Hacker News with Generative AI: Food Safety

Parents can soon use QR codes to reveal heavy metal content in baby food (theconversation.com)
Parents across the U.S. should soon be able to determine how much lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury are in the food they feed their babies, thanks to a California law, the first of its kind, that took effect this year.
Eating from plastic takeout containers can increase heart failure risk (theguardian.com)
Eating from plastic takeout containers may significantly increase the chance of congestive heart failure, a new study finds, and researchers suspect they have identified why: changes to gut biome cause inflammation that damages the circulatory system.
Live poultry markets ordered shut in New York City due to avian flu outbreak (apnews.com)
All live poultry markets in New York City and some of its suburbs were ordered Friday to close for a week after the detection of seven cases of avian flu, which has also hit farms nationwide, led to the slaughter of millions of birds and driven up egg prices.
Cat and Dog Food Manufacturers Required to Consider H5N1 in Food Safety Plans (fda.gov)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that it is necessary for manufacturers of cat and dog foods who are covered by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls for Animal Food (PCAF) rule and using uncooked or unpasteurized materials derived from poultry or cattle (e.g., uncooked meat, unpasteurized milk or unpasteurized eggs) to reanalyze their food safety plans to include Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus (specifically H5N1) as a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard.
US will ban cancer-linked Red Dye No. 3 in cereal and other foods (bloomberg.com)
US health officials banned the artificial food coloring Red No. 3, which has been linked to cancer and is currently in scores of products from candy to cold medicine.
Lead and cadmium found in muscle-building protein powders, report says (wqow.com)
Over-the-counter protein powders may contain disturbing levels of lead and cadmium, with the highest amounts found in plant-based, organic and chocolate-flavored products, according to a new investigation.
Lead and cadmium found in muscle-building protein powders (cleanlabelproject.org)
Foods with the Most Plastic Chemicals: Study Reveals Surprising Results (newsweek.com)
From popular brands like Burger King, McDonald's, Starbucks, and Whole Foods to everyday kitchen staples such as rice and salt, a new study highlights the alarming extent of plastic contamination in foods.
CA bans food 'sell by' dates. Will it save you money without getting you sick? (latimes.com)
A new California law further regulates food safety labels and will take effect in 2026.
EU bans BPA in food materials (europa.eu)
The Commission has today adopted a ban on the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials, due to its potentially harmful health impact.
USDA locks barn door after Listeria escapes (efoodalert.com)
Five months after the CDC posted the initial notice of a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak ultimately traced to Boar’s Head deli meats, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a series of “…stronger measures to protect the public from Listeria monocytogenes.”
Bird Flu Can't Stop the Thirst for Raw Milk (theatlantic.com)
Not even bird flu can stop some Americans’ thirst for unpasteurized dairy.
US Food and Drug Administration moves to ban red food dye (theguardian.com)
A red food dye that is ubiquitous in American drinks, snacks, candies and cereals may finally be banned by the federal government after years of concern that it has adverse health impacts, particularly upon children.
US to start nationwide testing for H5N1 flu virus in milk supply (arstechnica.com)
On Friday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would begin a nationwide testing program for the presence of the H5N1 flu virus, also known as the bird flu.
Black plastics may contain toxic compounds that can leach into food, experts say (cbc.ca)
Takeout containers and utensils made of some recycled black plastics may contain chemicals used in electronics, according to a recently published study.
Man suffers chemical burn that lasted months after squeezing limes (arstechnica.com)
In a case of an oft-overlooked food preparation risk, a 40-year-old man showed up to an allergy clinic in Texas with a severe, burning rash on both his hands that had developed two days earlier.
Raw milk recalled for containing bird flu virus, California reports (arstechnica.com)
Bird flu virus has been found in a batch of raw—unpasteurized—milk sold in California, prompting a recall issued at the state's request, health officials announced over the weekend.
CDPH: Bird flu virus found in raw milk for sale (statnews.com)
Health officials in California have discovered bird flu virus in raw milk for sale in a store in the state, a development scientists following the ongoing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows have been anticipating and worrying about for some time.
Bird flu virus detected in California raw milk (latimes.com)
State health officials said Sunday that bird flu virus was detected in a retail sample of raw milk from the Fresno-based Raw Farm dairy.
Costco’s butter recall, explained (forbes.com)
Would you toss your butter in the trash if the label left out one critical detail? For some Costco shoppers, the answer is yes, according to the latest FDA guidance.
Solanine (wikipedia.org)
Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family within the genus Solanum, such as the potato (Solanum tuberosum), the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and the eggplant (Solanum melongena). It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers. Solanine has pesticidal properties, and it is one of the plant's natural defenses.
Fired Disney employee hacked menu to falsely claim foods did not contain peanuts (nbcnews.com)
A disgruntled former Disney employee is being accused of hacking into menu-creating software used by the company's restaurants to falsely indicate that certain food items did not contain peanuts.
Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid (theatlantic.com)
It’s probably leaching chemicals into your cooking oil.
Factory farms can contaminate onions with dangerous pathogens like E. coli (ewg.org)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration report that onions are the likely source of the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak that killed one person and sickened dozens more.
Pizza place accidentally spiked dough with THC, sickening dozens (arstechnica.com)
Dozens of people in Wisconsin have been sickened and at least five needed emergency medical services after inadvertently eating pizza tainted with Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive compound in cannabis, officials of Public Health Madison & Dane County reported late Friday.
E. coli cases linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders rises to 75 (cnn.com)
1 Dead from E.Coli Outbreak Linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders (cnn.com)
E. Coli Outbreak Linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders (cdc.gov)
CDC, FDA, USDA FSIS, and public health officials in multiple states are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Most people in this outbreak are reporting eating the Quarter Pounder hamburger at McDonald’s before becoming sick. It is not yet known which specific food ingredient is contaminated.
Toxic Compounds Derived from the Maillard Reaction in Thermal Food Processing (sciencedirect.com)
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs), acrylamide (AA), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic substances that are produced in certain foods during thermal processing by using common high-temperature unit operations such as frying, baking, roasting, grill cooking, extrusion, among others.
Newsom signs bill to expel six food dyes from California public schools (latimes.com)
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, M&Ms and other items made with certain synthetic food dyes will be expelled from California public schools, charter schools and state special schools under a bill signed into law Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.