Senate committee weighs bills to prevent E. coli outbreaks By STEVE LAWRENCE Associated Press WriterNews Fuze Article Launched:03/18/2007 10:29:25 AM PDT SACRAMENTO- A state Senate committee this week will wade into the debate over how to prevent spinach, lettuce

Farmworkers needing relief Thousands are out of work after cold killed crops STORIES BY LOUIS MEDINA, Californian staff writere-mail: lmedina@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Mar 15 2007 11:20 PM Last Updated: Thursday, Mar 15 2007 11:37 PM Warm weather and the

    Senator Lugar Co-Sponsors Bill To Relieve Labor Crisis In Agriculture   The Associated Press Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- Calif.) today announced that Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) joined bipartisan legislation to provide America’s famers with a steady and reliable

Citrus Freeze Farm Workers Continue to Hold Vigils in Central Valley Offices UFW Foundation Urges Congress Members Costa, Nunes to Include Farm Workers in Federal Relief Funding  What: Farm workers devastated by the citrus freeze are currently holding vigil sit-ins

Article published Mar 15, 2007Freeze money comingBy Jed Chernabaeff Staff writer President Bush signed an emergency disaster declaration on Wednesday, approving millions of dollars in federal funds for 12 California counties devastated by January’s freeze. The declaration will allow

Workers hit by freeze receive ‘bit of a silver lining’ By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee 03/15/07 03:57:51 Sorting what little citrus fruit remains after a devastating January freeze, packinghouse worker Soledad Meza was thankful Wednesday that President

While there appears to be an agreement in the produce industry that new food safety standards for produce are needed, the debate is heating up over whether a market-based approach or enhanced government oversight is the best route to

Finally, Disaster Aid To Farmworkers Dick Meister March 15, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Dick Meister, a San Francisco-based freelance columnist and co-author of A Long Time Coming: The Struggle to Unionize America’s Farm Workers .Contact him through his website, www.dickmeister.com.

from the March 16, 2007 edition – http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0316/p03s03-usgn.html A move to make fresh US produce safer A series of food-illness outbreaks has pushed the FDA to issue new voluntary guidelines this week. By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer

UFW President Arturo Rodriguez Responds to President Bush’s Disaster Relief Declaration "President Bush’s declaration is a step in the right direction, but simply not enough," said UFW President Arturo Rodriguez. "Farm working families are in a time of crisis

San Joaquin farmers poised for freeze aid By Michael Doyle – Bee Washington BureauPublished 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, March 14, 2007 WASHINGTON-The Bush administration is offering more aid to the freeze-stricken San Joaquin Valley, with the president due to

MercedSunStar.com Disaster declaration will help ag community By Michael Doyle SUN-STAR WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is offering more aid to the freeze-stricken San Joaquin Valley, with the president due to declare part of the region a

URL: http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_5415640,00.html Bush to declare freeze a disaster Food banks to get most benefit locally, officials say By Stephanie Hoops, shoops@VenturaCountyStar.comMarch 14, 2007 President Bush is issuing a disaster declaration for California counties hurt by the January deep freeze

Freeze Disaster is Official  By Dale Yurong 03/14/2007 – The disaster declaration for the Central Valley is now official. President Bush returned to the White House on Wednesday after his tour of Latin America. He said a "major disaster"

Gov: Declaration Not Enough for Freeze Victims Relief Package Sought   FRESNO, Mar. 14, 2007 – A federal disaster declaration will help speed food and unemployment aid to those harmed by the January freeze, but lawmakers need to provide

Article published Mar 14, 2007CLOSEUP | EAST SALINASLUPE breaks ground for playBy VÍCTOR ALMAZÁN For The Salinas Californian Amparo Morales, a Salinas resident, says there are only a few places in east Salinas where her 5-year-old daughter can play.

March 15, 2007 Public had varied responses to last fall’s spinach recall NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.—Americans’ responses to a September 2006 recall of some spinach products ranged from washing all produce more carefully to swearing off spinach for life. Every

A food fix for a sick produce industry FDA, produce industry see need for new procedures to stem bacterial outbreaks. By NANCY LUNA The Orange County Register Food allergies and asthma have made Suganthan Sundaralingam a sickly kid. But

Bush issuing disaster declaration for California citrus freeze The Associated Press Tuesday, March 13, 2007 WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush is issuing a disaster declaration for California counties hurt by the January deep freeze that caused some $1.2 billion

President Bush issues disaster declaration for citrus freezeCoachella Valley’s farms can apply for aid Desert Sun Wire ServicesThe Desert SunMarch 13, 2007 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush is issuing a disaster declaration for California counties hurt by the January

Disaster Aid Bypasses Farmworkers Dick Meister March 15, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Dick Meister, a San Francisco-based freelance columnist and co-author of A Long Time Coming: The Struggle to Unionize America’s Farm Workers .Contact him through his website, www.dickmeister.com.Thousands of

FDA Unveils Voluntary Food Safety Rules (AP) WASHINGTON The government has new rules for preventing food poisoning in fresh-cut produce, but companies don’t have to follow them. Fruit and vegetable-related outbreaks of food poisoning are on the rise and

Federal food rules voluntaryFarm industry fears they could become mandatoryStaff and wire reports The federal government has new rules for preventing food poisoning in fresh-cut produce, but companies don’t have to follow them. The new, voluntary rules announced Monday

Critics attack FDA’s guidelines for cut produce, call them weak By Brandon Bailey Mercury News Article Launched: 03/13/2007 01:42:25 AM PDT Related Mar 13: Responses to deadly spinach outbreak in California The Food and Drug Administration issued draft food-safety guidelines