OTTAWA -- In front of a parliamentary subcommittee Wednesday, the medical health officers for Ontario and the City of Toronto chastised the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for its handling of last summer's listeriosis outbreak.

If you think the federal government has taken the steps needed to limit future disease outbreaks among livestock, think again. The national program to trace livestock is going nowhere fast, and the ability to track Canadian cattle, which led to the first case of mad cow disease in a Mabton farm, is deeply flawed.

Sanofi Pasteur announced today that it has received a novel H1N1 influenza vaccine virus from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), moving the company a step closer to starting production of a vaccine.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- More than 100 athletes who swam in the Oklahoma River during a triathlon earlier this month have returned health questionnaires from state officials investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness among participants in the event.

As if dealing with a recession and stricter emissions standards weren't enough, carriers of fresh fruits and vegetables must also find ways to meet customers' new food safety demands. While the transportation industry is more than willing to do its share to make sure the nation's supply of fresh produce is safe, it's also looking for more of a hand from its supply chain partners.

"Irradiated poop, is still poop." These are words spoken by a consumer advocate in opposition to irradiating meat. "Irradiation is a better answer," are words written by Robert Zimbelman in response to last week's blog on test and hold.

RALEIGH -- In its ceaseless battle to keep sewer pipes from clogging, the city of Raleigh has identified several menaces over the years, including grease, corn starch packing peanuts and, at least temporarily, the modern scourge of garbage disposals. Now the people who run the sewer system have found a new enemy: flushable wipes.

Proposed statewide requirements to post calories on menus or menu boards, and to disclose other nutritional information, have advanced another step in the Oregon Legislature. House Bill 2726 cleared the Senate Health Care Committee on Tuesday and is headed to a vote of the full Senate. A negotiated version passed the House, 43-15, on May 15.

Rome -- In what seemed largely a foregone conclusion, a May 15-19 study week on genetically modified organisms sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Sciences ended with a strong endorsement of GMOs as “praiseworthy for improving the lives of the poor,” and promising “improved food safety and health benefits, better food security, and enhanced environmental performance in a s