Food safety experts report that the nation’s beef industry has done a remarkable job of dealing with carcass contamination involving E. coli. Incidences of E. coli O157 positives in ground beef sampling have dropped by more than 90 percent in the last decade, but the same decline hasn’t been seen in the incidence of Salmonella in ground beef.  more »

Two graduate students with Texas Tech’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences ranked in the top five of research poster competitors at the Plains Nutrition Council’s Spring Conference last week in San Antonio. Tech’s Andrew Hosford and Tyler Harris received $1,000 scholarship awards for their academic efforts.  more »

Snowboarder magazine’s website reports today (Mar. 21) that Zeal Optics is introducing one of the world’s first sunglass lens using a plant-based bonding agent, replacing a petroleum-based bonder. With the new e-llume lenses, the Boulder, Colo.-based company now believes that it leads the way towards completely removing crude oil from sunglass production.  more »

A professor of food safety and public health with Texas Tech’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences has been appointed to a national committee that will provide recommendations on microbial criteria of food. The selection of Guy Loneragan to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods was announced today (Mar. 1) by USDA officials.  more »

It seems simple enough. What is a farm? The U.S. Agriculture Department defines it as “any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year.” “Very large farms” are defined as having gross sales of more than $500,000.  more »

Failure of the U.S. Congress to pass a farm bill during the last legislative session and apparent apathy from leaders in the House of Representatives to take up the issue anytime soon creates an air of uncertainty and skepticism from farmers and the agricultural industry, according to an agriculture economics professor at Texas Tech University.  more »

Noted agroecosystem research scientist Vivien Allen has received the 2013 Distinguished Grasslander Award from the American Forage and Grassland Council. The honor was presented at the group’s annual conference Jan. 6-9 in Covington, Kentucky.  more »