MNN - Mother Nature Network

It’s Friday afternoon, and that means it’s time for me to give you a little weekend reading from around the web. Here are a few food related items that I thought might interest you.

Thousands of types of processed foods -- including many varieties of soups, chips, frozen dinners, hot dogs and salad dressings -- may pose a health threat because they contain a flavor enhancer that could be contaminated with salmonella, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. 

It's not often that midwestern farmers speak out against a motion picture, but the movie Food Inc. may have hit a bit too close to home. Inspired by the blockbuster books The Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation, the movie's criticism -- that industrialized crops are detrimental both to our bodies and the environment -- centers on corn. Hollywood has expressed its de facto support by nominating the film for Best Documentary; now the corn industry is responding. Loudly. 

Food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli and salmonella, cost the United States $152 billion annually in health care and other losses, according to a report released Wednesday by a food safety group.

Image: Matt Callow