IPS: Interesting articles on food supply, and other issues.

New Projects Dispel Myths and Spread the Truth About Vaccines Stephen Leahy UXBRIDGE, Canada, May 3 - In northern Pakistan, one in ten children dies before the age of five from diseases such as polio, measles or hepatitis, despite the availability of vaccines. And while health workers feared visiting this region, which includes the mountainous Swat district controlled by the Taliban until 2009, local people also fear the potentially life-saving vaccines. MORE >> Epidemic of Premature Births in Rich and Poor Nations Alike Charundi Panagoda and Stephanie Parker* WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS, May 3 - Fifteen million babies, or more than one in 10 infants, are born prematurely each year. Over one million die soon after birth, or survive to face a lifetime of health complications, says a new report by the World Health Organisation and co- sponsors. MORE >> Urban Farming Takes Root in Brazil’s Favelas Fabiana Frayssinet NOVA IGUAçU, Brazil, May 2 - Women in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of this city 40 km north of Rio de Janeiro no longer have to spend money on vegetables, because they have learned to grow their own, as organic urban gardening takes off in Brazil. MORE >> Chinese Miners Dig Deep for Death Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore BEIJING, May 2 - China is notorious for containing some of the world’s deadliest mines - a reputation that has been corroborated in recent months by a series of fatal accidents. China is the world’s largest consumer and producer of coal. But the mining industry is beset by illegal operations, dangerous working conditions, local corruption and cover-ups of fatalities. MORE >> Q&A: Restructuring the Planet's Food System Charundi Panagoda interviews DANIELLE NIERENBERG of Worldwatch Institute WASHINGTON, May 1 - Thirty percent of food is wasted globally, while one billion people go hungry and another billion are obese. MORE >> Q&A: Ghana's Youth Are "The Future of the Nation" Aline Jenckel interviews SAMUEL KISSI, executive coordinator of Curious Minds, a youth advocacy organisation in Ghana UNITED NATIONS, Apr 28 - With a whopping 40 percent of Ghana's population under the age of 24, the government's ability to foster their development and include them in the country's development are critical to the country's future. MORE >> Q&A: How to Empower Youths to Take Charge of Their Health and Sexuality Mathilde Bagneres interviews ORIANA LOPEZ URIBE, youth activist for sexual and reproductive health services and information UNITED NATIONS, Apr 28 - Young people aged 15-24 make up a quarter of sexually active individuals, yet they comprise half of new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) infections each year. MORE >> AGRICULTURE: Farm Animals Join Rio+20 Agenda Johanna Treblin UNITED NATIONS, Apr 28 - Human development and biodiversity will not be the only focus of the Rio+20 Earth Summit in June, for which representatives of hundreds of states and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) will gather to discuss sustainable development. MORE >> India Serves Up Costly Cocktail of Vaccines Ranjit Devraj NEW DELHI, Apr 27 - Ignoring widespread concern over the safety, efficacy and cost of pentavalent vaccines, India’s central health ministry has, this month, approved inclusion of the prophylactic cocktail in the universal immunisation programme in seven of its provinces. MORE >> Malaria Adds to Myanmar’s Woes Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Apr 27 - Political reforms unfolding in Myanmar (or Burma) are giving health workers a chance to address a resurgence of drug-resistant falciparum malaria in the war-torn ethnic minority enclaves along the country’s eastern borders. MORE >> Wiping the Iron Dust Off Their Feet in Small Brazilian Town Fabíola Ortiz RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 26 - The 380 families living in Piquiá de Baixo, a small town in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão, are fed up with having to endure high levels of pollution from nearby steelworks in their water, air and soil. MORE >> Read more IPS reporting on Global Health here.

USDA Food Safety

How Far Has Food Safety Come in 150 years?

Posted by Alexandra Tarrant, Public Affairs Specialist, Food Safety and Inspection Service, on May 3, 2012 at 1:06 PM

Throughout the year, and this month in particular, USDA celebrates 150 years of existence. The legislation that established USDA was signed on May 15, 1862, by President Abraham Lincoln. At that point, food safety wasn’t a major concern for the People’s Department.

The turning point for domestic meat inspection really came in 1905 and 1906, after Upton Sinclair published The Jungle. The details of the book described unsanitary working conditions in a Chicago meatpacking house, putting meat consumers at risk for disease. This led to the passing of legislation providing for meat inspection. Over the years, Congress passed the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Egg Products Inspection Act, which the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) enforces.

Inspection changed from a sight, smell, and touch approach to a more science-based method when Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) was implemented between January 1997 and January 2000. And science and technology improvements have allowed our inspection to evolve as well, with the implementation of new policies like testing ready to eat meat and poultry products forListeria monocytogenes, applying stricter Salmonella and new Campylobacter performance standards to raw poultry products, and declaring that six additional serogroups of pathogenic E. coli (in addition to E. coli O157:H7) are adulterants in non-intact raw beef.

FSIS is in the process of fully implementing a dynamic, comprehensive data analysis system called the Public Health Information System, or PHIS. This system will allow the agency to collect, consolidate and analyze data in a more efficient and effective way, ultimately leading to better protection of the public’s health and a more preventative approach toward inspection.

For more information about FSIS’ history over the years, visithttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/Agency_History/index.asp.