In a front page story that appeared in the Sunday edition of The New York Times, reporter Michael Moss reports on the problems facing the beef industry and food stores in keeping beef products, particularly ground beef, free from harmful contamination, like E. Coli.

The story of Stephanie Smith and the medical problems she has suffered as a result of E. Coli contamination from frozen hamburger meat (including kidney failure and paralysis) serve as the backdrop to the issue of how meat is handled at slaughterhouses, processed into ground beef and made into hamburgers and sold to retailers.  In describing this process, Moss raises questions about the sources of the ground beef, how it is handled to avoid contamination and if proper inspection of the food products is conducted.

Read the article, and check out the sidebar on the “Anatomy of a hamburger.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set up a new registry for food and animal feed companies to report any instance of contamination in their facilities, reports The Wall Street Journal.  The incidence of several high profile cases of food-borne illness in the United States, especially in the last two years, have led the FDA to take a fresh look at their approach to preventing illnesses caused by contamination of food products.

The new electronic registry, which can be accessed through the FDA website, is meant to catch new instances of contamination before they enter the food supply, rather than waiting for reports of illness as the signal to inspect and recall contaminated food.  While the food industry now has an electronic registry and are required to report problems, consumers and retailers are still encouraged to call the FDA to identify instances of possible food-borne illness.

Three studies of rice genetics were released in major scientific journals this week, and this article from NPR examines how some scientists are harnessing this knowledge into efforts to develop new growing methods for rice plants.

One study featured in the NPR piece describes the so-called “deep water” rice plants, which, scientists hope, will help rice plants to grow in spite of rising floodwater levels.

“One of the solutions is that the plant starts to grow very fast in such a way that parts of the shoot will be above the water level, so that that part can function as a sort of snorkel,” says Rens Voesenek, a plant biologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

However, it seems that while these “deep water” plants could survive floods, they do not yield much rice.  But scientists in Japan believe they have isolated the SNORKEL1 and SNORKEL2 genes, responsibe for allowing an ellogation of the plant shoots within the rice genome, and claim they may be able to inject these genes into regular rice plants to produce a better yield.

A second study to come out of Japan regarding gene identification says that scientists have uncovered the gene that helps rice resist a devastating form of fungus called “rice blast.”  They believe they can use the discovery to develop blast-resistant rice that also taste goods, as crops bred to resist the fungus in the past have been unpleasant to the palate.

Scientists are hoping that the findings of these studies and the increase in knowledge of the rice genome will help pathe the way for an increase in both quality and quantity of rice production.

The recent issue of Time Magazine reflects on how America eats, what it pays for its food and the source of its food supply.  Citing that:

For all the grumbling you do about your weekly grocery bill, the fact is you’ve never had it so good, at least in terms of what you pay for every calorie you eat. According to the USDA, Americans spend less than 10% of their incomes on food, down from 18% in 1966.

The article discusses how the rise of corn as an ingredient in many foods has increased the supply of food available to Americans.  Over time, the agricultural subsidies paid to produce corn, large-scale farm operations and consumer preferences have contributed to a cycle of cheaper, but in some cases, less healthy food.  Several recent high-profile recalls, the use of antibiotics in raising farm animals and health problems like diabetes are increasing the concerns of many Americans about their food supply.

The article also discusses the environmental impact of large-scale food production, as well as the effect it has on prices of organic foods and healthier foods like fruits and vegetables.

In addition to the cover story, there is also a comparison of how an organic hamburger is produced versus a conventional hamburger.  There are several photo essays including one that shows families from around the world, detailing the amount they spend on food and what they typically buy.

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released a report this week revealing Britain’s food supply vulnerabilities and strategies for combating a domestic shortage should the ongoing global crisis intensify.

Although the UK is largely self-sufficient with regards to food production, the Defra plan focuses largely on increasing that productivity, perhaps through the use of genetically modified (GM) crops - currently a deeply unpopular approach among Britons.

While introducing the report publicly, Hilary Benn, the Cabinet Minister who heads Defra and oversees national food policy, voiced support for GM crop trials aimed at finding out the facts about the technology and to use the science to boost production.

The Defra report also cites a number of extreme measures for combating the food supply problem domestically if the crisis becomes catastrophic.  Those methods include rationing food in the manner enlisted during the Second World War.  Britons would be required to eat lower-calorie diets, deemed “a highly restricted, if sufficiently nutritious diet” in the Defra report, and would be encouraged to take on a vegetarian lifestyle if food security issues interfere with the UK’s meat trade with countries like Argentina and Brazil.

