Food Safety

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is adopting new global safety standards for its private label and other foods at a time when analysts say that the public is more concerned than ever about food safety. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said Monday that it would require audits using safety standards at thousands of factories worldwide that produce its house brands. Wal-Mart said it is the first national grocery chain in the U.S.

San Bernardino County prosecutors Friday filed felony charges against a former Chino slaughterhouse manager who allegedly used cruel methods to force ailing cattle into the slaughter box. The charges follow last month's release of a video showing treatment of animals at the plant, which led to schools nationwide pulling beef from cafeterias.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the largest beef recall in its history Sunday, calling for the destruction of 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef produced by a Chino slaughterhouse that has been accused of inhumane practices. However, the USDA said the vast majority of the meat involved in the recall -- including 37 million pounds that went mostly to schools -- probably has been eaten already. Officials emphasized that danger to consumers was minimal.

To protect his identity and frustrate possible retaliation, the undercover investigator behind the biggest beef recall in U.S. history refuses to disclose his name, his marital status, his hometown, his job background or even his age. One of the few personal things he will reveal is his culinary preference: He's a vegan.

Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer sparred with Senate lawmakers Thursday, insisting that regulations governing inspections of slaughterhouses are sufficient to ensure the safety of the nation's meat supply. Schafer rejected senators' calls to completely ban from slaughter any cattle unable to walk. "Downer" cows are at higher risk of carrying E. coli and salmonella bacteria and of having the wasting neurological illness known as mad cow disease.

Before bagged leafy greens wind up on your plate, they are washed, often three times, in a potent chlorine bath. But new research shows the steps that California companies rely on to protect consumers do not kill dangerous bacteria inside the leaves, whereas zapping them with radiation wipes them out. The debate over how to protect consumers from E.

Trust Trader Joe's to understand the food anxieties of the middle class. In 2001, the budget-gourmet market banned genetically modified ingredients from its house-brand products. This year, it announced that it would no longer carry single-item products, such as spinach, imported from China. American consumers can't be blamed for their wariness of products from China, given the various tainted goods it has exported and the infinitesimal amount of imported food tested by the U.S.

South Korea's president vowed Sunday not to allow the import of meat from older cattle, in hopes of quelling public anger at the resumption of beef imports from the United States. President Lee Myung-bak's comments came as the chief U.S. and South Korean trade envoys met in Washington on the dispute. But today, the Foreign Ministry said that there was no breakthrough. "The government stance is firm that beef from cattle older than 30 months will not be brought" into South Korea, Lee said.

Tomatoes are making a comeback in Southern California and most of the nation, though the source of the salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 383 people remains a mystery. McDonald's Corp. said Wednesday that it would reintroduce sliced tomatoes in its U.S.

Federal health officials now blame raw jalapenos for some of the illnesses in the 3-month-old salmonella outbreak and Wednesday advised the elderly, infants and people with compromised immune systems to avoid them. Investigators still think tomatoes -- the original suspect in the outbreak -- have made people sick and are considering the possibility that the same rare strain of salmonella has contaminated both tomatoes and peppers.