Agriculture Daily News 11/7

The Bush administration on Tuesday will propose a significant expansion of the authority of the federal drug and consumer product safety agencies to inspect and certify imports, White House and other administration officials said Monday. Propelled by a spate of food and product recalls, Congress is moving quickly to adopt even broader legislation that is strongly opposed by manufacturers and the administration. A White House official said a major part of the plan would entail stationing inspectors in foreign countries to examine drugs, food and other potentially dangerous products before they were shipped to American shores. NY Times 11/06/07

 

The governor and legislature of Massachusetts proposed a bill on Monday to require all home heating oil and diesel fuel to contain at least 5 percent biofuel by 2013. NY Times 11/6/07

 

Chefs are using science not only to better understand their cooking, but also to create new ways of cooking. Food science arose in the 20th century as food companies looked for ways to make their products survive the trek to the supermarket and remain palatable. But now hydrocolloid gums, like Xanthan, are part of the tool kit of high-end chefs. One of the dishes Wylie. Dufresne makes, “knot foie,” is a result of experimentation combining xanthan gum with konjac flour, made from a tuber long used in Japanese cooking. NY Times 11/6/07

 

A profile of Yasushi Ueyama, owner of Shoki Ramen House in Sacramento in today’s Sacramento Bee. Ueyama sells nothing but ramen at his shop, which he opened in July. The article outlines the post-war history of the popularity of ramen in Japan. 11/7/07

 

State and federal water officials Tuesday said deliveries to farms and cities could be restricted severely next year even if the coming winter provides normal rain and snowfall. While the state very much needs a wet winter to refill reservoirs and recharge snowpack, government experts predict much of the country will have a warmer and drier winter. Contra Costa Times 11/7/07

 

While California voters approved $9.5 billion in bonds to improve the state's water infrastructure last year, little of that money has been allocated despite a lengthy drought and growing strains on the system. Political infighting and bureaucratic red tape have slowed spending of the 2006 water bonds, even as state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger consider asking voters for billions of dollars in additional water bonds on next year's ballot. Only about 14 percent of the Proposition 1E water bond approved by voters last year - and about one-third of the Proposition 84 water bond - have been committed to specific projects. LA Daily News 11/7/07

 

Cargill Salt has agreed to pay $228,000 to settle charges that it violated state water pollution laws last year after spilling 218,000 gallons of toxic brine into the marshes along San Francisco Bay near Fremont. SJ Mercury 11/7/07