Edible Briefs: The Month in Food News

Image by terren in Virginia via Flickr

Life has been getting in the way of regular dispatches in this space. Despite my absence, I’ve been busy keeping tabs on the many developing stories in the world of food, including politics, media, safety, nutrition, seafood and agriculture. What follows is a mere sliver of the buffet of headlines I’ve been following this month alone.  Chew on these, and weigh in, if you please.

Shopping Bags
California is poised to become the first state with a ban on plastic and paper shopping bags. With approval in the state assembly and the support of Gov. Schwarzenegger, AB 1998 awaits review in the state senate.

Seafood
Wild-caught salmon from California and Oregon are now a red-light menu item, according to one sustainable seafood source. In its latest Seafood Watch Pocket Guide, the Monterey Aquarium has issued an “avoid” recommendation “due to declining populations of Chinook salmon in these states and concerns about bycatch of threatened and endangered salmon species in these fisheries.”  This was unwelcome news in Oregon, where commercial salmon fishing opened for the first time in three years.

After 134 years in business,  P&J Oyster Co., a New Orleans institution,  closed for good due to the conditions caused by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

New Orleans chef Susan Spicer filed a class-action suit against British Petroleum on behalf of restaurants and seafood suppliers whose livelihoods have been directly impacted by the April 20  rig explosion and resulting catastrophic spill.  Spicer talked to New York Times reporter Kim Severson.

Food Safety
Yesterday, cereal giant Kellogg Company recalled 28 million boxes of sweetened cereals “due to an uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell” from the boxes’ plastic liners. Froot Loops and Apple Jacks are among the casualties.

In southern California, the South Gate Meat Company recalled  35, 000 pounds of ground beef and hamburger patties last week for being tainted with E. coli 0157:H7.

In possibly one of the most massive recall uh-ohs in recent memory, Campbell Soup Company recalled 15 million pounds of Spaghetti-Os with meatballs “due to possible underprocessing” which paves the way for botulism.

Nutrition
Every five years, the Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA issue their Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  The latest recommendations have been released as a precursor to the 2010 Guidelines, which help set the standards for all federal food programs, including the National School Lunch Program.  Among the recommendations, the advisory committee is calling for less salt, saturated fat and sweetened beverages, with a new emphasis on less meat, more plant-centered meals.  The public is invited to submit written comments  until July 15 or oral testimony at a public hearing on July 8.

This Thursday, July 1, the House Committee on Education and Labor will hold a hearing for the Improving Nutrition for Children’s Act (HR 5504), the house version of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act.  Introduced by committee chair George Miller (D-CA) earlier this month, the legislation calls for $8 billion in additional funds over 10 years for child nutrition programs.
The Senate version, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (S. 3307),  was unanimously passed out of the Senate committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, chaired by Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).  This just in: Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio and retired Army general Paul D. Monroe, of Mission: Readiness, will testify.

In Massachusetts this summer, doctors at three health centers will “prescribe” $20,000 in fruit and veggie prescription vouchers to be used at local farmer’s markets.

Media

There were two online births: To CNN, which spawned Eatocracy, a blog with a huge appetite for food news and kitchen stories;  and to Grace Foundation (The Meatrix, Eat Well Guide, Sustainable Table), which welcomed its newest blog baby, Eco Centric,  to the world last week.

Agriculture
Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended new limits on antibiotics administered to livestock that would be permitted for disease prevention and treatment but no longer for growth.  Details and debate likely to emerge in the coming weeks.

In the case Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, the Supreme Court sided with Monsanto Co., in overturning a ban on the company’s genetically engineered Roundup Ready alfalfa seeds. Alfalfa is an important animal feed crop; farmers opposed to the GMO alfalfa have long expressed a concern for the risk of cross-pollination and contamination of other seeds.   The ruling is subject to the results of a USDA environmental study.  It is the first Supreme Court ruling in a GMO case.

On Wednesday, June 30, Senator Lincoln will host the first of many anticipated hearings about the Farm Bill, an omnibus piece of legislation surely to knit some eyebrows in the coming months.

Whole Foods Market is embarking on a community garden project at its store in the  Richmond, Va., area, with the goal of growing food for the store. This is a pilot project for the Austin, Tex.-based grocery chain.