Free Republic

ASSOCIATED PRESS HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. - Health officials on eastern Long Island are warning consumers to cook ground beef products thoroughly after seven people became infected with E. coli contamination in the early weeks of the summer. All seven patients, including an 8-year-old North Carolina girl who was hospitalized after her kidneys shut down, are now recovering, Dr. Humayun J. Chaudhry, the Suffolk County health commissioner, said Tuesday. Chaudhry stressed no specific brand of ground beef has been identified; it was purchased at various locations around Long Island. He also said the majority of those who became ill between June 9...

BEIJING (AP) - China executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog on Tuesday for approving untested medicine in exchange for cash, the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it is serious about tackling its product safety crisis. The execution of former State Food and Drug Administration director Zheng Xiaoyu was confirmed by state television and the official Xinhua News Agency. During Zheng's tenure from 1998 to 2005, his agency approved six medicines that turned out to be fake, and the drug-makers used falsified documents to apply for approvals, according to previous state media reports. One antibiotic caused...

The Bush administration should consider banning food imports from China if the Food and Drug Administration cannot ensure their safety, several members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee told the agency this week. A letter to the FDA from four Democrats cataloged recent problems with Chinese food imports and asked for information on the issue for the last six years. They added that if the agency cannot ensure the imports' safety, the administration "should consider a complete ban of all food imports from China until such time that FDA can assure the American consumer of the safety of these...

WASHINGTON - A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths. An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said."At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive...

Eddie Murphy once did a hilarous skit about how instead of getting a McDonalds hamburger, his mom would make him a soggy ol' burger using wonder bread. So todays' question is: what gross food were you forced to eat as a kid (or how did you sneak it to the dog?) For example: 1. Chipped Beef on toast - Gross, gross, gross! My dinner on those nights usually consisted of dry toast. I'd practially use an eyedropper when applying that white, pasty goop. 2. Canned spinach - like algae from a fish tank. 3. Raisins - My brother liked them...

In the months after Sept. 11, 2001, the US government advised the public to be aware of suspicious persons, avoid certain landmarks, and prepare for future terror attacks. The government did not advise anyone to stop eating at Arabic restaurants. Yet across the country, Middle Eastern restaurants saw sales drop dramatically as Americans spurned falafel and kebabs as the symbolic food of the terrorists. In some parts of the country, businesses owned by Middle Easterners were sprayed with malicious graffiti and vandalized. Many Arab business owners placed the blame on the media portrayal of Arabs as turbaned terrorists. Though Arabs...