Health And Safety

Thanksgiving is for family and time-honored traditions. The greatest tradition is the centerpiece to your meal – turkey. Over 2,500 American turkey farms work to bring just the right bird to your table. Here are tips to help you select your turkey and pointers to manage leftovers.

Farmers markets not only offer some of the freshest produce and vegetative products you can find, but they also create opportunities to buy locally, and support small farmers, ranchers, and agricultural businesses. As you explore farmers markets in your area, it is important to keep food safety top of mind. Germs that cause foodborne illness can grow rapidly in temperatures between 40 and 140°F. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), adhering to food safety guidelines may reduce the risk of foodborne illness. FSIS serves as the lead food safety agency within USDA and conducts broad range of food safety activities to ensure everyone’s food is safe.

On September 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hosted a virtual roundtable titled Exploring Food Waste Solutions: Success Stories from the U.S. and Beyond. This event showcased innovative policies and approaches to reducing food waste in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. The moderator, Emily Broad Leib from the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, discussed how food laws can be a barrier to food waste reduction when they are confusing and a motivator when they align incentives, such as to donate wholesome excess food to those in need.

Join Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Pesticide Data Program (PDP) in celebrating their 30^th anniversary! Since 1991, the program has monitored pesticide residues in the U.S. food supply, with a focus on sampling foods most consumed by infants and children.

Around the world, roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted from farm to table, amounting to around 1.3 billion tonnes per year. Covid-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in our food systems and heightened the need to remedy food loss and waste (FLW), both locally and globally.

As the school year kicks off, it’s time for a crash course in lunchbox food safety. Here’s a study guide to help you pass any food safety pop quizzes when packing lunches.

The United States was impacted by more than 52,000 wildfires in 2020. Not only are wildfires damaging to homes, wildlife and health, they also pose risks to food and cookware. Here are some tips to prevent foodborne illness before and after a wildfire. Please note, make sure you are at a safe distance from the fire and have time to prepare before packing food. If feasible, evacuate before being told to do so.

Before the summer closes out, many will embark on one last getaway. While you’re packing the suntan lotion, bug spray and camping gear, don’t forget your fundamentals for food safety.

It’s estimated that a family of four wastes on average $1,500 a year on food that goes uneaten. As kids go back to school, we wanted to share some easy tips you can use to reduce food waste in your child’s packed lunch.

According to Department of Energy data, a recent analysis found that weather-related power outages are up by 67 percent since 2000. Climate change and aging infrastructure are putting a heavy burden on our power grid and the communities they serve. As temperatures rise this summer, so will the consumption of electricity. This may cause some power grids to experience blackouts, an unexpected loss of power lasting minutes, hours or days.