Scientists hope to test new samples of Pacific bluefin tuna after low levels of radioactive cesium from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident turned up in fish caught off California in 2011, researchers reported Monday.

The bluefin spawn off Japan, and many migrate across the Pacific Ocean. Tissue samples taken from 15 bluefin caught in August, five months after the meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi, all contained reactor byproducts cesium-134 and cesium-137 at levels that produced radiation about 3% higher than natural background sources – but well below levels considered dangerous for human consumption, the researchers say.

Cesium-137 has a radioactive half-life of about 30 years, and traces of the isotope still persist from above-ground nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s and '60s. But cesium-134, which has a half-life of only two years, "is inarguably from Fukushima Daiichi," Stanford University marine ecologist Dan Madigan told CNN.

Read the full story: Low levels of Fukushima cesium found in West Coast tuna

For more on CNN's investigation of September's historic and deadly Listeria outbreak watch "CNN Presents" this Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on CNN.

On a sunny morning early last September, Susanna Gaxiola fed her husband a healthy breakfast of fresh cantaloupe in their Albuquerque, New Mexico, home. Her husband, Rene, a Pentecostal pastor and minister, had been fighting a rare blood cancer and he was eating fresh cantaloupe and other fruit daily.

Around the same time, Paul Schwarz ate fresh cantaloupe in his home in Independence, Missouri. Though 92 years old, Schwarz was still active and healthy, and ate fresh fruit often. And Dr. Mike Hauser, a podiatrist, also ate fresh cantaloupe with his family in Monument, Colorado. Hauser, 68, had been fighting myeloma, a blood cancer, but he was recovering well, even planning a bow-hunting trip in the mountains.

Within days or weeks of eating the cantaloupe, all three men became horribly sick, and all eventually died painful deaths. Their deaths were directly caused by the cantaloupe, which was contaminated with the deadly bacteria Listeria, according to health officials.

Read - Third-deadliest U.S. food outbreak was preventable, experts say

Two farms have been quarantined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the agency continues to investigate last month's discovery of mad cow disease at a California dairy farm.

Authorities also have launched an investigation at a calf ranch where the initial infected cow was raised 10 years ago, according to a statement released late Wednesday by the USDA.

Last week, the USDA documented the fourth confirmed U.S. case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) - a brain wasting disease affecting cattle - known commonly as mad cow disease, at a rendering facility in central California. USDA officials said the cow was never presented for human consumption and was not a threat.

The farm where the cow was initially discovered has been under quarantine since the discovery, agriculture officials said. Wednesday's announcement of a second quarantine involves a farm closely associated with the dairy where the sick cow was discovered last month, the USDA said. The agency is still trying to determine if any at-risk cattle are present at either of the two farms.

Read the full story: "USDA quarantines 2 farms in mad cow investigation"

The first U.S. case of mad cow disease in six years sparked fears of illness that prompted at least one major South Korean retailer to suspend the sale of American beef.

However, public health officials said the risk for disease for Americans is extremely low given that the affected dairy cow in central California was not part of the human food chain and was not exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) through animal feed.

"It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health," said John Clifford, the Agriculture Department's chief veterinarian.

Read the full story: "S. Korea curbs U.S. beef sales after confirmation of mad cow disease"

After Tuesday's announcement confirming a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), sometimes referred to as "mad cow disease," in a dairy cow in California, you may want a refresher course in mad cow basics.

It's important to keep in mind that U.S. health officials said the public risk posed by BSE is extremely low, and that residents don't need to take any specific precautions.

Here are the facts:
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The nation's fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), sometimes referred to as "mad cow disease," has been confirmed in a dairy cow in central California, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

The carcass was at a Baker Commodities Inc. rendering facility in Hanford, California, according to Executive Vice President Dennis Luckey.

The company renders animal byproducts and had randomly selected the animal for testing last Wednesday, he said.

"We are in the business of removing dead animals from dairies in the Central Valley," he told CNN in a telephone interview. "As part of that program, we participate in the BSE surveillance program."

Public health officials said the risk to public was extremely low.

The sample was sent to UC Davis for initial testing, which came back inconclusive. It was then sent to the USDA's laboratory in Ames, Iowa, where it tested positive, the agency said.
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"After double-dipping just a few times, researchers found 50 to 100 times more bacteria in the dip - and that was just from one mouth," says Sanjay Gupta.

We're gonna be waaaaaayyyyy over here with our own no-sharesies bowl of guacamole, thank you very much.

Poll: How you dippin'? | Recipes Dip, dip, hooray! | All Super Bowl food stories

Tune in to SANJAY GUPTA | MD every Saturday and Sunday at 7:30am ET on CNN.

A meal containing the world's most deadly mushroom is responsible for killing two people and sickening another in Canberra, Australian health officials said Friday.

The meal, which contained death cap mushrooms, was part of a private meal served at a restaurant on New Year's Day, the Australian Health Directorate said.

"The Health Directorate has been advised that the consumption of this food was for a private meal and no food containing the mushrooms was provided to the general public or anyone outside of this small group," the directorate said in a statement.

The restaurant, where the mushrooms were prepared, remains closed.

Read - Deadly mushrooms served as part of meal that kills 2, officials say

As it deals with fallout from its bankruptcy announcement, American Airlines is also facing the wrath of a family who claim their loved one died after eating a meal served by the carrier.

The wife and daughter of the late Othon Cortes of Miami are suing the airline and Sky Chefs for more than $1 million, alleging he ate food contaminated with bacteria during a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to New York.

The incident happened on May 18 after Cortes consumed an in-flight meal that allegedly contained chicken, according to a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in Miami.

Family: In-flight meal killed flier

We're sharing our time-tested Thanksgiving hosting tips and recipes, as well as plenty from chefs, hospitality experts, celebrities, hosts and home cooks we love. Our goal – sending you into Thanksgiving with a confident smile on your face, and seeing you emerge on the other side with your sanity intact.

This burning question just in from our PBnO-obsessed colleague Jo Parker:

My husband is freaking out over my desire to roast turkey at a lower-than-he-likes temperature. How low can we go? I was thinking 250-275°F. We usually do the Alton Brown method - temperature way hot for 30 minutes, then something lower for the rest of the time.

The reason Alton Brown - and a whole other slew of folks for that matter - crank up that oven temperature at the beginning is to get a crisp-skinned bird.

But just like there's no right way to mash potatoes, oven temperature is all about personal preference. If low-and-slow yields a tastier result in your honorable opinion, then giblets away!
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