In this week’s summary of food news:

• Beef Recall: A Maine meat distributor has announced that it is recalling more than a ton of beef products that may be contaminated with the E. coli bacteria;
• Orange Juice Imports: The FDA stopped 144 shipments of imported orange juice amid its continue surveillance for an illegal fungicide;
• FDA Announces Rule on Antibiotics in Animal Feed: The FDA called on the nation’s pork, beef, and poultry producers to reduce their use of antibiotics. But critics of the new rule see little change;
• Undercover Video: An undercover investigation at a central Pennsylvania egg farm found hens suffering in “deplorable” conditions, officials with the Humane Society of the United States announced this week;
• Childhood Obesity: A new study predicts that the average American youth would be nearly four pounds heavier than a child or teen of the same age five years ago, and more than 20 percent of kids would be obese, up from 16.9 percent today;
• FSMA Update: Beginning in late February warning letters issued by FDA now provide an indication of the types of violations that could trigger reinspection fees under the authority provided by the Food Safety Modernization Act.

In this week’s summary of food news:

• BPA Petition Denied: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied a call to ban the plastic additive BPA from food packaging. The decision comes after government scientists found little reason to think people are being harmed by the chemical.
• Salmonella Sushi: A total of 93 people and counting, have become sickened from an outbreak of Salmonella that appears to be linked to their consumption of sushi and other raw fish, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Poultry Plant Inspections: Fresh controversy erupted this week over a cost-cutting measure by the USDA which would allow private companies to take over inspection of poultry plants.
• USDA Allows Voluntary Labeling of Pink Slime: Shoppers soon will be able to tell whether ground beef they buy has lean, finely textured beef trimmings, also known as “pink slime.” As Food Court previously reported the additive was not required to appear on the label.
• Chicken Feed Full of Chemicals: Arsenic finds its way into the news again. Food Court first reported on research finding organic arsenic in apple juice, later reported on inorganic arsenic from pesticides appearing in rice, and now it’s been found in Chickens along with a host of other chemicals.
• Happy Meal Lawsuit: A San Francisco judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit against McDonald’s over the restaurant chain’s marketing of its signature Happy Meals.

In this week’s summary of food news:

• Pink Slime Defended: Beef Products Inc. suspends operations at three of its four plants and mounts a defense of the controversial filler, but is it enough to convince consumers their product is nutritious?
• Starbucks Cochineal Extract: Starbuck’s use of a food coloring made from insects raises the question of what consumers have a right to know before buying when eating out.
• Diluted Lemon Juice Claim: A study finds four popular brands of lemon juice heavily diluted with water; asks FDA to investigate.
• Food Coloring and ADHD: The link between artificial food colors and ADHD symptoms is the subject of a new study.
• Bees and Pesticides: Two researchers focus on the role a controversial pesticide is playing in the decline of bees.
• Canadian Beef Recall: The Canadian recall of beef, which has been expanded eight times since February, now may affect US imports from the affected facility.

In this week’s summary of food news:

• Pink Slime Continued: Food Court and Food Court News reported last week on the growing controversy over pink slime. This week further fall-out continued with national grocery chains, including Wal-Mart, announced they would no longer carry products with the filler.
• GMO Labeling: Connecticut took the first step towards requiring producers to label genetically modified food Wednesday, as a legislative committee overwhelmingly backed a measure promoted as giving consumers more information while avoiding the debate over health concerns.
• BART: Researchers are using a chemical which lights up fireflies to develop a device for detecting salmonella, E. coli and listeria in contaminated food.
• Canadian Beef Recall: More than seven months’ worth of potentially contaminated frozen beef burgers produced by bankrupt New Food Classics are part of a steadily growing recall across Canada.
• Pig Pens: Under pressure from animal rights activists and major buyers, several major pork producers have agreed to phase out gestation crates and switch to more open pens.
• Antibiotics in Animal Feed: A federal judge on Thursday ordered U.S. regulators to start proceedings to withdraw approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed.

In this weeks summary of food news:

• Pink Slime Update” Food Court and Food Court News reported last week on the brewing controversy over pink slime in school lunches. This week the controversy comes to a possible conclusion.

