The United States Attorney’s office in Denver, Colo., recently charged brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen, former owners and operators of Jensen Farms, with six counts each of adulteration of a food and aiding and abetting. Cantaloupes grown and packed by Jensen Farms were linked to a Listeriosis outbreak that resulted in 33 deaths and 147 illnesses. This case reminds me of the Salmonellosis outbreaks associated with table eggs in the U.S. a couple of years ago and the subsequent farm investigations.

The food chain is a critical avenue for the introduction of antibiotic resistance through daily food consumption, said Dr. Hua H. Wang, professor, food science and microbiology, Ohio State University. Speaking at the International Association for Food Protection annual meeting, she said that, in spite of cooking, food can still be a major source of antibiotic resistance genes.

Rick Berman,executive director of the Center for Consumer Freedom, has been a staunch opponent of the Humane Society of the United States and has made critical comments, both verbally and in writing, about the Egg Bill. In response to my last blog post on his comments, Mr. Berman sent me this reply in which he countered some of the points that I made.

I think that one of the best ways to avoid the hubris of discounting the other side’s arguments is to be forced to assume the other side’s position and defend it. This is exactly the approach taken at the Current Controversies in Food Safety Round Table at the International Association of Food Protection’s annual convention in Charlotte, N.C., and it made for an entertaining and thought-provoking exercise.

I have commented on the statements of Rick Berman, president of the public relations firm Berman and Company, which among other things runs Humane Watch, as recently as last month, but he made some recent assertions that require a response. In a website commentary Berman called the United Egg Producers' president, Chad Gregory, “the industry Neville Chamberlain.” Berman wrote, “Chamberlain, over the warnings of some in Parliament, met with Hitler and claimed to have secured ‘peace in our time’ with the Fuhrer—but instead was given a worthless ruse. Gregory finds himself in a comparable situation. Plenty of people told him not to trust HSUS, but he didn’t listen.”

Members of the National Turkey Federation’s Live Production Committee took a positive step by adopting new euthanasia guidelines at the group’s leadership conference in Washington, D.C. The guidelines were the result of a critical evaluation of when euthanasia is appropriate, what methods are approved and which method is best given the size of the turkey.

Backers of the Egg Bill got a bit of a reprieve when the Farm Bill failed to pass in the House of Representatives by a vote of 195 for and 234 against. The Egg Bill was not included in the Farm Bill legislation that didn’t pass, so supporters of the Egg Bill may get another chance to add it to the Farm Bill.

Rick Berman, president of Berman and Company, a public relations firm, which among other things runs Humane Watch, gave a presentation at the World Pork Expo that cries out for a response. I am aware of the activities of Humane Watch and think that they are providing a public service, but there were some factual errors in Berman’s presentation at the Expo, and I think he reaches the wrong conclusion.

After two days of speeches offering encouragement to United Egg Producers members to lobby their representatives and senators to support the Egg Bill, I was surprised by the seeming lack of enthusiasm in the room on the third and final day of the cooperative’s legislative board meeting in Washington, D.C. If egg producers want the Egg Bill to become law, it is up to them to step up to the plate and take a swing.

During the WATT Crop Forecast and Meat Supply and PriceOutlook webinar, Dr. Paul Aho covered the unexpected jump in breast meatprices.