Not in My Food.org : Know what you're eating
E. Coli
Press Releases
- USDA to declare zero tolerance for E. Coli strains
Consumers Union applauds new policy to make food safer
- Consumers Union Heralds Senate Passage of Historic Food Safety Bill
FDA has the authority to order food recalls and requires more frequent inspections of food manufacturers
- CU comments to the FDA on the labeling of GE salmon
Comments by Senior Scientist Michael Hansen to the FDA on labeling genetically modified AquaAdvantage Salmon
- URGENT! The Senate Should Act on FDA Food Safety Reform
URGENT! The Senate Should Act on FDA Food Safety Reform Each year, 76 million Americans are sickened, 325,000 hospitalized and 5,000 die from consuming contaminated food. Most at risk are young children, the elderly and people whose immune systems are weakened by other diseases or treatments like chemotherapy. Recent outbreaks of deadly E. coli and Continue Reading
- CU urges House passage of food safety bill
A much-needed overhaul of the nation’s food-safety system is needed
- House letter urging passage of the Food Safety Enhancement Act
The current food safety system is broken and has been in need of an overhaul for more than a decade
- CU urges Congress to take action on food safety
House agriculture committee holds hearing on Food Safety Enhancement Act
- White House announces food safety standards
CU statement: The new measures represent real progress towards improving the safety of food in the U.S.
- Congress: Food safety system must be fixed
Foodborne illness victims convene in DC to share personal stories & ask Congress to pass legislation
- USDA should require labeling of irradiated meat
CU opposes industry petition to not require labeling of meat in early processing stages
Blog Posts
- Consumer Reports finds antibiotic-resistant bacteria in pork
A new Consumer Reports study released today warns shoppers that they may be getting more than they bargain for in their packages of pork. Tests of pork chops and ground pork found widespread contamination by several different bacteria, much of which showed resistance to one or more antibiotics used in human medicine. The study points Continue Reading
- Superbugs in chicken point to need for antibiotics reform
Chickens and bladder infections – two things you’d never expect to make headlines together – have captured attention this week after new findings were released showing a link between superbugs in chicken and urinary tract infections (UTIs) in humans that are increasingly tough to treat. The common trait? A strain of antibiotic-resistant E. coli that researchers found in both Continue Reading
- Beef industry says pink slime “absolutely edible”; consumers wary
A former USDA scientist is blowing the whistle on ‘pink slime’, a concoction of leftover beef scraps and connective tissue treated with ammonia hydroxide that’s commonly added to ground beef. “It’s economic fraud,” microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein told ABC News. “It’s not fresh ground beef. … It’s a cheap substitute being added in.” Invented by the Continue Reading
- The fight over regulations, and why it’s important to you
by Ami Gadhia and Jean Halloran You may have heard a lot recently about Washington D.C. and its ‘regulations’ – probably not much of it good. Politicians and others have been talking about doing away with federal regulations, and the Senate is set to consider several bills that will make it a lot tougher for Continue Reading
- House passes “indefensible” cuts to FDA’s funding
Food safety and child nutrition were among the programs hardest hit by cuts in the 2012 FDA budget passed by the House in a 217-203 vote. Consumers Union, as well as other consumer and public health groups, urged Congress to preserve the food safety budgets of the FDA and the USDA. In the shadow of Continue Reading
- Food Safety: Almost There, But Still in Peril
On November 29, the Monday after Thanksgiving, the US Senate has a chance to bring about a major improvement in the safety of the nation’s food by passing S 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.
- The latest in bizarre recall news: insect parts in infant formula
Call 1 (800) 944-6762 to be connected directly for FREE to your Senators, and tell them to pass S 510, the FDA Food Safety Bill! Is this what they meant by ‘beetlejuice’? _____________________________________
- Recalling a year of recalls
It takes a special kind of procrastination to sit by while 1,850 people get sick.
- Years after food poisoning, effects still felt every day
We often think of food poisoning victims as people who spent a pretty bad week within close proximity to a bathroom, but then got past the gastric discomfort and on with their lives. But the truth is that a pathogen like E. coli or Salmonella can cause devastating and long-lasting effects on a body and a Continue Reading
- Have you heard the one about the food safety bill?
Q: What do you call a bill that’s been languishing in the Senate so long it might just die there?
News Articles
- Report: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in ground turkey Source: Reuters (Tuesday April 30, 2013)
- America is hungry for safer food Source: NY Daily News (Friday July 13, 2012)
- Superbug Dangers in Chicken Linked to 8 Million At-Risk Women Source: CBS News (Wednesday July 11, 2012)
- 48% of Chicken in Small Sample Has E. Coli Source: The New York Times (Wednesday April 11, 2012)
- Live From the Cutting Room Floor Source: The New York Times (Monday April 9, 2012)
- Raw Cookie Dough Linked to E. Coli Outbreak Source: ABC News (Friday December 9, 2011)
- Could It Happen Here? Source: New York Times (Friday June 10, 2011)
The deadly outbreak of food-borne illnesses in Germany may seem a distant threat, especially since that strain of E. coli bacteria has never caused an outbreak here. Don’t get complacent.
- Deadly E. coli outbreak in Germany: Reminder of importance of funding food safety Source: Baltimore Sun (Monday June 6, 2011)
One clear message Americans can take from the German experience it that this is not a time to let our food safety guard down.
- In deadly mutant E. coli outbreak, smoking gun elusive Source: USA Today (Thursday June 2, 2011)
Europe’s worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak being blamed on a brand new “super-toxic” strain of E. coli.
- Editorial: On Turkey Day, pass the gravy but hold the bacteria Source: USA Today (Tuesday November 23, 2010)
When you sit down with friends and family on Thursday for a Thanksgiving feast, you shouldn’t have to worry about uninvited guests such as E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter.