U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has introduced a bill (S.3767) that would “hold violators of food safety standards accountable for their crimes.” The Food Safety Accountability Act would establish a new offense in the criminal code by making it unlawful for any person to knowingly introduce or deliver tainted or mislabeled food into the nation’s food supply. Among other things, it would allow federal prosecutors to seek prison sentences of up to 10 years. The proposal has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Tag Archives food safety
Consumer groups recently released a report urging the U.S. Senate to pass its version of a food safety bill (S. 510) in light of a recent egg recall linked to foodborne illness. Published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Consumer Federation of America, the report examines “85 recalls that have taken place in the year since food safety reform moved to the U.S. Senate.” The U.S. House of Representatives passed its food reform bill (H.R. 2749) on July 30, 2009. “The recalls involved tons of foods, including many name-brand products from more than 150 companies,” according to the report, which purportedly found that a majority of the recalls involved Salmonella and Listeria. “While most of the recalls were not connected to outbreaks, illnesses were associated with nine recalls that together were associated with 1,850 reported illnesses.” “Recalls and…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that as of September 1, 2010, the agency handed over several responsibilities to the departments of Health (DH) and Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Under the restructuring—which does not currently apply to operations to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—FSA in England will continue to handle the following safety aspects of food labeling: (i) “expert scientific advice on the food safety aspects of date marking”; (ii) “assessment and labeling of ingredients/foods with food safety implications (e.g. allergens, glycols, high caffeine, high glycyrrhizinic acid)”; (iii) “food safety aspects of organic food and of foods controlled by compositional standards”; (iv) “treatments and conditions of use with food safety implications (e.g. quick frozen foods, raw drinking milk and pasteurisation, food contact materials)”; (v) “GM and novel foods (including use of nanotechnology)”; (vi) “animal feed, including Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Animal Feeding”; (vii) “food safety…
Responding to media reports that workers at the egg facilities linked to a recent nationwide Salmonella outbreak complained about food safety problems, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has written to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack asking whether these complaints were investigated and whether the agency has a process for reporting safety violations. Grassley acknowledges that USDA places only non-food safety personnel at egg farms to grade the eggs. Still, he asks whether “there is an established process for USDA employees to report food safety concerns to the FDA [Food and Drug Administration, which has the responsibility for food safety] when they fall outside of USDA’s jurisdiction?” According to press reports, two former Wright County Egg facility employees said they told USDA employees that they had observed problems such as leaking manure, rodents and dead chickens at the facilities. They also apparently claimed that USDA employees “would just turn…
President Barack Obama (D) recently announced his intention to “recess appoint” Elisabeth Hagen as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) under secretary for food safety. According to a White House press release, Hagen is among four key administrative nominees who have waited an average of 303 days for Senate confirmation. Obama said he chose to appoint all the nominees while Congress was away on its August recess in accordance with his “authority to do what is best for the American people. At a time when our nation faces so many pressing challenges, I urge members of the Senate to stop playing politics with our highly qualified nominees and fulfill their responsibilities of advice and consent.” Hagen is currently the USDA’s chief medical officer and senior executive within USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was quoted as saying that Hagen’s background “will enable her to successfully lead…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that meat from a cloned cow’s offspring has evidently entered the food supply, sparking concerns about the country’s livestock registration and tracking requirements. The agency apparently traced four female and four male calves to a cloned Holstein cow from the United States. According to FSA, farmers have not sold any milk from the three surviving females but have slaughtered the bulls and sold three for human consumption. “While there is no evidence that consuming products from healthy clones, or their offspring, poses a food safety risk, meat and products from clones and their offspring are considered novel foods and would therefore need to be authorized before being placed on the market,” stated FSA in an August 11, 2010, news release, adding that food producers who purchased such animals or their offspring “will need to seek authorization under the Novel Food Regulations.” See…
The UK Department of Health (DH) has announced its intention to preserve the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a non-ministerial authority responsible for food safety policy and enforcement. According to a July 20, 2010, press release, DH will take over England’s nutrition policies, including those related to (i) food labeling and health claims; (ii) dietetic food and food supplements; (iii) calorie information in catering establishments; and (iv) product reformulation to reduce salt, saturated fat, sugar, and portion sizes. DH will also conduct nutrition research and work with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will handle country-of-origin labeling, other types of non-food-safety labeling, and food composition policies used to characterize products such as honey, jam, chocolate, and ice cream. On matters of food safety, however, advice from FSA experts “would be final.” The authority will also retain oversight of nutrition and…
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is reportedly the next target of the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government and Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley, who has released a white paper pledging to cut the National Health Service (NHS) and abolish quasi-governmental organizations “that do not need to exist.” Although a structural plan published alongside the paper recommends reforms to the food safety watchdog, media reports have cited unidentified sources as suggesting that Lansley plans to eliminate FSA and reallocate its duties to the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Food, Rural Affairs and the Environment (Defra). DH, however, has countered these claims, maintaining that under the proposed reorganization, FSA would relinquish its oversight of nutrition policy but continue to serve “a robust regulatory function.” See The Guardian, July 12, 2010; DH Press Statement, July 15, 2010. The rumor has drawn swift criticism from consumer and health groups such…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced two public meetings with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hear stakeholder input on collective efforts to reduce illness, harm and death from contaminated food. Extensions of an initial workshop held in March 2010, the meetings will be held July 21, in Chicago, Illinois, and October 20 in Portland, Oregon. Presentations are expected from consumer groups, industry, public health experts, and state and local regulators on recommended measures for assessing food safety performance. CDC, FDA and FSIS will present information on the Food Safety Working Group’s “charge to create meaningful metrics to measure the effectiveness of the nation’s food safety system,” according to USDA. The agencies will also “present current thinking, focusing on how these metrics might be applied to evaluate the success of FDA’s shell…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that its Science Board will hold a public meeting on August 16, 2010, in Bethesda, Maryland. Tasked with advising officials on “specific complex and technical issues, as well as emerging issues within the scientific community in industry and academia,” the board keeps pace with “technical and scientific evolutions in the fields of regulatory science.” At this meeting, it will hear a subcommittee’s final report on research at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), as well as discuss the agency’s nanotechnology research program, among other agenda items. FDA has stated that it intends to make background material available on its website “no later than [two] business days before the meeting.” The agency will also accept written data submissions on or before August 9, 2010, and proposals for formal oral presentations on or before August 2, 2010. See Federal Register, June…
