Study: Consumers see room for better food safety efforts
PR Newswire via MarketWatch
In Navigating the Product Mindset, a new study from Underwriters Laboratories, food manufacturers identified product safety as a top business priority — but the majority of consumers believe the food sector can do even better to earn their confidence.More

House panel passes bill to block ethanol blend
Reuters
A U.S. House committee approved a bill Tuesday seeking to block sales of a higher blend of ethanol in motor fuel until the government conducts more safety tests. The action was met with approval by more than 30 trade groups that sent a letter supporting the bill.

Editor's note: The American Frozen Food Institute is a signatory on the trade group coalition letter referenced in this story.More

Triple victory for Santorum upends GOP presidential race
The Washington Post
Buoyed by strong wins in three contests that again upended the turbulent GOP presidential race, Rick Santorum declared Wednesday his underdog campaign was raising money faster than ever and would have enough "to make the case we want to make."

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Obama's rebound, Virginia edition
POLITICO
Quinnipiac released a poll this morning showing Barack Obama with his first lead of the 2012 campaign over Mitt Romney in Virginia — even though voters there still rate Obama more negatively than positively.More

Report: Nearly half of 2011 Obama donations from small donors
The Hill
President Barack Obama received 48 percent of his contributions in 2011 from individual donors contributing an "aggregated $200 or less" for a stunning total of $56.7 million, The Campaign Finance Institute said in a news release.More

Georgia's child obesity ads use controversy to prompt action
CNN
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the largest pediatric health care system in Georgia, has crafted an ad campaign to highlight the roles of parents and caregivers in the widening epidemic of childhood obesity.

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Protecting taxpayer dollars by strengthening SNAP
USDA Blog
While fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a relatively limited problem, any amount of waste or abuse is too much. More

Rabobank reports on stabilizing the food chain
FoodBev
A lack of agricultural investment in the farmers who have fed the world for the past 10–20 years has created a vulnerable food market, Rabobank officials reported at the Economist Conference in Geneva, "Feeding the World — The 9 Billion People Question."More

McDonald's shows healthy sales growth in US and abroad
The Associated Press via USA Today
McDonald's said Wednesday that a key revenue figure climbed 6.7 percent in January as U.S. customers spent more on breakfast, beverages and its new Chicken McBites.More

DOE predicts 2012 will see highest oil prices since 2008
Truckinginfo
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil to average about $100 per barrel in 2012, almost $6 per barrel higher than the average price last year. More

Special edition set for industrial refrigeration best practices
Food Logistics
The International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses has partnered with Cascade Energy Inc. to publish a special edition of Cascade Energy's "Industrial Refrigeration Best Practices Guide."More

Chicken salad linked to contaminated eggs recalled
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
More than 1,200 pounds of chicken salad is being recalled because it contains eggs previously recalled on fears of Listeria contamination. This is the latest in a growing chain of recalls prompted when the eggs were sent to food makers and distributors, who then passed the products along to third parties and, eventually, to consumers.

Editor's note: Members of the American Frozen Food Institute have access to AFFI's unique Product Recall Insurance Program. Ensure you're protected during a food safety crisis using AFFI's one-of-a-kind program. For more information, please click here. More

Wireless monitoring solutions for freezers, meat lockers
Perishable News
Restaurants and frozen food suppliers constantly work to comply with demanding FDA quality and safety regulations in the processing and storage stages of their products. CAS DataLoggers now has the ideal solution: the Accsense A1-13 Wireless Temperature Data Logger, supplying a highly accurate yet hassle-free device protecting cold chain integrity via automated temperature monitoring.More

US adults' trans fat levels drop
MyHealthNewsDaily
Americans have less trans fat floating around in their blood today than they did 10 years ago, a new study finds. Between 2000 and 2009, the average level of trans fatty acids in the blood dropped 58 percent, according to the study of white adults in the U.S.More

Striking the right balance between food safety, quality
Food Engineering
Quality improvement is a daunting challenge, but the effort can be expected to boost food safety as well.More

New ways to green food and beverage packaging
Sustainable Plant
Not so long ago, sustainability was a nice touch for a food package but completely optional. Gradually that's changing, with eco-friendly packaging becoming a required feature in an increasingly green-conscious marketplace.More

Free position paper outlines food safety chain technologies
Safety Chain Software
A free position paper from Food Safety Chain Management™ offers insight on ways to increase your return on investment by enforcing food safety throughout the supply chain and cutting down on errors.More