APPI December Update

APPI shares information on predicted energy costs for the future and relays information on expected increases in various states.  Their services may provide substantial savings in Texas, Illinois, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. - Posted 11/30/06 by AHB

Bacon, Skinless Chicken Linked To Increased Risk For Bladder Cancer

A Harvard University study suggests that people who eat bacon are at least five times a week are 59 percent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who don't eat it at all. - Posted 11/30/06 by AHB

FDA Satellite Broadcast:  Reducing Risk Factors at Retail and Food Service

This program will focus on the topic of reducing risk factors in retail food stores and food service facilities with the goal of improving the ability of regulators and industry to reduce the occurrence risk factors and foodborne illness at retail.  Topics include communication skills, using risk control plans, tools for improving food employee behaviors, food preparation practices personal hygiene of foodservice workers and techniques used to ensure safe food temperatures. - Posted 11/29/06 by AHB

USDA Revives Efforts To Import Older Canadian Cattle

USDA indicated that it has completed a new risk assessment on older Canadian cattle and that it once again is seeking to allow Canadian cattle and beef 30 months of age and older into the U.S. food chain. - Posted 11/29/06 by AHB

Bush Signs Animal Terrorism Act

President Bush has signed the “Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act” into law. - Posted 11/28/06 by AHB

USDA Seeks Guidance On Natural Livestock

The Agriculture Department will conduct three listening sessions to obtain input on marketing standards for natural livestock. - Posted 11/27/06 by AHB

Appeals Court Turns Down USDA Request To Dismiss R-CALF Case

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a motion by USDA to dismiss an appeal by Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund in an ongoing dispute over the import of live cattle from Canada. - Posted 11/22/06 by AHB

FSIS Regulatory Education Session in Scranton, PA, Postponed

The Regulatory Education Session scheduled for November 29, 2006, in Scranton, PA, has been postponed until the Spring of 2007. - Posted 11/21/06 by AHB

Animal Rights Terrorism Bill Passed

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a measure that strengthens laws dealing with criminal acts against farms, meat processors and animal research facilities. - Posted 11/20/06 by AHB

USDA: You're Not Hungry, You Just Have Very Low Food Security

According to USDA's newly published report, "Household Food Security in the United States, 2005," hunger in the United States has declined slightly since 2004. - Posted 11/17/06 by AHB

FSIS Posts New IKE Scenarios

Interactive Knowledge Exchange (IKE) Scenarios 07-06, 08-06, and 09-06 deal with verification procedures involving E. coli O157:H7 as described in FSIS Notice 63-06. - Posted 11/15/06 by AHB

Meat Groups Downplay Cancer Link

Meat groups in the U.S. and UK say red meat is safe to eat despite a study released this week linking it to breast cancer. - Posted 11/15/06 by AHB

Daily Red Meat Consumption May Double Breast Cancer Risk

According to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine, younger women consuming one-and-a-half portions of red meat a day nearly doubled their risk of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer compared to those who ate three or less servings per week. - Posted 11/15/06 by AHB   

USDA's Response to the Meat Association's Inspection Overtime Letter

This letter provides information to MAC regarding USDA's Inspection Overtime policies and provides guidance for industry on overtime charges. - Posted 11/13/06 by AHB   

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef Counters USDA BSE Claims

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef confirmed that it has filed its reply to a USDA statement opposing the bid to test their cattle for BSE. - Posted 11/7/06 by AHB

AAMP Hosts U.S. Meat Industry Tour to IFFA in 2007

IFFA is the world's leading trade fair for the meat-processing industry. Companies present machinery and plant for the entire process chain ( i.e. , from slaughtering, cutting-up and processing to packing, sales and butchers' requisites). - Posted 11/6/06 b y JBW

Be Foodsafe Campaign Launched

The Partnership for Food Safety Education has joined forces with the USDA to launch a new initiative to reach consumers with safe food handling messages. - Posted 11/3/06 by AHB

USDA Developing Livestock Reporting

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it is developing a new regulation for Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR). - Posted 11/3/06 by AHB

FSIS Apologizes To Maligned District Manager

FSIS Administrator Barbara Masters has written to retired FSIS New York District Manager George Puchta expressing regret that his name was unfavorably linked to allegations surrounding an investigation of inspection operations in 2000. - Posted 11/3/06 by AHB

New Weapon In Food Safety War

ARS scientists develop a chlorate-based compound that shows promising results in reducing food-safety risks in meat and poultry. - Posted 11/1/06 by AHB