Opinion Despite what you might think, America’s broken campaign finance system is about more than expensive ads flooding your screen and glossy mailers clogging your mailbox. The outsized role of money in politics has a real-world impact, with elected officials too often prioritizing the interests of a wealthy donor class and leaving many people behind. Senators Warren and Booker have rightly called for answers from the meat packing heads of Tysons, Smithfield, JBS and Cargill, on their…

CNN reported this week that Coca-Cola is shutting down the juice and smoothie brand Odwalla at the end of July. Coca-Cola purchased the brand in 2001. Coca-Cola made the call “given a rapidly shifting marketplace and despite every effort to support continued production,” John Hackett, president of Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid business unit, which includes the company’s juice brands, said in a statement e-mailed to CNN Business. Coca-Cola had been assessing Odwalla’s business for the past several years,…

“Pandemic potential” or “pandemic-on-pandemic” are scary concepts these days and Chinese and British scientists are using those very terms to describe the threat from a new swine flu virus. Not to worry, in one regard, because human-to-human transmission does not occur with the new swine flu virus.    That might be more comforting if other Chinese scientists had not said there was no human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 right up to when they said humans were…

Five children needed hospital treatment in an Australian state as part of a Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry. Queensland Health is investigating Salmonella Typhimurium infections predominantly among young children that had contact with backyard chickens. As of June 26, there had been 17 cases reported across the state. Thirteen of these were children aged 11 years or younger. Five were hospitalized because of their illnesses. Supplier investigation continuing Dr. Alun Richards, acting executive director,…

Planning to enjoy a picnic, barbecue, or meal under the summer sun on this holiday weekend? In addition to food safety, remember to practice social distancing — stay 6 feet apart from others you don’t live with — and follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s safety precautions to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, which is a respiratory illness that is spread from person-to-person, unlike foodborne viruses that can make people sick from…

California officials have recalled and quarantined raw milk from Valley Milk Simply Bottled because tests have shown it to be contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni. State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones announced the recall and quarantine today in a public alert. She warned consumers about the dangers in the alert. There is concern that some people may have unused portions of the unpasteurized milk in their homes. “Consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any product remaining…

The second round of trade talks between the United States and United Kingdom has ended with food standards, including safety, still high on the agenda. Negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) took place from June 15 to 26 with the next session planned for the end of July. They began in May with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The U.S. is the UK’s largest bilateral trading partner and biggest export market outside of the…