salmonella

The U.S. Probation Office, in a pre-sentencing report, recommended life in prison for Stewart Parnell, the former chief executive of Peanut Corporation of America, says Food Safety News.

Research into mice infected with salmonella, a bacteria often the cause of food-borne illness, poses "ominous questions about the widespread, routine use of sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics in livestock," says the Stanford Medical School.

The consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest re-filed a petition that calls for USDA to classify four strains of antibiotic-resistant salmonella bacteria as a food adulterant.

The Food and Drug Administration offered $500,000 in prizes for potential breakthrough ideas on how to detect Salmonella bacteria in fresh produce. "Concepts must be able specifically to address the detection of Salmonella in minimally processed fresh produce, but the ability of a solution to address testing for other microbial pathogens and in other foods is encouraged," said FDA. It is the first time FDA has run a cash prize contest. Entries are due by Nov 9.

A federal court jury convicted Stewart Parnell, former owner of Peanut Corp of America, of conspiracy, fraud and other charges 'in a groundbreaking case stemming from a salmonella outbreak," said CNN. "The guilty verdict marks the first federal felony conviction for a company executive in a food safety case." Parnell and his brother, Michael, a food broker, were accused of shipping salmonella-infected products. Michael Parnell also was found guilty on multiple counts, said CNN. The plant quality control manager was convicted of obstruction of justice.

The owners of Quality Egg, based in northwest Iowa, pleaded guilty to charges related to a massive salmonella outbreak in 2010 in which thousands of people fell ill and 550 million eggs were recalled, says USA Today.