food safety

"Sell by" and "expiration" labels on food products may contribute to food waste by misleading consumers to throwing away perfectly good food. Now, two food industry associations are encouraging food companies to do away with these labels.

For Food Manufacturers, 'Sell By' Labels May Have Reached Their Expiration Date

5:52pm February 15, 2017

by Dan Charles

Those "expiration" labels on packaged food may confuse consumers and dupe them into throwing good food in the trash. Two major food industry associations want to change that and are proposing reforms.

Synthetic fibers from fleece jackets could be ending up in rivers, fields and our diet.

Are We Eating Our Fleece Jackets? Microfibers Are Migrating Into Field And Food

8:13pm February 06, 2017

by Jessica Boddy

Fleece jackets and pullovers have transformed our experience of the outdoors. But the little, tiny synthetic fibers that fleece is made of could also be ending up in our diets.

A researcher at AIB International inserts thermometers into cookie dough to monitor the baking temperature. The goal is to make sure the dough reaches the temperature needed to kill any bacteria inside.

Health & Safety

Cookie Dough Blues: How E. Coli Is Sneaking Into Our Forbidden Snack

1:53pm July 28, 2016

by Dan Charles

Most people know not to eat raw cookie dough. But now it's serious: 46 people have now been sickened with E. coli-tainted flour. Here's how contamination might be occurring.

A Caesar salad kit. Americans buy twice as many packages of bagged salad greens as heads of lettuce these days. Is the bagged stuff just as good? If it gets you to eat more leafy greens, yes.

As Bagged Salad Kits Boom, Americans Eat More Greens

1:41pm July 12, 2016

Americans buy twice as many packages of bagged salad greens as heads of lettuce these days. Is the bagged stuff just as good? If it gets you to eat more leafy greens, yes.

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A typical label includes safe cooking instructions. This label on blade-tenderized beef sold at Costco recommends 160 degrees as the minimum internal temperature, which doesn't require a three-minute rest time.

New Labels Warn That A Tender Steak Could Be A Little Dangerous

4:39pm May 20, 2016

by Lydia Zuraw

Mechanically tenderized meat — which has been punctured with needles to break down the muscle fibers and make it easier to chew — has a greater chance of being contaminated and making you sick.

For something many deem a "health food," sprouts regularly appear on official outbreak lists.

Should Sprouts Come With A Warning Label?

7:37pm February 25, 2016

by Clare Leschin-Hoar

Over 20 people have been sickened in two new outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to alfalfa sprouts. For something many deem a "health food," sprouts continue to be a vexing food-safety challenge.

A Chipotle restaurant in Union Station in Washington, D.C. The company's food-safety troubles have provoked quite a bit of schadenfreude in the rest of the food industry.

National

Chipotle's Food-Safety Woes? Don't Expect Sympathy From Rest Of Industry

9:09am February 13, 2016

by Dan Charles

Chipotle has scorned some mainstream farming practices, like GMOs and antibiotics. Now the fast-casual chain is taking hits over food safety, and past targets of its attacks are taking revenge.

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When foraging for delicious bites of snow, steer clear of plowed piles and manure, researchers say.

So You Want To Eat Snow. Is It Safe? We Asked Scientists

9:52am January 23, 2016

by Anne Bramley

As it falls, snow forms a sort of net for catching pollutants in the atmosphere. Pesticides and dirt from soil can also end up in there. Still, most researchers told us they'd eat it, with caveats.

A passerby walks past a Chipotle restaurant in Seattle in November that closed following one of two E.coli outbreaks that sickened scores of people.

National

Chipotle Faces A Criminal Investigation Into Its Handling Of A Norovirus Outbreak

2:23pm January 06, 2016

by Jim Zarroli

More than 200 employees and customers were sickened last August at a restaurant in California. A grand jury subpoena requires Chipotle to produce a range of documents in connection with the outbreak.

A sign saying "we hope to be opening soon" is pictured outside a new Chipotle Mexican Grill location at University Village in Seattle in November.

After Chipotle Outbreaks, Will 'Food With Integrity' Still Resonate?

7:04pm January 05, 2016

by Jim Zarroli

Chipotle's rise was fueled in part by its image as a healthy, ethical choice. After foodborne illnesses sickened hundreds, analysts say it won't be easy for the chain to win back customers' trust.

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