I visited Uganda earlier this year and that part of West Africa was (and is) free of the Ebola virus. The population there has been lucky so far. Similarly, in Western Europe we are watching the outbreak and its toll of death and human tragedy and, I am sure, also feeling very lucky that we are not directly affected. But, for those with short memories, I will use this column Continue reading
The latest food scare in China is a surprise to some but not to those who work on the factory floor in the industry. Worse, even without visiting these factories the scandal at Shanghai Husi Food was predictable and the shiny suited execs in their offices in Shanghai. Hong Kong and Illinois (Reuters reports that Shanghai Husi is owned by the OSI Group Inc., a global food processor based in Aurora, Illinois) should have been thinking harder about what could go wrong. Why do I say this? Continue reading
The USDA has announced that it will support a new certification system for US livestock that guarantees that meat produced under this standard will never have been fed beta agonists (growth hormones) such as ractopamine. Companies can meet the requirements of the “Never Fed Beta Agonists” marketing claim under either a USDA Process Verified Program (PVP) or the USDA Quality System Assessment (QSA) Program. Beef and pigmeat and meat products derived from animals that comply Continue reading