Pesticide Residues in Food Products

Image courtesy of foodsafetynews.com Every year the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Pesticide Data Program analyzes a wide variety of food crops and processed foods for pesticide residues. The annual report of testing covering 2018 was recently released (December 2019), with the numbers varying little from recent years. According to the report summary, “Over 99% of the products […]

Reduce Food Waste: A Resource of Food Banks and Food Pantries

Many individuals make New Year’s resolutions, and these days some companies are even getting into the game. Several prominent companies including Marriott (the hotel and hospitality company), Nestle Global (the international food and beverage company), and several branches of the U.S. government have pledged to reduce food waste in 2020. I have been working with the […]

The Story of Your Dinner

It’s national Food Safety Education Month and National Family Meals Month. A great way to start the school year off right is to remember that food safety is the foundation of a delicious family meal. The Story of Your Dinner offers creative tools and messages to frame food safety throughout the chain of prevention — […]

The Science is In: Don’t Wash Your Poultry

The debate on whether or not to wash raw poultry is a fierce one, but until recently there was no hard-and-fast data to tell us just how risky it is to wash poultry. A recent study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) demonstrates that individuals are putting themselves at risk of illness when they […]

Food Recall Basics

As recent blog posts suggest, there are dozens of food recall notices posted in the United States each month. The Partnership for Food Safety Education has developed some fact sheets that they hope will help people sort through the information in recall notices and to take action to identify whether a recalled product is in […]

Your Questions Answered: Steam Canning

I have been answering many questions about the use of an atmospheric steam canner. The University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted research showing that an atmospheric Steam Canner may be used to safely can naturally acid foods such as peaches, pears, and apples, or acidified-foods such as salsa or pickles. The atmospheric steam canner uses only ~2 […]

Back-to-School: Lesson #1

In time for Food Safety Education Month (September) and back-to-school, the USDA has issued back-to-school food safety tips focused on….hand washing. Why is Lesson #1 Hand Washing? According to Dr. Mindy Brashears, USDA Under-Secretary for Food Safety, USDA research has found that consumers fail to properly wash their hands 97% of the time. “Washing hands is one […]

Consumers Need Wake-Up Call About Potential Dangers of Flour

Courtesy Food Safety News A recent posting in Food Safety News tells a common tale: “She’s in the kitchen happily enough making some chocolate chip cookies. Happy because her family loves them but also happy because she loves nibbling on some of the raw cookie dough. It’s something she’s done ever since she was old enough […]

Back-to-School Shopping on a Budget

Households with children in grade school and high school will spend almost $700 on back-to-school shopping this fall, according to the National Retail Federation. Clothing, electronics, and school supplies are the top three expenses listed by families in the Federation’s annual July survey. Households with a college student will spend closer to $1000 this year […]

Centers for Disease Control warns of Salmonella linked to backyard flocks

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has announced a national investigation into Salmonella infections from backyard flocks. As of June, there were 279 people across 41 states who have been infected! Of the 152 patients for whom the information is available, more than a fourth had to be admitted to hospitals because their symptoms were so severe. Since 2000, […]