Dan Flynn

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Editor Dan Flynn is a Northern Colorado-based writer and editor with more more than 15 years of food safety experience. As a public affairs professional, he worked with government and regulatory agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. His career as a journalist included working for newspapers throughout the West, from the Black Hills to Seattle. His on-scene reporting on the collapse of the Idaho’s Teton Dam and the suicide bombing at Washington State University’s Perham Hall was carried by newspapers around the world and was recognized both times regionally by the Associated Press for Best Reporting on a Deadline. Most of the disasters he attends these days involve food illnesses.

Firm/Organization: Marler Clark LLP, PS
Blogs: Food Safety News

Latest Articles

logo Adams Bros. Farms
Adam Bros. Farming Inc. of Santa Maria, California  “out of an abundance of caution” has recalled red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce and cauliflower harvested this year from Nov. 27 through Nov 30  for it may be contaminated with E. Coli O157: H7. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec. 13 said its traceback in the ongoing E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce led investigators to the Adams Bros. farm in Santa Barbara,…
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Vermont Packinghouse LLC of North Springfield, VT, late Thursday recalled almost 11,000 pounds of raw intact bone-in beef quarters, specifically T-bone and porterhouse steaks, that may contain illegal vertebral column material, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Vertebral column material is one of a number of specified risk materials (SRM), which are the tissues of ruminant animals that cannot be inspected, and therefore cannot be approved for human…
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Analysis Public interest in the safety of romaine has increased during the past year as Canada and the United States have experienced three back-to-back outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 tied to the leafy green.  Many people are surprised to learn that a bacteria generally thought of as beginning in the guts of cows is ending up in their salad bowls. But that’s what’s happening, with seven dead out of 350 sickened with E. coli infections. There…
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One of the last vestiges of bipartisanship in Congress began delivering its baby Tuesday. House and Senate agricultural conferees finally agreed on the 2018 Farm Bill, and by late afternoon it was sailing through the U.S. Senate on an 87-13 vote. There is precious little in the 807-page bill, with its $867 billion in planned spending over 10 years, for food safety. New mandatory funding is included for state departments of agriculture to combat animal…
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s top two food safety officials met ten times with stakeholders and lobbyists over 21 days in October, according to the recently issued public calendar from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Carmen Rottenberg, acting deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety, and Paul Kiecker acting FSIS administrator kept their doors open during the month. Their busiest day with outsiders was Oct. 2 when in back-to-back sessions Rottenberg and…
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President Donald J. Trump’s Justice Department is siding with California over 12 egg-producing states that don’t want egg standards dictated by Sacramento. Noel J. Francisco, the solicitor general of the United States, has put the Department of Justice (DOJ) on California’s side in the dispute by filing an amicus brief in the case. It’s not known if DOJ consulted with the Trump White House before filing the brief. It puts DOJ in support of state…
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The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry late Wednesday voted to favorably report the nomination of Mindy Brashears to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety. Her nomination may now be considered by the full U.S. Senate for confirmation. That floor vote is expected to occur before the holidays. Brashears is a professor and director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. President Donald J. Trump nominated her…
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Federal judges have not much liked those state laws restricting spying on animal agriculture that have been adopted since 2010. When challenged by animal activists in federal courts have largely been knocking down the so-called “ag-gag” laws, citing Constitutional grounds. An older generation of state laws designed to protect animal agriculture operators has gone unchallenged. States like Kansas, Montana and North Dakota adopted their laws almost 30 years ago. The Farm Animal and Field Crop…
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As expected, South Africa’s high court in Johannesburg has certified the class action lawsuit brought on behalf of victims in the world’s largest listeriosis outbreak against Tiger Brands. It means that by March of next year, South Africa will see a court drama play out on behalf of all 1,060 victims of listeriosis outbreak including the survivors of the 216 who died. Individuals do have an “opt-out” option if they want to pursue justice on…
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It’s pretty common for bilateral deals that were worked out ahead of time to be celebrated at multi-national international conferences. That’s how a deal to allow Argentina to export raw beef to the United States came about on the sidelines of the G20 in Buenos Aires. It was a success for President Donald J. Trump and Argentine President Mauricio Macri that was actually all settled right before the official start of the G20, which was…