An article out last week about organic food argued, among other things, that while organic meat does have lower levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria than conventionally raised meat, that really doesn't mean much since bacteria are killed during cooking anyway. Our response: Hogwash.

A new review of previous research on organic food is getting a lot of media attention for concluding that the published literature "lacks strong evidence" that organic food is significantly more nutritious than conventionally grown food. But news reports covering the findings may be oversimplifying or distorting what the study really found, according to our in-house experts, and consumers shouldn't be misled into believing that there isn't a benefit to paying more for organics, particularly for certain populations.

People at highest risk for foodborne illness can now learn how to protect themselves with tailored advice in six free booklets--for people with cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, pregnant women, seniors, and transplant recipients--published this month by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Going shopping for a 4th of July barbecue? Consider burger, chicken, or steak raised without antibiotics, since that might help slow the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Farmers worldwide need cut back on their use of antibiotics for livestock to slow the spread of dangerous bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, according to a new editorial in the journal Nature.

Following the U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement last week of a new case of mad cow disease in California, Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, today called on the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration to take new measures to detect and prevent mad cow disease in U.S. beef and dairy cows.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released three new guidance documents that aim to reduce antibiotics in animal feed through voluntary industry limits, giving drug companies three years to phase out the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in food-producing animals.

Arsenic has been found in some foods that use organic brown rice syrup as a sweetener, including infant formula and cereal bars, according to a new study by researchers at Dartmouth College. The majority of the detected arsenic, a contaminant often found in rice, was the type that is known to be a human carcinogen.

Nearly 7,000 consumers joined Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, in a recent petition supporting regulatory efforts to set national, industry-wide targets to reduce sodium in processed and restaurant foods.

Shipments of orange juice from Canada have been stopped at the border after testing by the Food and Drug Administration found low levels of the fungicide carbendazim, which is banned in the U.S. and was previously found in orange juice product shipments from Brazil.

After fungicide was discovered in orange juice products from Brazil, the Food and Drug Administration blocked orange juice product imports, so that it could test for the fungicide carbendazim, which studies have linked to a higher risk of liver tumors in animals.

Leasa Industries, of Miami, FL is recalling 346 cases of its Leasa Living Alfalfa Sprouts because of potential Salmonella contamination, the Food and Drug Administration reported today.

UPDATE: Senior scientist at Consumer Reports discusses the halt on shipments of orange juice. See below.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall warning for shrink-wrapped bundles of Martinelli's Gold Medal Sparkling Cider. The 250-mL sized bottles of sparkling apple cider have defect seals "that could break when opening," said the federal agency.

A recent multi-state outbreak of E. coli was not caused by raw eggs or dairy products, but instead to raw flour in prepackaged cookie dough, according to new research published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.