Numerous sites online provide up-to-date information on specific food safety events and research on food topics:
www.foodsafety.gov is a collaboration by the major government players with a hand in the issues, from the FDA to the USDA to the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. It’s a consumer-friendly clearinghouse of links to practical information and advice.
www.FDA.gov is a good starting point for the latest news on food recalls, recent foodborne illness outbreaks and many other subjects.
www.USDA.gov has a little bit of everything, from recalls in meat, poultry and egg products, to consumer food handling and cooking tips to the government’s arguments in favor of irradiating consumer products.
Policy-oriented views and links are at www.foodandwaterwatch.org, which takes on topics such as keeping antibiotics out of animal feed and demanding labeling for genetically modified organisms.
Pewtrusts.org oversees research and efforts to force the government to change food safety policies.
County extension agents, often linked to your state’s major agricultural research university, study best practices and try to disseminate them to farmers, distributors, consumers, students and any other group that asks. Find your local network at www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/.
Finally, for the most consumer-accessible yet hard-hitting news on detailed food safety issues, www.foodsafetynews.com has been a reliable link. It’s funded in part by plaintiff’s attorney Bill Marler, a national expert in food safety who litigates cases for victims and openly calls for smarter and tougher government regulation. The site’s journalists consistently break news and seek alternative opinions, while tracking current outbreaks.