However, outlining plans for a doomsday scenario was not the only goal of the report.  Other portions focused on long-term sustainability as global warming and water shortages could press the need for alternative food growth technology.  In his statement Benn argued,

“..we live in an interconnected world — where the price of soya in Brazil affects the price of steak at the local supermarket — we need to look at global issues that affect food security here. That’s why we need to consider what food systems should look like in 20 years and what must happen to get there.”

20 years is a relevant milestone, but so is 41.  The report states that the UK will  “play a full part” in hitting the UN’s target for increasing global food production by 70% by the year 2050.

This article, by Martin Hickman of The Independent, asks some important questions about the state of the UK food supply and the plausibility of some of the Defra report’s goals.

Another food strategy plan is set to be published by the end of the year.

Last week, the Obama administration announced new initiatives designed to improve food safety in the United States, which has had some high profile incidents of contamination in the past year.

First, the White House has established a new website, www.foodsafety.gov as a “Gateway to Government Food Safety Information.”  The website serves as a clearinghouse of food safety information from the U.S. government, linking documents and resources from the FDA, CDC, Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, and others - in an attempt to provide citizens’ with information on preventing and reporting food safety issues.

The second major announcement concerned the planned establishment of a Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the FDA to directly oversee and coordinate government responses to reports of food contamination.

In the same press conference, the administration offered new details for bolstering the safety of the country’s egg products, which are particularly susceptible to salmonella contamination.

The FDA has confirmed the prescence of E. Coli 0157 in raw samples of refrigerated Toll House cookie dough produced in its Danville, VA plant.  The FDA and CDC had been tracking the E. Coli outbreak, suspecting Nestlé’s raw Toll House cookie dough, since it was the one food commonly consumed by the over 70 people now sickened.

Last week, Nestlé announced a voluntary recall of its Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough (frozen and refrigerated) after it was suspected to be the source of an outbreak of E. coli 0157.  With over 70 people falling ill to this strain of E. coli since March, the FDA is investigating the link between the cookie dough and the outbreak.

Responses to a food questionnaire by those who became sick found the eating of raw cookie dough was a common factor.  Tests conducted by Nestlé have not discovered any E. coli in its recalled products.  Additional information and a full list of the recalled items can be found on Nestlé ’s website.

Whereas salmonella poisoning is more typically linked to consuming raw, homemade cookie dough, E. coli contamination is usually associated with animal products not found among the ingredients of the cookies.

This recall adds to other recent high profile cases of contamination in the United States of peanuts and pistachios.  Food safety has been made a priority by the Obama administration, and this case adds to calls for new approaches to ensuring safe products in the U.S. food supply.

The U.S. Senate voted on Monday to confirm President Obama’s nominee for Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Margaret Hamburg.  The FDA is the oversight agency for food production as well as prescription drugs and medical devices.

Dr. Hamburg is a Harvard-trained doctor and former New York City health commissioner known for her work in bioterrorism preparations and other public health issues.

Dr. Hamburg has been critical of recent food contamination responses by Bush adminstration officials, and pledged in her confirmation hearing to restore public confidence in the FDA.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised Hamburg, saying, “Her expertise and judgment will serve FDA well.”

A profile of Dr. Hamburg’s carreer appeared in The New York Times on May 6, 2009.  You can read the full profile here.

The Influenza A H1N1 virus (also known as “swine flu”) outbreak continues to challenge the globe, despite a pronouncement by the CDC’s acting director of “encouraging signs” concerning the severity of the outbreak.  Still, various countries and international organizations are dealing with the possible spread of the virus and the effects on the world population.

Africa and the Middle East

Several African nations have taken measures ranging from bans on pork products, thermal monitoring of passengers at airports, and increasing stocks of medical supplies.  A government mandated cull of pigs in Egypt led to street protests by its Christian minority.  A Baghdad zoo put three wild boars to sleep, despite testing negative for “swine flu,” to overcome the “barrier of fear” that the virus was causing to zoo visitors.

World Health Organization (WHO)

The WHO is expected to move its warning meter up to phase 6, which indicates a full-blown pandemic of Influenza A H1N1.  The WHO has been tracking a human to pig transmission of the virus in Canada, which could increase the threat of mutation and redistribution to humans.  The WHO food safety experts are also looking to add “swine flu” to the infectious viruses that it normally monitors, rather than leaving it solely in the category of “farming issues.”

World Trade Organization (WTO)

The United States, Canada and Mexico have been engaging in careful public relations to separate the outbreak of “swine flu” with pork products.  As of Monday, pork producers continued to suffer losses and pork futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have lost 10-20% of value based on fears that pork meat is a carrier of the “swine flu” virus. 

Canada is preparing to call on the World Trade Organization to reverse China’s ban on pork products from Canada’s Alberta province.  Mexico has asked the WTO to investigate similar bans placed by China and Russia.  Separately, Mexico is protesting the treatment of Mexican nationals in China since the outbreak began.