Food labeling poll - Consumer Reports

Go here for a link to for a consumer poll on food labeling from Consumer Reports. The poll, issued Nov. 11, has some useful and interesting tables.

About the poll:


The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a telephone survey using a nationally
representative probability sample of telephone households. 1,001 interviews were completed among
adults aged 18+. Interviewing took place over October 23-26, 2008. The sampling error is +/- 3.2% at a 95% confidence level.


Here is one result that will grab you: more than 60% of consumers think the FDA should inspect domestic and foreign food facilities one time each month. Also, you will find stats on consumer confidence in the FDA, their opinion about traceback and recall authority.

Waxman defeats Dingell for House Energy & Commerce chair

Calif. Rep. Henry Waxman has wrested control of the House Energy & Commerce Committee from Rep. John Dingell of Michigan. Here is the link to coverage of Waxman's win.

Waxman figures to be more liberal than Dingell would have been - not only relating to fuel standards for automakers - but also relating to global warming legislation and possibly food safety regulations for the produce industry.


Here is WSJ analysis of Waxman. From the piece:

The soon-to-be ex-chair John Dingell (D., Mich.) may be a conservative on energy and auto emissions, but he has been one ornery activist for change at the FDA and the industries it regulates. But there may be little comfort for those pining for change. Waxman hasn’t been bashful about bashing the same folks.

From Waxman's site, his bio:

Representative Henry A. Waxman represents California's 30th Congressional District, which includes the complete cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu, Westlake Village and West Hollywood, as well as such areas of Los Angeles as Beverly-Fairfax, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Beverlywood, Topanga, Agoura, Chatsworth, West Hills, Canoga Park, and Westwood.

In 2007, Rep. Waxman became Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the principal investigative committee in the House. From 1997 to 2006, Rep. Waxman served as Ranking Member of the Committee, conducting investigations into a wide range of topics from the high cost of prescription drugs to waste, fraud, and abuse in government contracting. He formed a Special Investigations Division that prepared hundreds of investigative reports on local and national topics for Members of Congress.

Since 2001, Rep. Waxman has worked to oppose efforts by the Bush Administration to block congressional oversight and roll back health and environmental laws. He has launched investigations of White House ties to Enron, contract abuses in Iraq, and the politicization of science. He has also fought for disclosure of the names of the energy industry lobbyists who shaped the White House energy plan and filed suit to force the Administration to released "adjusted" data from the 2000 Census that corrects for the undercount of minorities. In addition, Rep. Waxman has repeatedly fought efforts by EPA to relax important air pollution and drinking water protections and by FDA to weaken enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

A leader on health and environmental issues, Rep. Waxman has fought for universal health insurance, comprehensive Medicare and Medicaid coverage, tobacco regulation, AIDS research and treatment, air and water quality standards, pesticide regulations, nursing home quality standards, women's health research and reproductive rights, affordable prescription drugs, and community rights to know about pollution levels.

Rep. Waxman has been involved in health issues since 1969, when he was appointed to the California State Assembly Health Committee. In Congress, Rep. Waxman has sponsored a long list of health bills that have been enacted into law. These measures include the Ryan White CARE Act, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act, the Safe Medical Devices Act, the Patent Term Restoration and Drug Competition Act, and the Orphan Drug Act.

Rep. Waxman has also passed legislation that improves the quality of nursing homes and home health services and that sets policy for childhood immunization programs, vaccine compensation, tobacco education programs, communicable disease research, community and migrant health centers, maternal and child health care, family planning centers, health maintenance organizations, and drug regulation and reform.

Throughout the 1980s, Rep. Waxman championed national health care reform and improvements in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. He successfully led the fight for improved prenatal and infant care for low-income families, for protection against impoverishment for the spouses of persons in nursing homes, and for more services in the community for people needing long-term care. He has also been an advocate for prescription drug coverage in Medicare for people with high drug expenses.

A longtime defender of the environment, Chairman Waxman most recently introduced the Safe Climate Act of 2006, which would set emissions targets to avoid dangerous, irreversible global warming. He was one of the primary authors of the 1990 Clean Air Act, which sets out a comprehensive program to combat smog, acid rain, toxic air emissions, and ozone depletions. Rep. Waxman also sponsored the 1986 and 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, the 1996 Food Quality Act (which regulates pesticides), the Radon Abatement Act, and the Lead Contamination Control Act.

Chairman Waxman is a leader in efforts to assist the elderly by providing them with opportunities for better health care through such programs as improved long-term nursing care and better housing and nutrition. A strong defender of the Social Security System, he fought moves to reduce benefits and to increase the retirement age. He was a co-author of legislation that abolished mandatory retirement for Federal employees and raised the retirement age in the private sector from 65 to 70.

From 1979 to 1994, Rep. Waxman chaired the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. He served as the Subcommittee's Ranking Member in 1995 and 1996. Rep. Waxman has also served on the Energy and Commerce Committee and sat on the Subcommittee on Health, the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Chairman Waxman has been a leading supporter of the right of women to have freedom of choice with respect to safe and legal abortions, including the full extension of this right to lower-income women who depend on the Medicaid program for health care. He has been at the forefront of efforts to stop any limitations on this right and strongly opposes the prohibition of federally funded clinics from offering abortion information and counseling.

