Raw Milk Warning & School Lunch Changes

Raw Milk Warning & School Lunch Changes plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division of foodborne diseases sent a letter to state epidemiologists last week about the risks associated with raw milk. Dr. Robert Tauxe says that from 2007 to 2012, the CDC has tracked 81 outbreaks traced to raw milk, sickening nearly 1,000 people and hospitalizing more than 70.

TAUXE: Milk is an important and nutritious natural food, but the recurrent outbreaks related to unpasteurized milk and milk products requires that we work together to put out accurate and consistent messages about the serious illnesses that can be caused by consuming raw milk.

Effective July 1st new federal school nutrition standards will take effect and they could have some unintended consequences. The USDA Smart Snacks in School program is designed to reduce calorie, sodium and sugar intake among students. But the guidelines would also restrict school fundraisers in Washington State. In one incident the manufacturer of cookies is altering their recipe to make them more healthy and in line with the new standards. Some schools use the sale of cookies to help support extra-curricular programs.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

According to a recent study released last month by Academics Review today's "organic buyer" has morphed from being an "individual seeking a closer relationship to farming production methods" to a consumer concerned about not only where their food comes from, but how it was produced and what it contains ingredient wise. This "Organic Marketing Report" shows that there's quite a bit of confusion among consumers when it comes to organic food labeling, with most believing that the USDA's organic seal on a product means that product is safer, healthier and more nutritious overall, which isn't necessarily the case. But the organic food industry hasn't gone out of it's way to dissuade such misconceptions regarding the USDA organic seal either. The thing to remember is what then acting Secretary of Ag Dan Glickman stated when the organic seal was released thirteen years ago: "The organic label is a marketing tool. It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is 'organic' a value judgment about nutrition or quality". But then the USDA hasn't gone out of it's way to impress that on a very impressionistic public either.

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.