Food for Thought (Jan. 15 - Jan. 20)

Food and Health

An industry has grown up based on the concept that ‘food doctor’ nutritionists can cure patients’ ills and allergies through diet.
http://www.foodhealthnews.com/2012/01/nutrition-therapists-condemned-as-quacks-who-put-patients-health-at-risk/

The CDC just announced that 33% of American adults are now considered obese. And instead of running to the gym or throwing out our junk food, everyone seems to be sitting around looking for someone to blame.
http://blisstree.com/live/obesity/the-cdc-says-33-of-americans-are-obese-its-time-to-take-responsibility-638/

On Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 11:15 am First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, VA to speak with parents about USDA’s new nutrition standards for school lunches.
http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Blog.aspx?id=16628&blogid=145506

Former President Clinton has announced a new initiative to get kids healthier and provide more nutritious lunch options at 13,000 schools across the country. As part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the William J. Clinton Foundation has partnered with the American Heart Association to reduce childhood obesity nationwide by 2015 and get kids moving and eating better. http://www.blogowogo.com/blog_article.php?aid=3882816&t=17

Food Assistance

Some have advanced degrees and remember middle-class lives. Some work selling lingerie or building websites. They are white, black and Hispanic, young and old, homeowners and homeless. What they have in common: They're all on food stamps.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/food-stamps_n_1218248.html

There are more white people on food stamps than blacks, a fact not presented by Gingrich in a South Carolina debate. http://www.trivisonno.com/food-stamps-race

Right now, schools follow federal mandates to allow students from lower income households to have free or reduced lunch.
http://ktar.com/6/1490258/State-senator-aims-to-change-free-and-reduced-lunch-program

Over the last five years, Americans have experienced a struggle far worse than many of us have ever experienced. Lost jobs, demotions and cuts are translating into families wondering how to maintain one of our most basic needs, food.
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/16529900/free-lunch-program-helps-pee-dee-students-achieve-in-classroom

The federal lunch program serves students considered economically disadvantaged, based on their family income. Since it’s based on actual numbers instead of estimates, the figure is considered one of the best available measures of the economic well-being of families with school-aged children.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/01/15/more-ohio-kids-living-in-poverty-lunch-program-shows.html

Prince George's County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services is leading the country in the nutritional quality, content, and integrity of our school meals. You can rest assured a healthy school meal is available for your child. http://www1.pgcps.org/foodandnutrition/

“Who are we to say, ‘You made a mistake. You paid your debt to society. We’re letting you re-enter society, but you can’t eat’?” she adds. “It doesn’t make sense.”
http://americaswire.org/drupal7/?q=content/food-stamp-bans-under-review-many-states-seek-prison-savings

Food Safety

The Obama Administration may be considering a plan to merge the functions of food safety as currently performed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into one large single food safety agency, located within FDA.
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/a-budget-neutral-better-way-to-boost-food-safety/

Although preparedness for public health emergencies had been on an upward climb in the U.S. over the last decade, some of our most elementary capabilities are experiencing cuts in every state across the country. This includes the ability to identify and contain outbreaks, provide vaccines and medications during emergencies, and treat people during mass traumas.
http://healthyamericans.org/newsroom/news/?newsid=2357

Chicago retailers that sell pre-packaged foods and recently inspected restaurants with no history of foodborne illness would police themselves and send inspection reports to City Hall, under a “self-certification” plan advanced Tuesday to free inspectors to focus on “high-risk” establishments.
http://blog.usfoodsafety.com/2012/01/18/chicago-to-let-some-low-risk-food-sellers-certify-themselves/

Salmonella Enteritidis infections centered in Texas and Oklahoma, but also spread over 8 other states, sickened 68 people who ate at a Mexican-style fast food restaurant chain in October and November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
http://savant7.com/beefcattlenews/general/cdc-mum-about-fast-food-chain-in-salmonella-outbreak/

Last January, President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the largest overhaul of the U.S. food safety system in decades. Since then, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun implementing various guidelines for the food industry.
http://foodmanufacturing.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/fsma-one-year-later/

RSW Distributors, LLC, is recalling approximately 3,104 pounds of seasoned diced beef products that may contain foreign materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
http://westmorelandtimes.com/news/2012/01/diced-beef-products-recalled-may-contain-foreign-materials-17011208565701/

Herbadashery of Casper, WY is recalling certain bottles of barbecue dipping sauce because the labels do not specify that the sauce contains anchovies, an allergen.
http://naturallygourmetproducts.com/food-safety/allergen-alert-barbecue-sauce-with-anchovies/