Blog Archives

El Administrador del Servicio de Inocuidad e Inspección de Alimentos (FSIS, por sus siglas en inglés) del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA, por sus siglas en inglés), Al Almanza, conversa acerca de cómo el Departamento está llegando a los consumidores que hablan español, y demostrando cómo mantener los alimentos sanos para prevenir las enfermedades transmitidas a través de los alimentos.

Hoy, estoy orgulloso de anunciar el lanzamiento de dos herramientas adicionales del FSIS para la inocuidad alimentaria, dirigidas especialmente para satisfacer las necesidades de nuestra comunidad de habla hispana: Pregúntele a Karen y la cuenta oficial de Twitter en español. Con ambos servicios, el FSIS puede proveerles a los consumidores con la más reciente y actualizada información en español acerca de las retiradas de alimentos y consejos sobre el manejo adecuado de alimentos.  Pregúntele a Karen (Ask Karen) es una representante virtual con información en inocuidad alimentaria que puede conducir “Charlas” en vivo en español, compartiendo información en la inocuidad de los alimentos.

Al Amanza discusses how the Department is reaching Spanish-speaking consumers and showing how to be more food safe in order to prevent foodborne illnesses.

Today, I’m proud to announce the launch of two more FSIS food safety tools designed especially to meet the needs of our Spanish-speaking community: Pregúntele a Karen and Twitter in Spanish. With these resources, FSIS can provide consumers with the latest, up-to-date information on recalls and safe food handling tips in Spanish. Pregúntele a Karen (Ask Karen) is a virtual food safety representative that can lead live Chats in Spanish sharing food safety information.

Last Sunday, CBS News featured USDA Deputy Secretary Merrigan and discussed how farmers markets are part of a fundamental shift in the way people access their food and interact with their community.  And, as the story notes, “… [f]armers markets and other forms of selling straight to customers are helping to keep farmers in business,” which is why those of us at the Agriculture Marketing Service were excited to report that there are now 6,100-plus farmers markets, recognizing that these markets provide jobs and economic growth opportunities for their producers.

The Imperial Foods noodle factory will soon open its doors in Douala, Cameroon, thanks to the truly international collaboration between public and private partners. Cameroonian entrepreneur Ahmadou Danpoulo Baba teamed up with U.S. Wheat Associates’ offices on three continents, the North American Millers’ Association, the American Soybean Association, the private voluntary organization International Relief and Development, and USDA to conceive, design, and build Imperial Foods, which will soon employ 130 workers, mostly women.

On Friday, August 27, 2010, I was in New Orleans to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation to the Gulf Coast.  The event was held at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana.  It was a hot and humid morning as we began the assembly of emergency food boxes alongside Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond, food bank executive director Natalie Jayroe and other notable citizens of New Orleans, the Gulf Coast and federal officials.

USDA Administrator of Business and Cooperative Programs Judy Canales got a taste of true southern hospitality when she visited Kentucky recently. Canales was able to experience the products of local artisans and agriculture producers that were on display in new Bath County Agricultural Education and Marketing Center in Owingsville.

This week my kids headed back to school, and I’ll be busier than last year, having been drafted to be PTA president.  While  getting to know the new parents at our school, I learned that several are interested in improving school meals and exploring the possibility of purchasing locally and starting a school vegetable garden.  Our new principal is interested too.  I myself have something of a brown thumb, but everyone was excited to hear that I work at the Department of Agriculture and had have been studying Farm to School initiatives throughout the country. I have been in close touch with USDA’s Farm to School team that will visit 15 school districts across the country to learn about their Farm to School activities.

When our agency, the Economic Research Service (ERS), put together the Food Environment Atlas earlier this year, we included information on which counties had at least one Farm to School program, using data from the National Farm to School Network.  The Network maintains the only national data base of Farm to School programs.  After the Atlas was released on our website, we received phone calls from programs that hadn’t been included, and this underscored the need to build a complete data base of these programs.

Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess met earlier this month with local farmers in Wetumpka, Ala., to discuss how assistance from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) has helped their farming operation. 

USDA Rural Development, Farm Service Agency, and Natural Resource Conservation Service in Nebraska held the “Feds, Farmers, and Friends Feed Families” food drive through July 30, from which 8,352 pounds of food were collected.

Chicago in August concluded our USDA Community Roundtable tour, where our Food and Nutrition Service and Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships met with almost 100 community and state partners to discuss how to improve access to SNAP at a time of growing need for food throughout the country. There my colleague Max Finberg, Director of the Center, and I met with wonderful people all over the city dedicated to fighting hunger. From the South Side to the West Side, we shared ideas with churches and other faith-based organizations, community advocates, food banks, outreach workers, school districts, community hospitals and clinics, and our state partners to discuss how to improve access to SNAP and our other fourteen USDA nutrition assistance programs.