In part three of USA TODAY’s investigation into the quality of government-bought food for school lunches, we examine how its standards for microbial testing of school lunch beef are less stringent than those employed by fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Jack In the Box and KFC.
We also write about “spent hens” — birds that are past their egg-laying prime. Tough and stringy, these old birds typically are turned into pet food or compost. But egg producers struggling to find a market for all of them have had help from the federal government:
From 2001 though the first half of 2009, USA TODAY found, the government spent more than $145 million on spent-hen meat for schools — a total of more than 77 million pounds served in chicken patties and salads. Since 2007, 13.6 million pounds were purchased.
Both stories were heavily informed by analysis of data sets obtained from the USDA under the Freedom of Information Act. They included hundreds of thousands of orders from a federal inventory system and about 150,000 results of microbial tests of beef destined for school lunches.
Prompted in part by our series but also by last week’s recall of beef by a company we identified in Part Two of our series, one lawmaker has called for the government to investigate a supplier to the school lunch program. From another story of ours today:
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to “undertake a comprehensive examination” of the facility, Beef Packers, to “identify and correct any major problems” before it produces more beef.
To see all the stories in our series thus far, click here.
Dec 9, 2009 | Analysis
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Today, my colleagues Blake Morrison, Peter Eisler and I published the second part of our investigation into the safety of food used in the National School Lunch Program. Today’s installment focuses on a California firm that kept receiving government contracts even after it had been suspended from the program several times — twice because of failure to produce ground beef that was free of salmonella.
When the firm, Beef Packers, recalled beef last summer because of a salmonella outbreak in 11 states, the government decided not to recall beef made for school lunches that the company made around the same time:
The recall, announced by the government Aug. 6, covered only ground beef sent to certain retailers. In the days after it was announced, government and company spokesmen said meat sent to schools was not included. Documents obtained by USA TODAY through the Freedom of Information Act reveal a more complicated story — one that raises questions about whether the government took adequate steps to ensure that meat it bought for schoolchildren during the same period was safe.
To get at the story, we filed FOIA requests for several government data sets. They included the results of hundreds of thousands of microbial tests conducted by the USDA as well as a dump from an inventory system the government uses to track orders for the school lunch program.
Update, 12/7/2009: Morrison and Eisler report that Beef Packers issued its second recall this year for beef tainted with salmonella.
Dec 2, 2009 | Analysis
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Never underestimate the value of a compact guide to math, especially if you’re one of those journalists who thought you could avoid numbers by becoming a writer. You shouldn’t — understanding numbers will help you get stories others miss because of innumeracy.
One of the handiest resources I’ve found — and recommended just this week to a roomful of colleagues — is Sarah Cohen’s “Numbers in the Newsroom.” It’s a 108-page guide that covers the basics on percent change, rates, graphics, probability and much more. Cohen is a Pulitzer-winning former Washington Post staffer and one-time training director for Investigative Reporters and Editors. She’s now at Duke University, where she is the Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy.
The book is a few years old, but its lessons are timeless. You can pick it up through IRE’s online store.
Have your own math book recommendations? List them below …
Nov 14, 2009 | Analysis
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This morning, my colleagues and I at USA TODAY launch part one of a three-day series on NCAA football coaches contracts. The centerpiece is a database analysis by my teammate Jodi Upton, who worked with the sports staff to collect and analyze hundreds of documents. My contribution is the database programming behind our interactive graphic.
Among the key findings, straight from today’s lead story:
– At least 25 college head football coaches are making $2 million or more this season, slightly more than double the number two years ago.
– The average pay for a head coach in the NCAA’s top-level, 120-school Football Bowl Subdivision is up 28% in that time and up 46% in three years, to $1.36 million.
– Our first look at the salaries of assistant coaches finds many approaching and even exceeding presidents’ compensation and most eclipsing that of full professors.
Nov 10, 2009 | Analysis
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When Daniel Craig hit theaters last year in Quantum of Solace, the 22nd film in the James Bond spy series, his ability to dispatch bad guys (and charming good looks, no doubt) helped it earn $168.4 million. That was enough to rank Solace among the top 10 grossing films of 2008.
But how did Solace fare against the rest of the Bond canon, which stretches back to 1963′s Dr. No? The answer depends on whether you adjust for inflation.
We all know that the price of a loaf of bread isn’t what it used to be. The cost of consumer goods tends to rise each year, except during downturns or various calamities. So, taking inflation (or deflation) into account is the only way to meaningfully compare dollar amounts over time.
There are plenty of apps just for this. The Bureau of Labor Statistics offers one basic calculator, and there’s another at this site. They’re fine for a quick check, but I’d rather do my own calculations. A web app might not have the latest data. And if you’re adjusting more than a couple of amounts, using a spreadsheet will save time. Here’s an exercise from Bond-land:
(more…)
Nov 1, 2009 | Analysis, Census, Excel
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Here’s a question I posed to some college students recently:
Let’s say you cover the Town of East Middleburgtown. The mayor announces that this year’s town budget comes in at $12.6 million. Last year’s budget was $11.4 million. What is the percent change? Better yet, what’s the formula for figuring it out?
If you don’t know the answer, or how to obtain it, you’re not alone. This kind of problem — which is in my son’s 7th grade math textbook — routinely stumps most journalists in most of the newsrooms across America.
I’ll avoid the temptation to moralize here. If you’re a journalist — if you have a pulse — you need to know this very basic operation. With it, you’ll have the power to analyze all kinds of data and even double-check the mayor’s math.
Here it is:
(the_new_number - the_original_number) / the_original_number
or, in the case of East Middletownburg:
Remember (and you learned this in fifth grade) that operations in parentheses come first. That gives you this:
1.2 / 11.4 = .105 = 10.5%
So, the mayor’s new budget is a 10.5% increase over last year’s. Now you have something to write about!
Oct 14, 2009 | Analysis, Excel
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