''As recently noted on these pages, Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, did a great job introducing and shepherding the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Safety and Innovation Act ("FDA reform a triumph for patients and jobs in Michigan," July 11). It ensures patient safety while speeding the federal approval process for life-saving medications and medical devices.
This significant legislation will improve the lives of patients nationwide and is the rare example of Congress rising above partisan bickering to act in the public interest. Now that same kind of bold leadership is needed to help ensure that the food we put on our tables is safe.
Congress must move on funding the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act, which was signed into law in January of 2011 but has yet to be fully implemented. And the Obama Administration must issue new rules. Bureaucratic foot-dragging has hijacked improved food safety standards for long enough.
Neogen Corp. has helped lead the charge for better food safety testing for 30 years, developing diagnostic tests and products for food allergies and pathogens.''
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''Clearly it's time for Congress to fund and implement the first comprehensive update to food safety laws in more than 70 years. The act provides that food manufacturers implement and record regular tests that ensure food safety guidelines are being met.
Current widespread drought conditions in this country mean increasing amounts of our food will likely be imported, a situation that heightens the potential for contaminated food getting to our tables. A recent CDC report found that the number of food-borne illnesses linked to imported food is increasing. The FDA must have the resources necessary to combat this threat to public health.
James Herbert, CEO, Neogen Corp., Lansing''
In January 2011, President Barack Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law, signaling the first major update to our nation’s food safety oversight framework since the Great Depression. Despite widespread support for the legislation and its implementation, the Obama administration still has not issued all of the proposed rules under FSMA.
More info"The Food and Drug Administration will not reduce food inspections because of budget cuts, despite warning earlier that it could be forced to eliminate thousands of inspections by Sept. 30."
More info"Twenty-two weeks. That’s how long it took federal health officials to determine the contaminated food source after the first person was infected in a 2011 outbreak of salmonella that swept across 34 states, sickened 136 people and led to one of the largest national recalls of ground turkey."
More infoAn examination of a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to ground turkey illustrates that health authorities must be more aggressive in their efforts to detect and respond to foodborne illnesses, according to a new report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, titled “Too Slow: An Analysis of the 2011 Salmonella Ground Turkey Outbreak and Recommendations for Improving Detection and Response.” In all, the contaminated food sickened a reported 136 people in the United States, hospitalized 37 and killed one, according to government data.
More infoA multistate outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections linked to ground turkey in 2011 sickened 136 people, causing 37 hospitalizations and one death. The Pew Charitable Trusts' analysis of the outbreak found numerous inadequacies in the foodborne illness surveillance system that, if addressed, could help to prevent illnesses and, in some cases, deaths.
More info"Six years ago, Bend resident Chrissy Christoferson's ten-month-old son suffered a ten-day struggle with what first appeared to be a touch of the flu."
More info"Portlander Joe Day tearfully recalled the year his family spent Thanksgiving in a hospital cafeteria, as his sister, suffering from e coli, fought for her life several floors above."
More infoMy name is Jennifer Exley, and I reside in Centennial, Colorado. I am the daughter of Herbert Stevens, who was deeply impacted by listeria-contaminated cantaloupe in August 2011. As you well know, 147 people were sickened and 33 people died in that outbreak — the deadliest in 25 years. My father was one of the so-called lucky survivors. His health and quality of life was, and remains, seriously affected because of something he ate.
More info''Several hundred farmers, regulators and consumers from Alaska to North Dakota to California gathered in Portland on Wednesday to listen to federal plans to overhaul the food safety system."
More infoThe Obama administration has taken an important step by releasing the draft rules central to implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), but it must do more. Important draft regulations focused on the safety of imported foods are still awaiting release. These rules are especially important since about two-thirds of fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of seafood consumed in the United States come from abroad.
More infoOn Thursday, February 28 and Friday, March 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold public hearings in Washington, D.C., on FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) draft rules released earlier this year. The public will also have the opportunity to testify at agency meetings in Chicago and Portland on March 11-12 and March 27-28, respectively.
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