FDA QA

As a weekend feature, I've posted a recording of the March 12 FDA press conference here. You can get an insight on some of the questions the press had for the FDA about the voluntary guidance for the fresh cut industry. Particularly, you will see some are puzzled a) why it took so long, and b) why it isn't mandatory. There is much unresolved as to what the FDA should do for the produce industry. Clearly, FDA officials said they are committed to a national approach to food safety as opposed to limiting their scrutiny to California only.


This March 16 editorial from The Toledo Blade voices some of the concerns:


It took the FDA six years to come up with "guidelines" to minimize food-borne disease rather than mandatory standards industry would be obligated to abide by, indicative of the weak regard for public safety held by the Bush Administration. The guidelines are a flaccid response to widely publicized - and deadly - incidents of food poisoning around the country caused by E. coli in salad greens like lettuce and spinach and salmonella in fresh tomatoes. The FDA's argument that mandatory measures would be too costly for industry is unpersuasive, inasmuch as tougher safety standards are being implemented in California by Western Growers, a trade group that markets about half the fresh produce sold in the United States and most of what comes from the Golden State.