Restaurant Law Group

Moved primarily by the drastic drop in its exports to Japan as well as worldwide embarrassment for the frequency of its unsafe food exports, the government of China has overhauled its food-safety regulations.
Superceding any local enforcement variations, the national law imposes harsh financial penalties, life in prison, and even the death penalty for certain infractions.

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The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has developed an “automated underwater cell analyzer” aka “cytobot” to seek out harmful algae. The cytobot detected the influx of harmful algae in the Gulf of Mexico last month which led to the temporary suspension of shellfish harvesting off the coast of Texas and prevented human consumption of contaminated shellfish. [...]

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The Centers for Disease Control has issued a report saying that until 2004 the number of cases of foodborne illness was dropping. In 2004, though, it stopped dropping and has remained fairly steady. That would qualify as good news and bad news. In light of the increased media attention and better surveillance tools, it is [...]

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Scientists have worked out a way to ensure that beef jerky is free of E. coli and salmonella. Food-safety regulations by the government have put smaller manufacturers of jerky out of business in the past decade, but the new method allows for them to maintain the level of safety the government requires.

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In a sign of the times, Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest grocery chain, is the first to require its private-label and other suppliers to have their factories certified against the Global Food Safety Initiative, an international standard that goes beyond the FDA’s requirements for food safety.
The Global Food Safety Initiative was launched in May 2000 to [...]

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  Steak from non-cloned animal
 Steak from cloned animal
When it comes to food, particularly ground beef, what you don’t know can indeed hurt you. If you don’t know enough to cook your burger properly, for instance, the bloody thing can kill you.
When it comes to cloned beef, however, the FDA has declared officially that beef and milk [...]

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Kosher food is growing in popularity because it’s perceived as safer. 
Consumers looking for safe foods to eat are increasingly passing by “organic” and “no additives or preservatives” in the grocery aisle and heading straight to “kosher.” According to a Chicago-based market research firm, Mintel, the number of new foods bearing the “kosher” label — 4719 — [...]

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No matter what the beef industry does to fight E. coli and other pathogens — and right now that comes to $350 million annually in testing and sterilizing — experts contend that you just can’t get rid of all the E. coli that’s out there.
The 20 recalls of ground beef this year due to [...]

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According to a recent L.A. Times article, seventy percent of processed foods on grocery store shelves have some kind of genetically modified ingredient. Though it doesn’t seem to be a big deal in Europe, Americans are reticent to consume foods they know have been tampered with. So, maybe if they realize that it’s no big [...]

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Long proud of their famous dietary anomaly, that they are known both for their thinness and for their rich foods, the French are a little upset over recent reports from their ministry of health that they have gained quite a bit of weight as a nation.
According to a recent article in the L.A. Times, it’s [...]

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