No doubt the word “ Sequestration” is front and center in your vocabulary these days. This is just a quick note to forecast how it might impact our mission. For starters… the main impacts from federal sequestration (i.e. the federal budget reduction for some programs) will be related to the services that we provide and [...]
We’re one step closer to winning the battle of childhood obesity. The USDA just released the new “Smart Snacks in School” proposal to provide national standards geared towards increasing healthy food options in vending machines and snack bars. As required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the USDA is striving to help improve [...]
Many of you have heard how I’d like to see the USDA’s food stamp program (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP) hard-wire better nutrition into the program by beginning to include nutritious food inventory criteria for SNAP vendors. To help make the case, we contracted with the ASU School of Nutrition & [...]
You might have noticed that more and more restaurants and fast food places are starting to put calorie and other nutrition information on their menus. That’s not a coincidence or accident- they’re getting ready for the upcoming menu nutrition labeling requirements in the Affordable Care Act. Section 4205 of the new law requires restaurants with [...]
Our State Lab performed chemical and biological surveillance testing on food samples from the Republican National Convention. We were selected to participate in the testing because of our reputation and previous experience working with the Food Safety Inspection Service for the detection of biological and chemical agents in food. The samples arrived at the State Laboratory [...]
The USDA released a new final rule that will set new nutrition standards for the federal child nutrition programs that serve millions of children across the country every day. The new rule fleshes out the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. It’ll increase how many fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that are in school lunches [...]
Maybe you’ve heard the words “The Farm Bill” in the news over the years. The Farm Bill is a very large bill that guides the mission of the USDA- including the “food stamps” program- now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. The USDA law undergoes review and reauthorization about every 5 years- and [...]
The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak has captured the public’s attention these days- so I thought I’d do a piece on Arizona’s food safety network. Let’s start at the farm & ranch. The Arizona Department of Agriculture is responsible for ensuring that the base of the food safety pyramid is solid in Arizona. They have several divisions that are [...]
An Arizona team from ADHS and ADES put together a great application for the new USDA pilot program called the Healthy Incentives Pilot, which provides incentives to encourage low-income folks to eat more fruits and vegetables. Massachusetts came in first and got the grant, but our applications came in second. The pilot program would have [...]
Cooked all the way through, I hope. I’m certain that you heard about the national egg recall this month. I’ll try to put it in perspective. Epidemiologists across the country and at the CDC found a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella that has made a few hundred people sick. The investigation found that people that ate [...]
