Ever since the FDA approved the use of irradiation on leafy greens last week, I've been curious to find out how irradiation works as well as its drawbacks. Where does anyone start when they want to find basic information on any topic? Wikipedia, of course.

The Food and Drug Administration's new regulation that will allow irradiation pasteurization to be used on fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce to kill illness-causing bacteria is a step that two Iowa State University professors have long advocated.

Scientists in the Netherlands report an advance toward unraveling one of the culinary world's long-standing puzzles: How to maintain the crispy quality of bread crust.

Inadequate training and resources, time constraints and the inconvenience of following procedures all stand in the way of restaurant employees' applying food safety practices in their workplace, according to researchers at Kansas State University.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned consumers to avoid eating tomalley in American Lobster (Maine Lobster), regardless of where the lobster was harvested, because of potential contamination with dangerous levels of the toxins that cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).

The lettuce cut and packaged for food service and salad mixes is an increasingly important component of the produce industry. Lettuce is highly perishable, and the cutting required in processing further shortens its shelf life.

Losses to the tomato industry mount and we still don't know the cause of the salmonella outbreak. Why? Because it's extremely difficult to track down is why.

Research conducted by food science faculty at the University of Idaho and Washington State University indicate that a commercially available fruit and vegetable wash, when used in a food-manufacturing setting, can dramatically decrease the number of disease-causing organisms in produce-processing washwater.

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and several local health departments are investigating an increase in the number of illnesses related to the bacteria E. coli O157. MDCH has received reports of 29 cases of infection so far in the month of June. In the past four years, Michigan has averaged 10 cases for the month of June.

A new national study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security finds that, in spite of a number of food safety incidents in recent years, most Americans remain confident that the food produced in the United States is safe. However, many have concerns about the safety of imported food produced in some other countries.

While consumers are increasing demand for pork produced without antibiotics, more of the pigs raised in such conditions carry bacteria and parasites associated with food-borne illnesses, according to a new study.

Would people and their communities be healthier if they still got food from local farms?