just over 3,000 to more than 11,000, according to the Post analysis. Four of the plants that reopened saw outbreaks, with more than 700 positive cases, according to …

“We track daily our plant openings. One of the challenges we had in protein — meat, poultry, beef, pork — had been the closure of some of our processing plants there. And we’ve had infections in those plants that caused some temporary closures. “Essentially all those plants are back open. We’ve turned the corner, and while some retailers are suggesting …

The Atlantic reports: Over the past few months, the best place to trace America’s deepening pandemic anxieties has been the shelves of grocery and big-box stores. The first common household goods to disappear were disinfectants: hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, Lysol. Bottled water and toilet paper were snatched up once companies started advising workers to stay home. Amid these disappearances, one …

Reuters reports: Shoppers cut spending on ready-made meals and bought more fruit and vegetables, turning to healthier eating during coronavirus lockdowns, preliminary results of a research project showed. People forced to stay home also tried new recipes and threw away less food, the survey of nearly 11,000 shoppers in 11 countries found. “Amid lockdowns people are eating healthier, are cooking …

Politico reports: The country’s top health official downplayed concerns over the public health conditions inside meatpacking plants, suggesting on a call with lawmakers that workers were more likely to catch coronavirus based on their social interactions and group living situations, three participants said. HHS Secretary Alex Azar told a bipartisan group that he believed infected employees were bringing the virus …

The Hill reports: Plant-based meat companies Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have seen surges in sales due to a shortage of beef and pork during the coronavirus pandemic. Beyond Meat reported its first quarter net revenues increased 141 percent from the previous year to over $97 million, compared to over $40 million in first quarter in 2019. Impossible Foods, which …

CNN reports: The national meat shortage has come for Wendy’s. The fast food chain says some menu items are unavailable, and one analyst estimates nearly one in five of Wendy’s restaurants are out of beef. Around 1,000, or 18%, of Wendy’s 5,500 US restaurants are not serving any hamburgers or other meat-based items, according to an analysis of online menus …

Bloomberg News reports: Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he expects meatpacking plants to reopen in “days not weeks” under President Donald Trump’s executive order invoking the Defense Production Act. Slaughterhouse workers should begin receiving more protective gear and access to coronavirus testing “virtually immediately,” Perdue said Thursday in a telephone interview. The USDA has “already begun” working on orders to …

Bloomberg News reports: President Donald Trump plans to order meat-processing plants to remain open, declaring them critical infrastructure as the nation confronts growing disruptions to the food supply from the coronavirus outbreak, a person familiar with the matter said. Trump plans to use the Defense Production Act to order the companies to stay open during the pandemic, and the government …

NBC News reports: The board chairman of Tyson Foods is warning that “millions of pounds of meat will disappear” from the national food supply chain as the coronavirus outbreak forces food processing plants to shutter. “The food supply chain is breaking,” John Tyson wrote in a full-page advertisement published Sunday in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The …

Via press release: Publix announced today a new initiative to purchase fresh produce and milk to assist farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Publix will donate these products directly to Feeding America member food banks in its operating area. The initiative will support Florida produce farmers, southeastern dairy farmers and the growing number of families looking to Feeding America for …

Roll Call reports: The Homeland Security Department, reacting to what it called an “unprecedented crisis,” will allow farmers facing delays in getting approval for petitions for foreign agricultural labor to hire farmworkers holding H-2A visas and already in the United States. How many farmers this will help is unknown. The temporary final rule announced Wednesday comes after mounting pressure from …

Gizmodo reports: As Amazon buckles under the increased demand presented by social distancing guidelines and shelter-at-home orders, the company now says that new customers to its Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market grocery delivery services are being waitlisted. An Amazon spokesperson told Gizmodo by email that the waitlist is a result of both “restricted capacity due to social distancing as …