Food safety remix

Here is the news release about the reintroduction of the Safe Food Act.

From the release:

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) today renewed their effort to consolidate food safety oversight in this country by reintroducing their Safe Food Act – legislation that calls for the development of a single food safety agency and the implementation of a food safety program to standardize American food safety activities.

Later in the release:

“From the E. coli outbreak that pulled spinach off store shelves to the Taco Bell outbreak that sickened X of individuals, it is clear that our food safety structure is collapsing and endangering public health,” said DeLauro.

And concluding:

The new agency created by the lawmakers’ bill – dubbed the Food Safety Administration – would be the first of its kind, free from the entanglements of past regulators who have had to balance food safety with the competing priorities of drug approval or agriculture promotion.
Some of the new responsibilities under the Food Safety Administration include:
· Regular, but random, inspection of all food processing plants.
· Categorized review process for all foods to monitor and inspect them based on their risk, not their name.
· Increased oversight of imported foods.
· Established requirements for tracing foods to point of origin


TK: Nothing in this world is free of entanglements, least of all a new sprawling bureaucracy that seeks to pluck power and money from long established agencies. Should be quite a ride in Congress this year.