"Chicken farmers nationwide have stopped feeding their flocks a drug containing arsenic since a 2011 government study suggested the cancer-causing metal may be tainting poultry, but Maryland lawmakers are still struggling with whether to ban the once-widespread practice."

"An outbreak of bacterial infections on the East Coast illustrates the popularity of raw, unpasteurized milk despite strong warnings from public health officials about the potential danger."

"NAIROBI, Kenya -- The United Nations said Friday that Somalia's famine is over, but the world body's Food and Agricultural Organization warned that continued assistance is needed to stop the region from slipping back."

"The U.S. Agriculture Department on Friday awarded $40.2 million in grants to farmers, ranchers and farmer-controlled rural business ventures aimed at spurring locally produced food supplies and renewable energy ventures."

"Hoping to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity, the Obama administration on Wednesday announced its long-awaited changes to government-subsidized school meals, a final round of rules that adds more fruits and green vegetables to breakfasts and lunches and reduces the amount of salt and fat."

"ONAMI, Japan -- In the fall, as this valley’s rice paddies ripened into a carpet of gold, inspectors came to check for radioactive contamination."

"Onami sits just 35 miles northwest of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which spewed radioactive cesium over much of this rural region last March. However, the government inspectors declared Onami’s rice safe for consumption after testing just two of its 154 rice farms.

"The U.S. has temporarily halted shipments of imported orange juice from all countries while they’re being tested, and said it will destroy or ban products containing even low levels from a banned fungicide."

"The U.S. Food and Drug and Administration announced only days before Christmas that it has decided to back off a 34-year attempt to regulate the use of antibiotics in livestock feed for animals intended for human consumption, despite mounting scientific evidence that has linked the practice to the development of potentially fatal antibiotic-resistant superbugs in humans."

"TODOS SANTOS, Mexico -- Clamshell containers on supermarket shelves in the United States may depict verdant fields, tangles of vines and ruby red tomatoes. But at this time of year, the tomatoes, peppers and basil certified as organic by the Agriculture Department often hail from the Mexican desert, and are nurtured with intensive irrigation. "

"Big Corn and Big Sugar are locked in a legal and public relations fight in the US over a plan to change the name of a corn-based sweetener that has gotten a bad name."

"Patented as a flame retardant for plastics, and banned in food throughout Europe and Japan, a brominated chemical called BVO has been added to sodas for decades in North America. Now some scientists have a renewed interest in this little-known ingredient, found in 10 percent of sodas in the United States. Research on its toxicity dates back to the 1970s, and some experts now urge a reassessment."

A new study showing that traces of arsenic can be absorbed by humans from rice raises questions about whether the exposure presents a risk -- and, if so, how to minimize it.

"The arsenic-in-juice war continues. Today, Consumer Reports released an alarming study that found high levels of arsenic in samples of apple juice."

'About one tenth of China's farmland is polluted by lead, zinc and other heavy metals to 'striking' levels exceeding official limits, a government expert said according to reports on Monday.'

"Debbie Frederick hopes that her father's death in September in one of the most lethal outbreaks of food-borne illness in U.S. history will force the government to increase the safety of the country's food supply."