Former heads of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testified yesterday that more must be done to protect our nation’s food safety. The statements came the same day the FDA announced that it had created a new position – termed the Food Safety Czar by members of Congress – to coordinate food safety efforts. Bloomberg
FDA Seeks Injunction of Seafood Processor
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it is seeking a permanent injunction against Worldwide Fish & Seafood, Inc. (Worldwide Fish), Suzanne Weinstein, its president and owner, and Timothy A. Lauer, its general manager. Worldwide Fish does business as Coastal Seafood, a seafood processor located at 2330 Minnehaha Avenue, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The
Executive intelligence review
The Executive Intelligence review has a great article on the FDA cutbacks leading to more US food poisoning.
A single food safety agency?
An editorial in today’s New York Times illustrates the need for a single government agency responsible for food safety:
It should not take a health crisis to force a reorganizing of America’s food safety apparatus, and there are good reasons to reorganize in a deliberate manner, without a sense of emergency. This is not just
FDA Faults Food Warning System
Looks like it is time for a new system. From the Associated Press:
"A warning system meant to alert food companies in the event of a food poisoning outbreak failed one-third of the time in a recent government test. The Food and Drug Administration was able to reach an emergency contact for a food
US Government responds to calls for single food safety agency
Richard Raymond, the USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety yesterday addressed food and restaurant industry groups. According to an article from the Associated Press:
Combining food safety agencies "is an unnecessary solution," Raymond told an audience of supermarket and restaurant industry executives Wednesday. "The USDA and the FDA have a long history of working together very
No stomach for tougher food oversight
The Washington Post reports that it took a book called "The Jungle," a grim assessment of work inside slaughterhouses, plus a campaign by labor unions, medical professionals and consumer groups, to pressure Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act on the same day in 1906.
The food industry was opposed to legislative and regulatory oversight then, as it is in many instances today. That is despite periodic instances of bad publicity, such as that accompanying the recent discovery of fresh spinach contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The increased complexity of agriculture and distribution systems, the influx of foods from all over the world and threats to the meat supply such as mad cow disease haven’t shaken the resistance of most producers and sellers to major modification of the U.S.’s food-safety system.Continue Reading No stomach for tougher food oversight
New coalition urges more money for FDA
USA Today reports that industry, consumer and patient groups and the last three secretaries of the Health and Human Services department are joining forces to lobby for more money for the Food and Drug Administration.
Former HHS secretary Tommy Thompson and Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer group, are to announce the creation of the Coalition for a Stronger FDA at a news conference today.
The FDA is part of HHS, and "former secretaries probably understand the problem better than anybody else," Thompson, HHS secretary in President Bush’s first term, said Sunday.Continue Reading New coalition urges more money for FDA
Managing food safety
Per an FDA News Release, there is no doubt that you, the state, local, or tribal health inspector, play a significant role in reducing foodborne illness in your jurisdiction, yet your job can be overwhelming at times due to diminishing resources, increasing workload with limited staff, and growing liability. Many of you are continually forced to reassess your priorities due to increased media attention on food safety, threats from emerging pathogens, and food security, while being challenged to do more with less while maintaining your professional integrity.
Continue Reading Managing food safety
FDA issues guidelines for fresh-cut produce
The Monterey County Herald reports that the Food and Drug Administration has issued its first set of safety guidelines for the way fresh-cut produce companies process bagged salad, apple slices and cut celery sticks.
The release of the guidelines follows a scathing November letter in which the FDA urged fresh-cut producers to do more to protect consumers from food-borne illness outbreaks. Eight outbreaks have been traced to Salinas Valley lettuce and spinach in the past decade, according to the FDA.Continue Reading FDA issues guidelines for fresh-cut produce