FDA seeks advice to improve tracking of produce

Source: AP

Prompted by this summer's salmonella outbreak, the government has begun investigating how to quickly identify the source of contaminated food and stop it from getting to consumers.

. . .

The Food and Drug Administration has asked companies and consumers to recommend ways to improve the tracing of produce throughout the distribution system. Agency officials said the large number of food recalls and food-borne illnesses of recent years is a sign that health officials are better at finding problems.

"We are going to see more of these (outbreaks) rather than fewer," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "We just need to respond sooner when they do occur."

One of the questions the FDA is asking is whether an identifier should be assigned to fresh produce, and if so, at what stage in the supply chain. The industry agrees with that concept, said Kathy Means of the Produce Marketing Association. She said it is in the industry's best interest to quickly track problems.

"They have every incentive to want to do this," Means said.

Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/politics/story/961086.html

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Some advice
One, stop gutting FDA departments and closing down labs
Two, hire someone in charge who cares about consumers
Three, fire all GOPers who are just there to party on taxpayers' dime

Oh yeah, and labeling would be great.

Gives me massive indigestion.

And then re-staff agencies with people who, you know, actually know about stuff. Extra points for avoiding and firing people who loathe the very agency where they're employed. Hire real public servants instead of "heck of a job, brownie" types.

I think the qualified people have largely resigned or retired from most federal agencies. One tires of having a bruised head after a while.

Stop gutting the FDA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower

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Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to government whistleblowers when, in the case of Garcetti v. Ceballos, 04-473, it ruled that government employees did not have protection from retaliation by their employers under the First Amendment of the Constitution.<2>

The free speech protections of the First Amendment have long been used to shield whistleblowers from retaliation by whistleblower attorneys. In response to the Supreme Court decision, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007. President George W. Bush, citing national security concerns, promised to veto the bill should it be enacted into law by Congress. The Senate's version of the Whistleblower Protection Act (S. 274), which has significant bipartisan support, was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on June 13, 2007. However, it has yet to reach a vote by Senate as a hold has been placed on the bill by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).<3> According to the National Whistleblower Center, Coburn's hold on S. 274 has been done to further President Bush's agenda.<4>

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