Food safety

FDA Decision on BPA Outrages Health Advocates

A broad spectrum of scientists, physicians, and children’s health advocates expressed outrage with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announcement that bisphenol A – the hormone disrupting chemical found in numerous consumer products including food can linings and plastic baby bottles – is “safe.” In laboratory studies, the pervasive chemical has been linked to obesity, developmental prob

Penicillin in Peril

The reckless use in animals of tried-and-true human antibiotics has contributed to the development of serious antibiotic-resistant human disease. The most straightforward way to address resistant diseases such as CA-MRSA is to curb unnecessary use of all antibiotics important to human medicine in U.S. livestock operations, including penicillin and tetracycline.

U.S. China Agreement on Food Safety: Terms and Enforcement Capacity

A review of the U.S. China food safety agreement summarizing the views of U.S. Congressional investigators who doubted that the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) could effectively implement and enforce the hundreds of pages of new food safety rules.

Bush Administration Prioritizes Trade Over Food Safety

The Bush Administration's Interagency Working Group (IWG) is pushing a flawed food safety system that prioritizes trade considerations over public health. Many of the IWG's recommendations and actions are designed to reduce import inspection and testing and instead emphasize safety certification of foreign import facilities.

Comment to FDA on Third Party Certification Programs

IATP submitted this comment to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about Third Party Certification programs in other countries to ensure food safety. We identified problems in both concept and in relation to other food safety programs, particularly in relation to import re-inspection and product testing.

Import Food Safety in the Twilight of the Bush Administration

In 2007, 30 million pounds of ground beef was pulled off the U.S. market in a series of twenty recalls because of contamination concerns. The recalls highlight serious concerns in our deregulated food safety system. Over the last decade we've reduced the number of food safety inspectors and instead rely more on the food industry to regulate itself.

Smart Plastics: Common Questions and Answers

Questions people have about the numbered system on plastic containers and bottles are answered in this fact sheet, the companion to the the Smart Plastics Guide.

Antibiotic Resistance: The Unwelcome Guest at Your Holiday Dinner

As the holidays approach, thoughts inevitably turn to an important part of these celebrations - food, and in particular, turkey. We may also wish to consider the health and environmental impacts of how the meat for our holiday is raised.