Since coming to Congress, Chairman Waxman has earned the reputation of being an expert on Middle East policy and an effective proponent of American aid to guarantee Israel's security and survival.

Prior to his election to Congress, Rep. Waxman served three terms in the California State Assembly, where he was chairman of the Health Committee, the Committee on Elections and Reapportionment, and the Select Committee on Medical Malpractice. He was the author of such major legislation as the Fair Campaign Practices Act, the Fair Credit for Women Law, and the legislation establishing standards for Health Maintenance Organizations in California.

Henry Waxman was born September 12, 1939, in Los Angeles, and holds a bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA and a J.D. from the UCLA Law School. He and his wife, the former Janet Kessler, have a daughter and son-in-law, a son and daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren.

Nassif to Obama: Napolitano is excellent choice for DHS

Western Growers president Tom Nassif has written to president-elect Barack Obama, urging him to choose Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. In a release from Western Growers, Nassif is quoting writing Obama:

First, on behalf of Western Growers, let me once again congratulate you on your tremendous election victory. We look forward to working with your administration on behalf of our members who provide the majority of America’s fresh fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts – the best medicine in the world.

Secondly, I am writing to commend your consideration of Governor Janet Napolitano to serve as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As governor of a border state, Gov. Napolitano has an “on-the-ground,” practical understanding of immigration policy and border security. Indeed, over the years, Western Growers, whose members primarily operate in Arizona and California, has worked with the Governor on myriad immigration related policy issues including the Arizona employer sanctions law, port-of-entry improvements enhancing the flow of legal workers who commute daily from Mexico to our members’ fields here in the U.S., and streamlining of the H-2A agricultural guest worker program.

Moreover, Gov. Napolitano brings significant law enforcement experience from her stint as Arizona’s first female attorney general, experience that will serve your administration and this country very well in these precarious times. Finally, Gov. Napolitano possesses a moderate temperament that makes her an effective leader while fostering bipartisanship. In sum, I am certain that Gov. Napolitano will make an excellent Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and on behalf of our members I strongly encourage you to appoint her to this position in your cabinet.

Reports are circulating that Obama will indeed choose the Arizona governor.

Here is an article about Obama's strict vetting process for Cabinet appointees.

More coverage on Obama's Cabinet picks.

Another sell off!

Well, if my 60-something friends at the health club were watching CNBC today as they worked out on the treadmill, they saw the DJIA drop precipitously again, swooning by over 400 points. While we consider this, we wonder again; people gotta eat, but how will this affect the fresh produce sector?

Chile peso, stocks, fall
Year to date the peso has lost near 25 percent versus the dollar, which has surged in recent months on global recession fears compounded by an ongoing financial crisis.

"The worse part is that even though we know exactly when the problems began and why, we have no idea if we've touched bottom or when the recovery will begin. When it does, it's sure to be a long, slow process that will leave lots of victims," the trader added.

Stocks tumble for second straight day

"Unrelenting gloom has taken over the markets," said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Inc. "The economic news, the concerns about some major financial institutions, the concerns about the auto sector, earnings reports, everything is coming out in a way that is just provoking a massive selling in the stock market."

Paulson: Crisis happens once or twice every 100 years If it is any consolation...

Focusing the bailout program on infusing billions into banks -- and possibly other types of companies -- to pump up their capital and bolster lending to customers was deemed a faster and more effective approach to stabilizing the financial system than the original centerpiece of the plan, he said.

"There was no playbook for responding to a once or twice in a hundred year event," Paulson argued, saying he needed to shift strategy to respond to worsening financial and economic conditions.

Dems postponing crucial vote on auto bailout

The chief executives of the Big Three automakers appealed personally to lawmakers for the loans this week, and warned that their industry might collapse without them. In testimony, they said their problem was that credit was unavailable, and not that they were manufacturing products that consumers had turned their backs on.

But whatever support they found sagged when it became known that each of them had flown into Washington aboard multimillion dollar corporate jets. Reid observed that was "difficult to explain" to taxpayers in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev.

Lessons learned - FDA communications

As you may have observed if you are regular reader of Fresh Talk, I have been in the process of transcribing the WPPC-FDA meeting of Sept. 11. As I was doing so the other day, I observed FDA officials spoke of ongoing "lessons learned" relating to communications issues. I followed up with Sebastian Cianci, spokesman for FDA, about where the "lessons learned" process is. He replied by email:

FDA is still in the process of conducting a "lessons leaned" evaluation of our communications efforts during the Salmonella St. Paul outbreak. We are looking at a range of communication issues including: internal communication, communication with other government agencies, communication with members of industry and other stakeholders, and communication targeted toward media and the consumers.

TK: Not much to report at this point. I will be interested to see what the verdict is on communication of the exclusionary list of production areas - those regions free of implicated product in an outbreak investigation. My suggestion is that such an exclusionary list - while seemingly helpful to the trade - muddies the message to consumers and is too cumbersome for the media to handle well. Better to tell us where the implicated product is from, I believe, and the sooner the better.