Meat recall - Different problem, same solution

We will hear much more about the need for a single food safety agency in the months ahead. From the office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro:


Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), chairwoman of the Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement regarding the recall of 5.3 million pounds of beef sold in Kroger supermarkets because of possible E. coli contamination. The recalled beef, which has been tied to 44 illnesses, including one case of kidney failure, was initially found in stores in Michigan and Ohio, and has expanded to New York, Kentucky and Indiana.

“Today, we have another foodborne illness outbreak involving a different food product, a different pathogen, and a different government agency with jurisdiction. Unfortunately, consumers are stuck with the same consequence – more illnesses as a result of a collapsing food safety system with the inability to prevent, identify or contain these outbreaks.

“The report released this week by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified some of the critical elements of an effective food safety system, using other countries systems as examples. But perhaps the most important finding from the report is that it presented independent verification that an effective food safety system could be established under a single food safety agency.

“With these endless outbreaks, the Administration continues to ignore the lessons that are constantly presented to them on how to fix our food safety system. It is time to start learning these lessons that the rest of the world seems to understand perfectly well and implement a food safety system that focuses on the entire food supply chain. I will hold a hearing in two weeks that will hold these federal agencies accountable for their failure to protect Americans from foodborne illnesses like salmonella and E.coli and outline how these problems might be solved.”