The Obama administration has reportedly issued a tough warning that it will substantially change the way government oversees food safety. According to published reports, food-handling practices that formerly would have resulted in mild warnings from FDA may now lead to wide-ranging and expensive recalls.“ The food industry needs to be on notice that FDA is going to be much more proactive and move things faster,” David Acheson, FDA associate commissioner for food protection, was quoted as saying. “We’re going to try to stop people from getting sick in the first place, as opposed to waiting until we have illness and death before we take action.” Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report April 9 claiming the nation’s food safety system needs a thorough overhaul and that even though cases of Salmonella may be increasing, their incidence is not statistically significant. The system should be overhauled,…
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Bumble Bee Foods, LLC has filed a complaint in federal court against the company that made the food-sterilization system used to process Castleberry hot dog chili sauce that, in 2007, was contaminated with Clostridium botulinum and led to a nationwide recall of under-processed products. Bumble Bee Foods, LLC v. Malo, Inc., No. 09-042 (S.D. Ga., filed March 26, 2009). Alleging negligent design, failure to warn and negligence, Bumble Bee describes the factory-equipment defect that resulted in incomplete sterilization of its subsidiary’s canned foods. The food manufacturer claims that its 2007 product recall, a two-month plant shutdown and a number of claims filed by individuals who purportedly contracted botulism as a result of eating the tainted products cost the company in excess of $40 million. The complaint alleges that the defendant was aware of the defects “but took no steps either to correct these defects or to advise Bumble Bee or…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers to avoid eating all pistachio and pistachio-containing products after a California-based processor issued a voluntary recall for its entire 2008 crop due to suspected Salmonella contamination. Meanwhile, the agency has praised Kraft Foods Inc. for demonstrating how the country should handle food safety issues. Kraft voluntarily notified FDA after one of its suppliers, Georgia Nut Co., discovered Salmonella on its pistachios during routine testing and traced the tainted products to Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc, the nation’s second-largest pistachio processor. “You can call it a fluke, you can call it good luck, or you can call it good judgment on the part of Kraft,” David Acheson, FDA’s associate commissioner on food safety, was quoted as saying. “They’re not required to tell us. They did and we’re moving on it.” See Foodproductiondaily.com, March 31 and April 3, 2009; The Associated Press, April 2,…
