Resource Center

Stories

The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast.

These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need.

Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:



Search results for "health food" ...

  • CHE: Scientists Shilling for Beef Industry

    Agriculture school scientists are singing the praises of drugs that supersize beef cattle-- even though the resulting meat is tough and tasteless. The drugs' effects on animal health, human health, and the environment are even less appetizing. Guess who is sponsoring their research.

    Tags: agriculture; beef cattle; meat; animal health; food safety

    By Melody Petersen

    Chronicle of Higher Education (Washington, D.C.)

    2012

  • Denticaid: Medicaid Dental Abuse in Texas

    A nearly two-year-long probe of Medicaid dentistry by WFAA’s Byron Harris discovered what authorities now say is a system of corporate fraud, propelled by Wall Street. News 8 found taxpayer money has gone to finance lavish lifestyles of dentists who have billed the government for unnecessary orthodontics and other procedures that, in many instances, harmed children. WFAA also uncovered a network of Medicaid recruiters who, for at least one clinic, lured children into a van with cash and food, had them sign their parents' names on treatment forms, then performed extensive and unnecessary work on their teeth without their parents’ permission. The FBI is currently investigating this and other Medicaid fraud schemes brought to light by WFAA's reporting.

    Tags: Medicaid; dental health; fraud; corruption

    By Byron Harris, investigative reporter; Billy Bryant, photographer and video editor; Jason Trahan, producer; Mark Smith, producer

    WFAA-TV (Dallas)

    2012

  • Hot Trucks

    Amidst widespread reports of food safety recalls and food borne illness outbreak, WTHR's "Hot Trucks" exposed a gaping hole in the safety net of our nation's food supply. The 6-month investigation revealed tons of meat, seafood, dairy products, produce, and other perishable food items are transported to grocery stores and restaurants every day under unsafe and unsanitary conditions that pose a serious health threat to millions of Americans.

    Tags: Food Safety

    By Bob Segall; Cyndee Hebert; Bill Ditton; Steve Rhodes

    WTHR-TV (Indianapolis)

    2011

  • Champaign Pest Inspection

    The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District conducts about 1,300 inspections of restaurants and other food-service facilities next year. But, unlike many other health departments in the area and across the U.S., the district does nothing to publicize the results of these inspections.

    Tags: health inspection; food inspection; health department

    By Dan Petrella; Jennifer Wheeler; Pam Dempsey; Steve Contorno

    CU-CitizenAccess.org

    2011

  • "Physicians on Pharma's Payroll: Educators or Marketers?"

    This story focuses on doctors as industry speakers and their relationship with pharmaceutical companies. The pharmaceutical companies claim to choose speakers based on expertise, but further investigation shows that many of the hired physicians have "serious transgressions on their state records." They also tend to be "high prescribers" of the company's products.

    Tags: pharmacy; prescriptions; Geodon; Pfizer; antipsychotic drugs; pharmaceutical companies; Department of Health; New York; Food and Drug Administration

    By Ailsa Chang; Gisele Regatao

    WNYC

    2010

  • ESPN Outside the Lines:What's Lurking in Your Stadium Food

    Health department inspection reports for food and beverage outlets at stadiums and arenas home to Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League, and National Baseball Association teams showed that more than half of them had been cited for a "critical" or "major" health inspection.

    Tags: sports; stadium; arena; stadium food; health; safety; food preparation

    By Paula Lavigne; Lindsay Rovegno; Dwayne Bray; Ronnie Forchheimer; Chris Buckle

    ESPN (Television Network) (Bristol, CT)

    2010

  • "Their Crime, Your Dime"

    Following several tips on possible "government waste," and schemes that target Seattle taxpayers, KING-TV produced this series of three stories titled "Their Crime, Your Dime." The team exposed how merchants operated a "broad scheme" that allowed citizens to convert their food stamps into cash. Another story revealed how "welfare recipients" were spending millions of "taxpayer cash in the state's casinos."

    Tags: food stamps; taxpayer; welfare; State Department of Social and Health Services; ATM; casino; public records; black market

    By Chris Ingalls; Kellie Cheadle; Steve Douglas; Mark Ginther

    KING-TV (Seattle)

    2010

  • "Mercury taints skin lighteners"

    The Tribune decided to investigate a tip found in a New York Times story that suggested mercury might be present in certain beauty products. The Tribune tested 50 different skin-lightening creams purchased from various locations around Chicago and found that six contained enough mercury to be banned by federal law. When used over time, mercury can be cause health problems, including kidney damage.

    Tags: mercury; skin-lightening cream; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; FDA; FOIA; Mercury Policy Project; EcoWaste Coalition

    By Ellen Gabler; Sam Roe

    Chicago Tribune

    2010

  • Senior Insecurity

    One of the most expensive health and human services program in California was designed to help the elderly and disabled afford basic necessities. The program, which costs “almost three billion dollars”, is covered by taxpayers. But when you look on the streets, you will see a number of elderly people living there because they aren’t able to pay for food and shelter. The issue that arises is how the money is being spent and whether the program is working or not.

    Tags: Supplemental Security Income (SSI); state budget cuts; money; income; federal government; Department of Social Services

    By Kelley Weiss

    Capital Public Radio (Sacramento, Calif.)

    2009

  • Atalissa

    For three decades a dozen mentally disabled men have been living together. Their living conditions were nowhere near ideal; they lived in a run-down bunkhouse and worked full-time in a turkey processing plant. They normally made about “$65 a month”, but sometimes received as “little as 40 cents an hour”. The series revealed possible “human trafficking, abuse and neglect, and financial exploitation of the mentally disabled”.

    Tags: Henry's Turkey Service; US Department of Labor; health inspectors; mistreatment; West Liberty Foods; Muscatine County

    By Clark Kauffman

    Register (Des Moines, Iowa)

    2009