The Obama Administration “is not ‘confirming’  food safety consolidation,” the subscription news service The Hagstrom Report now says. The newsletter reports:

“Although Jeff Zients, who is now White House Office of Management and Budget director, said recently that consolidation of food safety agencies would be one of those “addressed in subsequent, specific proposals,” an OMB spokeswoman has told The Hagstrom Report that the administration has not confirmed which areas of the government might be consolidated beyond the consolidation of the six business agencies that was announced last week.”

In his Wednesday edition, newsletter author Jerry Hagstrom wrote, “A number of agriculture industry and consumer advocates reacted negatively to the idea of consolidating the 12 agencies.”

Hagstrom reported that the administration does not plan to put forward further proposals until Congress reinstates the president’s authority to consolidate agencies.

OMB spokeswoman Moira Mack told Hagstrom the administration has “not confirmed specific areas for future consolidation beyond the one announced by the president.”