Timeliness is relative. So says the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the agency for its failure to implement and enforce in a timely fashion new regulations outlined in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). In a motion filed November 30 in US District Court in the Northern District of California, the FDA argues that the suit, filed August 29, 2012 by the Center for Food Safety, should be dismissed for two reasons: first, that how quickly the FDA and the Office Of Management and Budget act is not for the courts to decide and second that the delay hasn't been unreasonable. Revamping food safety regulations on a half million food facilities worldwide that produce $417 billion of domestic and $49 billion of imported foods overseen … [Read more...]
Sunland Says Shutdown After Salmonella Outbreak Unexpected
Sunland Inc., the peanut butter maker at the heart of a massive recall and Salmonella outbreak, says its shutdown by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this week was "unexpected" and that it hopes to resume operations soon. Under its first use of authority granted by the Food Safety Modernization Act, the agency on Monday suspended the company’s food facility registration, prohibiting it from doing business. The suspension follows an outbreak linked to peanut butter produced at the company's plant in Portales, NM that has sickened at least 41 people in 20 sates, a massive recall involving more than 250 products- including peanut buter that was used to make sandwiches served to children through the National School Lunch Program; and five-year history of food safety … [Read more...]
Food Safety in the Global Food System
On November 7, 2012, USDA Deputy Commissioner Michael R. Taylor spoke at the China International Food Safety and Quality Conference and Expo on ensuring consumer confidence in food safety in today's global food system. He said that consumer confidence is the foundation for global food trade. According to Taylor, consumers know that food is not risk free, but they also expect that everyone involved in the food industry is making a reasonable effort to prevent problems and make food safe. The food industry must commit to taking responsibility for food safety and enact a comprehensive systems approach, from farm to table, to make that happen. We need credible and effective government oversight, public-private collaboration and partnership, and transparency from both industry and … [Read more...]
U.S. PIRG: American Lives at Risk from Unsafe Foods
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which is the federation of state PIRGs, has released a new report stating that food recalls are on the rise and our food safety systems are broken. Contaminated food makes 48,000,000 Americans sick every year, hospitalizes 128,000 and kills 3,000. Those illnesses rack up more than $77,000,000,000 in economic costs. We are deliberately using numbers rather than writing "million" and "billion" to accentuate the seriousness of this situation. Nasima Hossain, Public Health Advocate for U.S. PIRG said, "every year we see hundreds of food products recalled, because they have caused sickness and in some cases death. 2012 has already seen nearly twice as many illnesses due to recalls as 2011, with high-profile recalls of cantaloupes and hundreds of … [Read more...]
Consumer Groups Sue Obama Administration Over Stalled FSMA Regulations
Two consumer groups have sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the delay in implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Four critical regulations have been delayed at OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for more than eight months, making the Act "unlawfully delayed for more than a year and a half," according to the complaint. FSMA was signed into law in January 2011, but the FDA has failed to put seven food safety regulations into effect. The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court on Thursday, August 30, 2012 by the Center for Environmental Health and the Center for Food Safety. Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, said in a statement, "if the Obama administration … [Read more...]
FDA Releases Annual Food Safety Report to Congress
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its annual Food Safety Report to Congress this week. The report covers the duties of the FDA over the past year, and is mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010. The FDA works with many federal agencies, including the CDC, EPA, USDA, FSIS, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Defense, OSHA, the FTC, and Department of Homeland Security. According to the Report, the FDA spent $189.5 million to inspect food facilities. FDA inspection of domestic facilities cost $131.3 million, and inspection of foreign facilities cost $33.2 million. In addition, $25.1 million was provided to individual states to conduct inspections for the FDA. In FY 2011, high-risk food facility inspections cost an average of $21,100 , and … [Read more...]
Coalition Urges President to Release FSMA Rules
On Tuesday July 17, 2012, a coalition of foodborne illness victims and food safety organizations called Make Our Food Safe asked President Obama to release key food safety rules that are stuck at the Office of Management and Budget. The rules, part of the 2010 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), cover produce safety, packaged food safety, and imported food safety. The administration says that the rules are complicated and that the review of the rules is a lengthy process. But representatives of the Pew Health Group, STOP Foodborne Illness, and the American Academy of Pediatrics say they are outraged that these critical rules have not been released. Erik Olson of the Pew Health Group said that the delays are causing real problems. In fact, he said, "the FDA recently sent a letter to … [Read more...]
Consumer Federation of America Urges Release of Delayed Food Safety Proposals
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) announced yesterday that it is urging the Obama Administration to issue four food safety rules, part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), that have been delayed for more than two months. The rules were due on January 4, 2012, one year after the President signed FSMA into law. Food Poisoning Bulletin has reported before on the FDA missing deadlines implementing FSMA. In February, the White House announced an extension for the new proposals, with no estimated date of completion. The rules are held in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The regulations deal with: Preventive controls for food Preventive controls for animal feed Produce safety Imported food safety Chris Waldrop, of CFA's Food Policy … [Read more...]
Budget Cuts Affect Food Safety and Public Health
The USDA just released the Food Safety Modernization Act One-Year Progress Report, which details initial steps for implementation, information on mandates which were met, changes in communication and outreach, and reports to Congress. This is all good news. But the Truth for America's Health group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in their report "Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism" released late last year, said that state and federal budget cuts are hampering America's food safety system. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which was passed in 2010 and signed into law by President Obama in January 2011, was the first major legislation that addressed the United States food safety system since the 1906 Pure Foods Act was updated … [Read more...]
Food Safety Modernization Act in 2012
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 was signed into law by President Obama in January 2011. Some of the statutes in that law are going into effect in 2012. The government has already completed some tasks: A consumer-friendly, easy-to-search web site for product recalls was launched. The Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE), dedicated to rapid response of foodborne illness outbreaks was created. A new agency, the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance, was established to train companies about the new rules and regulations. Draft guidances for many new regulations were issued for the public's comment. Final guidance on egg safety and other products were published. This law was the first significant new legislation on food regulations and safety … [Read more...]
