Get news about budget cuts and food safety.
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has called for providing the FDA with the funds it needs to fully implement the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA). The Senate appropriations committee passed a bill that fell short of the monies needed. The vote was along party lines. Durbin said that the huge recall of Aspen Foods … Read more
A new study conducted at the University of Washington School of Nursing has found that local government spending on food safety and sanitation programs affects the number of illnesses occurring in surrounding areas. Researchers looked at 11 years of data from county health departments in Washington state and New York. In Washington state, cuts to … Read more
The huge spending bill passed by Congress last week cuts $93,000,000 from the Women Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). That program gives low-income mothers and children vouchers for food that meets nutrition guidelines. WIC has been one of the most successful government programs in history. Both WIC and SNAP add money to … Read more
Several health advocacy groups have written a letter, asking Congress to add $50 million to the FDA’s fiscal year 2015 budget to full fund implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA). FDA has estimated that it needs an additional $300 million over the next few years to fully implement the law, which was … Read more
Food & Water Watch has released a statement critical of President Obama’s 2015 budget, which cuts the USDA’s budget for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) by $9.3 million as part of the “Modernization of Poultry Inspection Rule”. Food safety experts call this “The Filthy Chicken Rule”. Last year, the government’s own Government Accountability … Read more
This morning, a message on the U.S. Department of Agriculture web site reads: “Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available. We sincerely regret this inconvenience. After funding has been restored, please allow some time for this website to become available again.” The USDA web site has been shuttered because … Read more
In Healthcare News released by the Laboratory Science, Policy, and Practice Program arm of the CDC, officials say that the sequester has hindered the investigation of the cyclospora outbreak that has sickened more than 600 Americans in 22 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has had to slash $285 million from its … Read more
The Agriculture’s Undersecretary for Food Safety, Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, said that there will be 11 days of unpaid leave required of food inspectors to meet the budget cuts that were imposed as part of the sequester on March 1, 2013. She spoke at the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on March 13, 2013. The furloughs will … Read more
The Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has released a report titled “When Good Food Goes Bad: Strengthening the U.S. Response to Foodborne Disease Outbreaks.” It is designed to improve the country’s ability to respond to large foodborne illness outbreaks. The authors identify emerging trends in outbreak response and recommend ways … Read more
Last week Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated in a press conference that sequestration could lead to temporary layoffs of federal meat inspectors. That action would stop meat and poultry processing in this country for that time period. The meat industry responded to this statement by arguing that the USDA is “legally obligated” to provide inspectors … Read more