Experts Alarmed Over Food Safety Failures - The Friday AM Quickie 8/30/24
If Sarah Palin manages to gut free speech protections in the United States, then John McCain's place in the history books will be secured – as a right-wingin' bitter-clingin' bad guy. Ah, well. Jacob's back Monday. - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
Deadly Listeria Outbreak Reveals Breakdown of US Food Safety System
Have you eaten? Do you have to?
At least 57 people in 18 states have been hospitalized, and 9 killed, in the worst listeriosis outbreak in over a decade, which federal investigators have traced back to a Boar's Head meat processing plant in Jarratt, Virignia. CBS News obtained records from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service showing 69 findings of "noncompliances" at the Jarratt plant in just the past year, including black mold, mildew, and "a green algal growth"; "heavy discolored meat buildup" on the walls; various insects; "ample amounts of blood in puddles on the floor"; and a "rancid smell" in the cooler. Free enterprise, baby! Welcome to The Jungle.
Experts say the circumstances of the outbreak show the US food safety system has failed. "The first thing I thought when I read the report is 'Where is the leadership of this establishment and where are the regulators?'" Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, tells the Washington Post. "When you see repeated violations within days and chronically over that length of time, it suggests that their food safety system is not working as intended. Whatever corrective action is being taken is obviously not being integrated into their system."
Donald Schaffner, a food safety expert at Rutgers University, tells the Associated Press that the records show company management as well as federal regulators failing to adequately respond to known risk factors for listeria such as condensation. "The fact that they are having the same problems over and over again weeks apart is an indication that they really struggling to keep up with sanitation," Schaffner says.
How was this allowed to happen? That's exactly what the families of people who died in the outbreak are asking. "I think it is disgusting and shameful," Garshon Morgenstein, who lost his father last month to a piece of Boar's Head liverwurst, tells the AP. And without concerted action by the federal government to force food companies to adhere to law and regulation, this could easily happen to your family.
Separately, the Post reports on new research showing "60 percent of packaged baby food sold in the United States doesn't meet nutritional standards established by the World Health Organization," containing too much sugar and not enough protein. "Our findings highlight the urgent need for better regulation," Elizabeth Dunford, University of North Carolina nutrition researcher and a co-author of the study, says. Seems like a recurring theme.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Future of Democracy Watch: New Poll Shows Harris Ahead in 7 Swing States
- 'My Values Have Not Changed,' Kamala Harris Says, as Bernie Sanders Mocks the Idea That She's a Far-Left Radical The Democratic presidential nominee says she will appoint a Republican to her Cabinet. via the New York Times and the Guardian.
- Harris Sticks to the Script, Declines to Answer Whether She Would Halt Weapons Shipments to Israel At a rally in Savannah, Georgia, yesterday, she was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters; "Harris acknowledged their right to 'have a voice.'" via CNN, the Washington Post, and the Savannah Morning News.
- Wall Street and Silicon Valley Donors Turn Up Pressure on Harris to Abandon Billionaire Tax There is "growing optimism among lobbyists and donors" that Harris is more pliable because her "policy positions are less set in stone" than President Joe Biden's. via the New York Times and NBC News.
- Nebraska Republican Pulled Strings for Trump Media to Secure 'Extraordinary' US Visa for European Tech Exec "The hiring of a foreign chief technology officer is part of a larger effort by Trump's company to source labor abroad, interviews and records show. Trump Media has contracted with a foreign outsourcing firm, according to invoices, and multiple people based abroad list jobs at Trump's company on their LinkedIn profiles, even as Trump has promised to 'stop outsourcing' and 'punish' companies that send jobs overseas." via ProPublica
- 'These Are Bad People,' Trump Says of US Army and Arlington National Cemetery Officials An Army spokesman yesterday confirmed a cemetery worker was "abruptly pushed aside" by Trump campaign staff in an attempt to protect the sanctity of the grounds and enforce the rules that "clearly prohibit political activities." via HuffPost and the Associated Press.
- The Bigger Problem with Texas GOP Voter Purge: 2.1 Million People Stuck on a 'Suspended' List "It's very fishy that this is happening right before a presidential election," says 68-year-old Charlotte Christman, a registered Democrat in Houston who had her voter registration suspended last month until she verified her address. via NBC News and the Houston Chronicle.
- Cornel West Deploys 'a Slew' of Republican Laywers to Gain Ballot Access in Michigan A state board certified the independent socialist as a presidential candidate this week after hearing arguments from supportive GOP lawyers including John Bursch, a bow-tied former solicitor general who tried to end affirmative action. via the Michigan Advance.
- 'Pro-Worker' Huh? Boston Union Firefighters Repeatedly Boo Weird Phony JD Vance The Republican vice presidential nominee also declined to apologize for telling Harris to "go to hell" for comments she never made, calling it "a colloquial phrase." via HuffPost and the Majority Report.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Gunshots, Explosion, and the Buzz of Drones Echo Through Jenin as Israel's West Bank Raid Claims 17 Lives Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli forces reportedly attacked a second aid convoy hours after opening fire on a clearly marked United Nations World Food Program vehicle. via the New York Times and BBC News.
- Chilling: Hong Kong Court Finds 2 Journalists Guilty of Sedition Let's hope President Joe Biden sticks up for press freedom in his friendly chat with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks. via the New York Times and NBC News.
- Neo-Fascist AfD Expected to Win 2 State Elections in Eastern Germany on Sunday Last month a German court found AfD's leader in Thuringia guilty of using a banned Nazi slogan; "It was his second such offense, and the penalty was a fine." via the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, and Deutsche Welle.
- Expect Picket Lines This Labor Day Weekend: 15,000 Unite Here Hotel Workers Vote to Strike The union has published a strike guide and a "socially responsible hotel" map to advise travelers on canceling reservations and securing refunds from Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni hotels in Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii, Rhode Island, California, and Washington State where workers plan to strike. via HuffPost.
SOME NUMBER
723
That's how many wild animals – "comprising 30 Hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue Wilderbeast, 300 Zebras, 83 elephants and 100 elands" – the government of Namibia plans to cull to supply tons of meat to its human population amid the worst drought in 100 years. Meanwhile in Greece, the government "dredged more than 100 tons of dead fish from the waters around the port of Volos, a scenic summer destination, after a mass die-off of fish that is believed to be linked to climate change."
ON THE SHOW TODAY
8/30: It's Casual Friday! Emma speaks with Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, to round up the week in news. Then, she is joined by political commentator Olayemi Olurin!
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Republican's FAILING Extreme Rhetoric Strategy Reflects GOP's Bigger Problems
People have got to be getting tired of this freakshow.
What Lessons Can Harris Learn from Obama's Failures?
Beware the best and brightest.
PARTING WORDS
"When I get them first thing in the morning, I want to hold them captive all day long. I don't want them leaving the building. I don't want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee. We kind of figured out a few years ago how much that costs."
-- Australian mining boss Chris Ellison, speaking to investors this week about the extreme measures he's introduced at his company, Mineral Resources, to not only prevent employees from working remotely, but to prevent them from ever leaving the office. Meanwhile in Tempe, Arizona, authorities are investigating the death of a 60-year-old Wells Fargo worker, Denise Prudhomme, who clocked in on Friday, Aug. 16, and was found dead four days later in her cubicle. Happy Labor Day!
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