Hearing coverage

Coverage of yesterday's House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigation subcommittee on food safety is extensive on the Web, but mainly based on a single reporter, Andrew Bridges of the Associated Press.

From the AP:
From the story:

Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter put a human face on recent high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness Tuesday, urging lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation's food supply.

``I can't protect them from spinach - only you guys can,'' said Michael Armstrong, as he and his wife, Elizabeth, cradled daughters Ashley, 2, and Isabella, 5.
The two girls fell ill - Ashley gravely so - in September after eating a salad made with a bag of the leafy greens contaminated by E. coli.


TK: The families of those sickened were effective witnesses, though perhaps lawmakers' penchant for asking leading questions made them appear to be just props at times. This version of the story focused entirely on the testimony of the victims and the reaction of lawmakers, though some longer versions include reference to Natural Selection's testing program.