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Catherine O'Neill | September 1, 2010

Egg Industry’s Effort to Push Salmonella Problem as Consumers’ Fault A Worrying Example of ‘Risk Avoidance’ Policy Approaches to Health and Safety Regulation

According to the egg industry, the thousands of people sickened by eggs contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis have only themselves to blame. As USA Today reported: “Consumers that were sickened reportedly all ate eggs that were not properly or thoroughly cooked. Eggs need to be cooked so that the whites and yolks are firm (not runny) which […]

Liz Borkowski | August 27, 2010

What the Egg Recall Says About Our Food Safety System

Cross-posted from The Pump Handle. The Iowa-based company Wright County Egg is recalling 380 million eggs, which were sold to distributors and wholesalers in 22 states and Mexico, due to concerns about salmonella contamination. The eggs have been sold under several different brand names, so if you've got eggs in your fridge you can check […]

Yee Huang | August 18, 2010

A MRSA Story: The FDA, CAFOs, and Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

In June, the Food and Drug Administration issued Draft Guidance on the Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobials in Food-Producing Animals. The FDA recognizes in the guidance that the “overall weight of evidence available… supports the conclusion that using medically important antimicrobial drugs for production or growth enhancing purposes… in food-producing animals is not in the […]

Matt Shudtz | August 13, 2010

Changes to TSCA Inventory Update Rule Could Help OSHA, Too

On Wednesday, EPA announced its intention to revise (pdf) the TSCA Inventory Update Rule (IUR). The TSCA Inventory is the official list of chemicals in commerce, and the IUR is the regulation that requires companies to submit production and use data to EPA to ensure the Inventory accurately represents all of the chemicals out there. This week's […]

Lena Pons | August 6, 2010

American Chemistry Council’s Request for Correction on BPA Action Plan Exceeds the Limits of the Data Quality Act

The American Chemistry Council (ACC), a trade association that represents chemical industry interests and is heavily connected to the plastics industry, filed a Request for Correction Monday on the EPA's Chemical Action Plan for Bisphenol A (BPA). The request, filed under a provision of the Data Quality Act (also referred to as the Information Quality Act), […]

Lena Pons | July 27, 2010

Auto Safety Bill Takes Some Bruises in the Senate; Automakers Try for More

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 (H.R. 5381/S. 3302), the primary legislation on the table in response to the Toyota unintended acceleration fiasco, went through the committee process in the House and Senate earlier this summer. The bills, as introduced, included some tough provisions to respond to gaps exposed by the Toyota episode. Among […]

Matt Shudtz | July 21, 2010

Miner Safety and Health Act Faces Committee Vote Today

Just before the July 4 recess, Representative George Miller, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, introduced the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010. Recent explosions at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine, Tesoro’s Anacortes (WA) refinery, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, and U.S. Steel’s coke oven in Clairton (PA), highlight the life-threatening hazards […]

Ben Somberg | July 15, 2010

Some Toyota Context

The last time the WSJ attempted a big scoop on the Toyota story (attempting to discredit the Prius driver case in California), the article did not hold up well. This week’s story (“Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers”) has caught attention, and a response from NHTSA: the agency has “several more months of work […]

Ben Somberg | July 14, 2010

Dangerous Work Conditions For Migrant Women in Maryland Crab Industry, Report Says

A report released in Washington this morning highlights “The Hidden Struggles of Migrant Worker Women In The Maryland Crab Industry.” The paper, by Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. and the International Human Right Law Clinic at American University Washington College of Law, is focused mostly on immigration policy issues (a little outside our […]