Kathleen Merrigan, who recently left her role as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said this week she is concerned about the negative impact the Food Safety Modernization Act could have on small- and medium-sized farms. According to a report by AgriPulse, Merrigan made the remarks at CropLife America’s National Policy… Continue Reading
Take a moment to consider some of the foods found in a supermarket: eggs, tomatoes, coffee — maybe even chocolate chip peppermint brownie ice cream. Now, try to imagine all the steps and processes that food went through to get all the way to those shelves. While the ice cream likely went through more processes… Continue Reading
Opinion
This article was co-authored by Dr. Kathleen Vidoloff, Emergency Risk Communication Officer for Oregon Public Health Division, and Dr. Jean O’Connor, former Oregon Deputy Public Health Director. One of the many roles of public health is to protect consumers from threats like foodborne outbreaks. Much of this hinges on quickly getting out clear messages to… Continue Reading
Just two months after the White House warned that across-the-board budget cuts, known as the sequester, could have dire consequences for the country, in part because they could weaken food safety protections, it seems food safety has escaped the worst of the impact. According to the Obama administration, the sequester could have resulted in 11… Continue Reading
You, the consumer, are at the end of a long line of stops food makes before reaching your plate. Being able to trace this food back to its origins can be crucial to government and industry during a food-related recall or outbreak. But you may also want to know whether what you are about to… Continue Reading
Opinion
In writing about food safety for the past four years, I’ve come to appreciate those times when government, industry and consumers are all on the same page. It’s at those moments that a bipartisan Congress adopts reforms like the Food Safety Modernization Act. Then there are times when government, industry and consumers are not on… Continue Reading
While the Obama administration continues to make it clear that it will look to registration, inspection, and import fees to fund food safety efforts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the future, much of the food industry continues to make it known that they are downright opposed to the idea. The president’s FY… Continue Reading
Responding to multiple stakeholder requests, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning to extend the comment period on the produce safety rule beyond May 16, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said on Thursday. “We appreciate that these are complex rules to go through and we do intend to extend the comment period so we can… Continue Reading
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering extending the May 16 comment deadline on the produce safety rule in response to multiple requests by stakeholders, an agency official said Monday. “That’s seriously being considered,” said James Gorny, the agency’s Senior Adviser for Produce Safety, when asked about the possibility of an extension during a… Continue Reading
The Obama administration is requesting cuts at most agencies in its 2014 budget, released on Wednesday, but seeking a significant increase in funding at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help the agency implement the monumental Food Safety Modernization Act. While the administration’s budget is very unlikely to be enacted, it underscores the White… Continue Reading
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced this week it is extending the deadline for comments on a 300-page traceability report put together by the Institute of Food Technologists for another 90 days to July 3. As Food Safety News reported last month, the report, which looks at two pilot projects, was mandated by the… Continue Reading