Meat & Poultry

Three additional cases of E Coli O45 have been identified as of 1/3/2011. These newest cases were reported in Michigan in December, 2010. Ready to eat smoked meat products were shared with family members causing illness in three more people. The State Department of Health Services assisted in identifying the new out of state cases. …

ACSH would like to induct a recent study seeking to link increased red meat consumption to a higher risk of stroke in women into our very own Data Dredging Hall of Fame/Shame. In an analysis of 34,670 Swedish women between the ages of 39 and 73, researchers found that those in the top tenth for red meat consumption eating about 3.6 ounces daily had a 42 percent higher chance of suffering from an ischemic stroke (from a blocked artery) than women who ate just under an ounce of red meat daily. …

Hog and pork prices are expected to launch to record highs in 2011 due to a combination of high demand, high feed costs, and a smaller herd. “Foreign buyers are expected to elevate pork exports by 10 percent,” said Chris Hurt, a Purdue University Extension economist. …

A new National Research Council report finds no scientific basis that more stringent testing of meat purchased through the government’s ground beef purchase program and distributed to various federal food and nutrition programs — including the National School Lunch Program — would lead to safer meat. …

After more than a year of fine-tuning, the criteria for earning a Magen Tzedek, the seal of justice to be awarded to kosher food producers that meet a detailed set of ethical standards, are about to be tested by American food companies. The seal would be added to products that already merit a hekhsher, or symbol certifying that a food item is kosher, to show that the product not only meets Jewish dietary laws, but comports with Jewish moral values, as well. …