Beef Recall, USDA Firearms & Milestone

A suspected E. coli contamination has prompted the recall of about 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products. Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Company had shipped the meat for restaurant use in Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the meat is linked to 11 cases of E. coli and was produced from March 31 to April 18.

A recent report that USDA was procuring firearms and body armor raised a few eyebrows but a statement from USDA's Office of Inspector General says procurement pertains to OIG's effort to replace automatic firearms with new semi-automatic firearms and that from fiscal year 2012 through March 2014, OIG investigations pertaining to USDA operations have obtained over 2,000 indictments, 1,350 convictions, and over $460 million in monetary results.  OIG Special Agents are authorized to make arrests, execute warrants, and carry firearms. 

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting or NAFB is celebrating their 70th anniversary doing what we do best. Tom Brand, Executive Director of the NAFB.

BRAND: When you think about where agriculture has come in the last 70 years and especially in the last 90 years and there's a lot of education that was taking place and the best way to communicate to folks was through the radio.

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

A Congressional Briefing on the prevalence of osteoporosis in the United States is taking place today and will cover recently released data from the National Osteoporosis Foundation on the increasing number of people affected by osteoporosis in each state. Most people have heard of osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile and prone to fractures, but many are not aware of their own personal risk for the disease. Building strong bones shouldn't stop once we reach adulthood, as calcium needs actually increase as we get older. In fact, adults age nineteen to fifty need 1000 to 1200 milligrams of calcium per day. Three servings a day of healthy low fat dairy products such as milk, yogurt, or cheese will go a long way in helping you get the calcium your bones need to stay strong. Leafy green vegetables along with salmon, sardines, and mackerel are also good sources of calcium. There are several tasty ways to get your calcium in every day. So do yourself and those you care about a big favor, make osteoporosis awareness and prevention part of a daily routine.

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