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After the recall of more than 500 million eggs from a salmonella outbreak this summer, food safety advocates and survivors of foodborne illness will call for the U.S. Senate to pass a bill that has been in limbo since last year.

GAYLORD, MINN. -- The rebel Minnesota dairy farmer at the heart of an E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk -- a controversial beverage that has sparked a nationwide food safety debate -- got his day in court Tuesday and defended the sanitation of his farm.

Five years after more than 4,000 people allegedly were sickened by a parasite in the recycled water at Seneca Lake State Park's sprayground in Geneva, the state has countered a class-action lawsuit by saying the state park wasn't at fault.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is seeking input from stakeholders and the Canadian public on the proposed principles that will guide the development of new regulations for certain imported food products. This would include enhanced food safety requirements as well as an importer licensing initiative.

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Jens Manuel Krogstad and Phil Brasher at the Des Moines Register this morning published another article on the conditions at Wright County Egg during the egg outbreak . . . and, for some, extending back a decade or more.  The reports came from past and present workers at the company.

• Dozens of chickens died daily, their bodies lying undiscovered in cages for days, and perhaps weeks, at a time, they said.  "There's always been mice," former worker Lucas Garcias said through an interpreter. "I saw maggots and sometimes mice on the conveyor belt."  NOTE:  the presence of rodents and other vermin is to be expected in henhouse operations, but this is no excuse for the apparent level of infestation at Wright County Egg.  FURTHER NOTE:  the FDA's Egg Rule sets forth specific measures to take for control of vermin infestation.
   
• Garcias, a former Dominican employee at Wright County Egg who worked there for a decade before the outbreak said he always knew when the doors to the hen houses were open because ammonia wafted into his building and made his eyes water.  According to the Des Moines Register article, "News of the salmonella outbreak did not come as a shock, he said.  "I wasn't surprised, because they're not careful," he said through an interpreter. "They could do more."
   
• Hundreds of mice killed by poison can fill about 50 cage traps in each hen house several times a week, he said. About four months ago, he said he noticed workers emptying the cages once a week or less.  "Lately, there have been a lot of mice," another worker said through an interpreter. "It's been kind of ignored. But now it's better. Ever since it came out that there was disease, they started working on it."
   
• Current workers described a daily routine that starts at 6:30 a.m. by checking the chicken's drinking water. They then toss dead chickens into bins about as tall as their chests. Workers estimate they find as many as 20 dead chickens per hen house daily, though that number can triple on hot summer days.  Sometimes days go by before a decomposing chicken is discovered, the workers said. Once a week, workers said they inspect the cages with flashlights to look for chickens they may have missed. Trampel, the ISU poultry veterinarian, said a 0.1 percent mortality rate for caged laying hens is typical. Dead chickens should be picked up every day, he said. Several former employees said deceased chickens sometimes went undiscovered for a week or more.  "They'd leave them there for weeks," Jorge Santiago said through an interpreter. 

A Mexican woman who quit in January called the conditions inside the hen houses "incredible." "I don't understand how the government allowed them to operate like this," she said through an interpreter.  We are increasingly wondering the same thing.  Here are some more findings released earlier. 

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today alerted consumers that Midland Farms, located in Menands, New York, is voluntarily recalling certain milk products due to the potential of improper pasteurization.

The recalled milk products are all sold in plastic containers and are marketed under the brand names Midland Farms, Corrado's Market, Jersey Dairy Farms and Trade Fair Premium. They all possess the plant code 36-1661. The products also possess a black ink date code near the top of the container. The recalled products were sold in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. The products involved in this recall include:

Recalled Gallons:

• "Midland Farms Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Midland Farms Reduced Fat, 2% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Midland Farms Low Fat, 1% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Midland Farms Fat Free Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Corrado's Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Corrado's Market Reduced Fat, 2% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Corrado's Market Low Fat 1% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Corrado's Market Fat Free Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Jersey Dairy Farms Vitamin D Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Trade Fair Premium Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Trade Fair Premium Reduced Fat, 2% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Trade Fair Premium Low Fat, 1% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Trade Fair Premium Fat Free Milk" with the date code SEP24

Recalled Half-Gallons:

• "Midland Farms Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Midland Farms Reduced Fat, 2% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Midland Farms Low Fat, 1% Milk Fat Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Midland Farms Fat Free Milk" with the date code SEP24
• "Jersey Dairy Farms Vitamin D Milk" with the date code SEP24

Recalled Quarts:

• "Midland Farms Fresh Whole Milk" with SELLBY 9/24/10
• "Midland Farms Reduced Fat Milk" with SELLBY 9/24/10
• "Midland Farms Fresh Low Fat Milk" with SELLBY 9/24/10
• "Midland Farms Fresh Fat Free Milk" with SELLBY 9/24/10

Recalled Pints:

• "Midland Farms Whole Milk" with SELLBY 9/24/10

The problem was detected by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets' milk inspectors during an inspection on September 7, 2010 when they found a failure of pasteurization equipment at the Menands milk plant.  While the recalled products have not been found to be contaminated with any harmful pathogens, the company is voluntarily recalling all production as a precautionary measure.  No illnesses have been reported to date to this Department in connection with this problem.

US PIRG, the federation of state public interest groups, released a report today on outbreaks and illnesses since the House's passage of HR 2749, a/k/a the Food Safety Enhancement Act, known in its current iteration before the Senate as the Food Safety Modernization Act.  The report, stamped with a red label that reads "Recipe for Disaster," details 85 recalls resulting in 13 known outbreaks and over 1,800 illnesses nationally since the date, July 30, 2009, that the House of Representatives passed its version of the Food Safety bill. 

Among the notable outbreaks are:

• Wright County Egg recall contaminated by Salmonella enteritidis (1,470 illnesses currently reported)
•  Mincing Overseas Spice black pepper recall contaminated by Salmonella (272 reported illnesses)
• Freshway Foods shredded romaine lettuce contaminated by E. coli O145 (26 confirmed illnesses and 7 probable)
• Caldwell Fresh Foods sprouts contaminated by Salmonella (44 reported illnesses)

The Food Safety Modernization Act would require food manufacturers to develop written food safety plans and to implement preventive measures; it would give the FDA a mandate to conduct inspections of food processing facilities, and to conduct microbial testing; it require high-risk producers to be inspected more frequently; and it would give the FDA the authority to order companies to recall potentially tainted foods.

This makes good sense.  Despite remonstrances to the contrary by those who fear that revamping our almost century old regulatory approach to food safety will entomb small-scale producers, more pressure needs to be brought to bear on manufacturers, who always will be the primary line of defense in protecting consumers against foodborne pathogens.  Giving the government the resources it needs, both in terms of manpower and regulatory flexibility, is an important pressure point in forcing manufacturers to respect the rules that they're bound by, and forcing them to adopt and respect best practices when there's no laws on point. .