• Illnesses linked to Imported Foods: A new report from the CDC shows an increasing trend with imported food and outbreaks
• Wasted Food:  Experts find 30 to 50 percent of world’s food thrown away.
• Staples: The FDA sent Staples Inc. a warning letter after rodents and gnawed snacks were found in a warehouse.
• Fish Fraud: A new focus is placed on economic and labeling fraud in seafood products.
• Food Safety Modernization Act Updates: two new announcements from the FDA on implementing FSMA.

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In this weeks summary of food news:

• Inhaleable Caffine: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to Aeroshot, the maker of a caffeine inhaler. The agency says it’s concerned about misleading claims about the product and its safety.
• Nutrition Label on Raw Meat: Shoppers may have already noticed changes in the meat isle at their local grocery store. Nutrition labels are now on raw meat and poultry products. under a new rule from the US Department of Agriculture.
• Pink Slime: Food Court reported last month on McDonald’s announcement to longer use ammonia-treated “lean beef trimmings” known as “pink slime.” Although most fast food chains no longer use the product, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to buy the meat for school lunches.
• Carcinogens in Coke: The Center for Science in the Public Interest reignited a debate over the safety of an additive long used by soft drink makers to give cola its brown coloring.  The Center released a study this week which found high levels of 4-methylimidazole (4-MI), a known animal carcinogen in Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Diet Coke, and Diet Pepsi.
• Celebrity Chef Settles Suit: Celebrity chef Mario Batali has reached  settlement to resolve a law suit that began in 2010 involving eight NY restaurants.
• Campbell’s BPA Response: Responding to consumer concern, Campbell’s announced it plans to go BPA-Free. BPA (bisphenol A), a commonly used additive in food packaging, mimics human estrogen and is thought by some health advocates to be harmful to health.

In this weeks summary of food news:

• Ag-Gag Bill: Undercover investigations of animal abuse may be a crime under a new Iowa bill.
• Tip-Theft Bill: A bill introduced in Rhode Island’s legislature this week would prevent restaurants and hotels in the state from pocketing portions of the “service fees” that many customers wrongly assume go to workers.
• Food Research and Action Center: A new report from Food Research and Action Center found a growing number of Americans can’t afford groceries.
• Raw Milk: Following last week’s report on raw milk, state health officials in Pennsylvania say another 40 bacterial infections have been linked to the Family Cow Dairy. The total is now 78 bacterial infections linked to the dairy, making it the words illness outbreak related to raw milk in the state’s history.
• Monsanto: A federal class action lawsuit against Monsanto has been dismissed.
• Fresno Teacher: Three fifth grade students were expelled from a Fresno California elementary school after attempting to poison their teacher.

In this weeks summary of food news:

• Martian Menu: Researchers at Cornell University and University of Hawaii at Manoa are providing  people that chance as part of a simulation find out which kinds of foods would make the most sense for a months-long mission beyond Earth orbit.
• Listeria: Five months after the first report of listeria infections tied to contaminated cantaloupe from Jensen Farms, victims of the outbreak continue to die. But just how many isn’t clear.
• Orange Juice Prices Expected to Jump: Consumers may notice a rise in orange prices in the coming weeks due to a FDA block of frozen concentrated orange juice from Brazil.
• Raw Milk: A string of bad news for raw milk makers and consumers; FDA permanent injunction against PA raw milk maker, CDC study concludes most dairy product outbreaks are due to raw milk – all of this following a PA raw milk outbreak affecting 4 states.
• Inhalable Caffeine: Maker’s of AeroShot, a product that delivers a blast of caffeine through an inhaler, are under fresh scrutiny after Senator Charles Schumer of New York raised concerns of the product as a “party enhancer.”
• Minimum Wage: Changes in the minimum wage law in Arizona could leave some part-time or temporary teenage workers working for $4.56 an hour.

Arsenic in infant formula and cereal bars;
Arrests at a Butterball facility in North Carolina;
New calorie limit by Mars Inc. on chocolate candy;
Jimmy Johns E. Coli recall;
Demand for organic milk surges;
EU and US recognize organic standards as equivalent; and
‘Sin tax in Massachusetts’ tax on sugary candy and drinks.