Tag: pathogen
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Environmental Groups Release Canada’s Environmental Assessment of GM Salmon
The Center for Food Safety, Food & Water Watch and Friends of the Earth (FOE) have authored a May 28, 2015, letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), claiming that a draft risk assessment conducted by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) questions the health and welfare of AquaBounty Technologies Inc.’s…
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Poultry Health Focus of Upcoming APHIS Meeting
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is convening a public meeting of the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan on July 23, 2015, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The group of industry and state agency representatives will reportedly discuss (i) approved tests and (ii) updates regarding…
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Mad Cow Disease Risk on the Agenda of Upcoming TSE Advisory Committee Meeting
The Food and Drug Administration has announced a June 1, 2015, public meeting of the Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) Advisory Committee in Silver Spring, Maryland. Presentations at the meeting will reportedly target the (i) current bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) “situation” domestically and worldwide; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture’s regulatory approaches to decreasing the risk of…
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Pathogens with Pandemic Potential Topic of Upcoming NSABB Meeting
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has scheduled a public meeting of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) for May 5, 2015, in Bethesda, Maryland. Topics of discussion at the meeting will reportedly include (i) NSABB’s proposed framework for guiding risk and benefit assessments of gain-of-function (GOF) studies involving pathogens and…
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Townsend Farms and Costco Sued over Hepatitis Outbreak
The estate and survivors of an 89-year-old woman who died after eating imported pomegranate seeds linked to a Hepatitis A outbreak have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Townsend Farms Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp. and others alleging strict liability for a product defect, negligence and breach of implied warranties. Schelitzche v. Townsend Farms Inc., No.…
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EFSA Says No Evidence of Ebola Risk from Food
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reportedly concluded that “[t]here is no evidence that the Ebola virus can be transmitted through food in the European Union.” At the request of the European Commission, EFSA issued a scientific report detailing the risk pathway for the transmission of Zaïre Ebola virus (ZEBOV) via imported food consumed…
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USDA Seeks Public Comment on Biological Agents and Toxins Posing Serious Danger to Animal and Plant Health
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is soliciting public comment on its current list of select agents and toxins with the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health or to animal or plant products. The agency’s biennial review and republication of the list is required…
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CDC Reports First Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
According to the February 3, 2015, issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported the first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) in wild or domestic birds found in the United States. Of the 14 recorded incidents, seven were…