WASHINGTON - October 3 - "Today, the Food and Drug Administration condoned the intentional adulteration of food with melamine by issuing a risk assessment for the industrial chemical that was added to milk and milk-based ingredients produced in China. Instead of enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for this contaminant in food, FDA has instead set ‘acceptable' levels for how much melamine food can contain, despite uncertainty about what levels of exposure are likely and limited information on the chemical's human health effects.

WASHINGTON - October 1 - Today, Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group, kicked off a month-long celebration of safe and healthy seafood, joining forces with chefs across the country to promote sustainable fish choices. To raise awareness about cleaner, greener, safer seafood, the organization released a wallet-sized recommendation card - the Smart Seafood Guide - that will help consumers and chefs make better choices about the types of fish they eat and serve.

WASHINGTON - September 30 - Today is a good day for consumer right-to-know. After a long six-year delay, consumers will finally be able to know the origin of much of their food when they're shopping in the supermarket. Today, mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) goes into effect for a range of foods, including: beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, ginseng, peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts.

WASHINGTON - September 30 - Today, the interim final rule for mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for meat, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, and several kinds of nuts goes into effect, providing American consumers with vital information they need to make informed choices about where their food is from and how it was raised. Since its inclusion in the 2002 Farm Bill, COOL has had overwhelming support from both consumers and producers, despite repeated attempts by the food industry to kill the program and delay its implementation.