The hog industry says the U.S. pork supply is safe following detection of H5N1 in a pig from a backyard farm in Oregon, but concerns remain about possible mutations in the virus.
"The confirmed case in Oregon poses no threat to consumer health or food safety; properly handled and cooked pork products remain safe for consumption,” says Bryan Humphreys, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council. “The entire pork industry remains committed to safeguarding food safety and human and animal health.”
Some in the scientific community have raised concerns about the H5N1 virus being found in pigs, which can harbor both avian and mammalian viruses. “It has long been thought that pigs act as a ‘mixing bowl’ where reassortment between human and bird viruses can take place and create a ‘shift’ pandemic strain,” says an FAQ from the American Society of Microbiology.
On the other hand: Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s state health officer, said Wednesday, “During monitoring of this virus, we've not seen huge mutations that would indicate that the virus is becoming more easily spread. We've not seen indications the virus has mutations that could cause more serious illness amongst humans, and we've not seen any documented evidence of human-to-human transmission.”
USDA announces new fertilizer, meat processing investments
USDA is awarding $120 million to six fertilizer production projects.
The Commodity Credit Corporation funding is going to projects in Arkansas, California, Illinois, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin through a program created by the Biden administration to help offset rising fertilizer prices.
There’s more: The agency also announced it would be providing $20.2 million to 26 projects aimed at expanding meat processing capacity. The funds will go toward new equipment at plants in 21 states.
Environmentalists ask EPA for national strategy to combat nitrate in drinking water
Twenty-two environmental groups are asking EPA to take emergency action to address high nitrate contamination in drinking water that they say is caused by agriculture.
Nitrates can pollute drinking water from overuse or mismanagement of fertilizer or manure by industrial-scale agriculture, the coalition wrote in a letter. Therefore, rural and agricultural communities face the greatest threat to nitrate exposure, the groups argue. Exposure can pose health risks, particularly to infants and pregnant women.
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Organizations including the ones signed onto Tuesday’s letter have submitted five emergency petitions under Section 1431 of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last 10 years. In those petitions, the groups have pointed to high nitrate levels in different rural communities. The highest documented nitrate concentration from the five states was 190 parts per million — 19 times higher than the national allowable level.
The groups include the Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Environmental Working Group and several community organizations from Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, where previous petitions were filed.
CDC: Onions are likely source of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says epidemiologic and traceback data show slivered onions served on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders are the likely source of contamination in a deadly E. coli outbreak.
The company said it ruled out beef patties earlier this week and would resume selling the burgers without the onions from its typical supplier. The CDC says all new illnesses tied to the outbreak occurred before McDonald’s and Taylor Farms, the onion supplier in select areas, removed the products from stores.
As of Oct. 30, the number of reported illnesses has increased to 90. Five more people have been hospitalized, bringing the total to 27. One person has died. Still, because of the actions taken by McDonald’s and Taylor Farms, the CDC believes the public risk is low.
Taylor Farms recalled some onions from its Colorado Springs facility last week out of concern of E. coli contamination. Following the recall, several other fast food chains like Burger King, Taco Bell and KFC announced they were removing onions from the supplier.
CDC notes that the recalled onions were only distributed to restaurants, making it unlikely they went to grocery stores or directly to customers.
PhotoSeed said to lower carbon intensity for SAF
New testing shows that a plant trait increasing production of soybean oil by 15% also decreases the carbon intensity of sustainable aviation fuel.
ZeaKal, which developed PhotoSeed, says it’s the first “sustainability-embedded trait technology” to be approved for agriculture. Modeling done by Foxley Inc. shows PhotoSeed can reduce SAF CI scores by up to 4.6 points, ZeaKal said Wednesday, releasing results of recent research.
The technology “increases photosynthetic capacity, converting more carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy for the plant,” the company says. “In soybeans, this has consistently resulted in improved oil and protein content while improving the sustainability index of the crop.”
“The technology is projected to expand the volume of SAF production by approximately 1 billion additional gallons on existing U.S. soybean acreage,” the company says. That translates into “an additional 13 million acres’ worth of oil production while improving protein content in the meal co-product for animal feed.”
FDA releases deliverables for Human Foods Program
FDA has set goals that include issuing guidance on action levels for lead in food intended for infants and young children, finalizing the rule on the “healthy” food labels, and proposing a rule on front of package nutrition labeling.
FDA also plans to work with other federal agencies on advancing nutrition research, Agri-Pulse’s Rebekah Alvey reports. The priority deliverables specifically mention boosting research on the link between ultraprocessed foods and poor health outcomes.
Keep in mind: FDA’s priorities could shift under a new administration.
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