Just like with Pink Slime or Meat Glue, you may not realize what you're putting in your body when you eat produce. The Environmental Working Group's annual report on pesticide residue – an unlabeled ingredient in food commodities – may help consumers make more informed decisions when purchasing fruits and vegetables.

FIC blogged a couple weeks ago about the criminal probe against egg tycoon Jack DeCoster regarding the 2010 Salmonella outbreak. A lawsuit filed by NuCal Foods – which purchased millions of eggs from DeCoster's Iowa farm that it later had to recall – alleged that DeCoster and his companies knowingly sold tainted product and kept information from the public.

Well, it turns out he knew a lot, according to newly released evidence from an Iowa State University facility hired by DeCoster to test for contamination.

FIC reported great news back in March when a federal court ordered FDA to finally follow up on its 35-year-old proposal to ban non-therapeutic use of common drugs – penicillin and two types of tetracycline – in animal feed, due to their potential contribution to antibiotic resistance.

Well, Food Safety News announced today that FDA has filed an appeal to overturn the March decision. We shouldn't be too surprised, given FDA's tendency over the years to ignore evidence suggesting the need to better monitor drug use in large-scale animal agriculture.

Did you think we'd heard the last of Austin "Jack" DeCoster and his egg empire problems? They haven't seemed to escape him since his Iowa farm's products were tied to the 2010 Salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 1900 people.

The Associated Press reports that there has been an ongoing investigation since that summer into whether fraud or other crimes were committed in egg production and testing:

A new California law that strengthens farmworkers' right to unionize is facing its first test case, and so far officials appear to be on the side of the farmworker – a novelty in an industry where intimidation against migrant workers is a common occurrence.

Dutra Farms, one of the state's prominent raspberry growers, allegedly fired Dalia Santiago in February for union organizing. She had worked on the farm for eight years. After investigating, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board – thanks to new provisions that went into effect January 1 – concluded Dutra was engaging in unfair labor practices, and won a court order requiring that Santiago be hired back immediately.

A new report from Human Rights Watch titled Cultivating Fear:The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment,

. . . describes rape, stalking, unwanted touching, exhibitionism, or vulgar and obscene language by supervisors, employers, and others in positions of power.

When government officials insist on making science-based decisions in food and agricultural policy, what happens when the research is increasingly funded by huge corporations with a vested interest in the results? According to a new report by GAP coalition partner Food & Water Watch, almost 25 percent of agricultural research funding at land-grant universities came from private donations in 2010.