FDA | Grist

Oh Rats

While scientists fight over BPA studies, Congress could just act 1
Posted 1 week, 5 days ago A great part of the scientific debate over BPA becomes "quibbles over individual rat studies" -- and over the rats themselves. The best explanation of the Great Rat Debate comes from an article about the shadowy network of so-called "product defense firms" that are used by industry to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt over any research that questions the safety of commercial products.
Two words: endocrine disruptor

Consumer Reports finds BPA traces in common canned foods 14
Posted 2 weeks, 2 days ago Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA, is vile stuff--not the kind of thing a smart species knowingly introduces into its ecosystem. Tom Philpott marvels that we're doing just that---and storing food in it, no less.
Drinking problems

I drink raw milk (sold illegally on the underground market) 49
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago Isn't it curious that at this juncture in our culture's evolution, we collectively believe Twinkies, Lucky Charms, and Coca-Cola are safe foods, but compost-grown tomatoes and raw milk are not? With legislation moving through Congress demanding that all agricultural practices be "science-based," Joel Salatin believes our food system is at Wounded Knee.
Now that smarts

Will FDA take quotation marks off “Smart Choices” [UPDATED] 3
Posted 1 month ago Maybe trying to make Froot Loops a "Smart Choice" wasn't such a smart choice for the food industry. Looks like the FDA's about to impose labeling rules that are actually sort of smart (as opposed to "smart").
headless horsemen of the bureaucracy

Is anyone in charge of food safety? 1
Posted 1 month ago The fact that there remains no one in charge of food safety at the USDA has become a sick sort of joke among food policy types.
You glow, girl

Thoughts on irradiated food 14
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago Dear Lou, Is food irradiation good enough that we could theoretically go back to having rare hamburgers, soft-boiled eggs and unpasteurized milk? I miss all of those! Carla
A Label Too Far

Big Food’s ‘Smart Choices’ label raises eyebrows at the FDA 4
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
You don't need to be a nutritionist with an advanced degree to know that Froot Loops only qualifies as a "Smart Choice" on Planet Kelloggs. Even the FDA can see the bowlful of holes in this logic.
Salad spinner

With House food-safety bill a done deal, questions remain [UPDATED] 19
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
The House will likely pass a wide-ranging food-safety bill Thursday. Tom Philpott doesn't question the need for reform--but wonders what it means for small and mid-sized farms.
Meat wagon

Antibiotic-resistant salmonella burgers, with a side of flame retardants 6
Posted 4 months ago
More grossness from the meat industry: an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmonella from burgers in Colorado; plus news that meat eaters accumulate "significantly" more toxic flame retardants in their bodies.
Meat wagon

As MRSA gets worse, the FDA discovers antibiotic abuse on factory farms [UPDATED] 7
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
The FDA has finally noticed that antibiotic abuse on factory farms is creating a health menace.
Swing low, revolving door

Monsanto’s man Taylor returns to FDA in food-czar role 14
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
The Obama Admininstration has named former Monsanto chief lobbyist Michael Taylor to a powerful role within the FDA. Some in the sustainable-food world applauded the move. Not Tom Philpott.
Food Inc. director Robert Kenner on the Daily Show 0
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Where's the beef?

Food-safety legislation leaves gaping hole for meat giants 3
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
After a massive "voluntary" recall of E. coli-tainted beef--three months after it emerged into supermarkets and restaurants--Tom Philpott got to wondering how food-safety legislation would affect meat regulation. Turns out, not at all.
A Can of Worms

California is new front line of BPA fight 1
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
California is at the forefront of the fight to protect young children from exposure to BPA. A bill authored by Democratic state Sen. Fran Pavley would essentially ban BPA in products such as baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula and baby food jars designed for children ages three and younger.
Supermarket gothic

Food Inc. Director Robert Kenner speaks on the ills of the food system 2
Posted 5 months ago
Food Inc. opened last week to critical acclaim and solid box office. Amid the hoopla, director Robert Kenner spoke to Grist about what he saw when he peered behind our food system's cloak.