More money and reorganization are often offered as solutions when deficiencies turn up in government.
This time, food regulation by the Food and Drug Administration has come up short. In a lengthy report released on April 8, Politico depicted FDA’s food regulation and outbreak response as slow and inept.
On
Continue Reading Consumer groups, industry tell FDA Commissioner change is needed
Food Safety News was the first to hire Helena Bottemiller Evich to cover food safety in Washington D.C., during the run up to the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act. She had energy and made contacts easily. Quickly, she was an expert in areas of the government, up
Continue Reading Letter from the Editor: Time to cut food safety free
Dr. Susan Mayne of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition was scheduled to speak to the Alliance for a Stronger FDA Tuesday morning, the first such appearance since the Politico newspaper called her out.
Politico reported that Mayne, the director of the Center, reports directly to the
Continue Reading FDA’s recently maligned CFSAN director speaks out in defense of budget
Recalls are being issued worldwide for powdered infant formula, including Similac, following the announcement of recalls in the United States and Canada.
Those recalls include actions in Singapore and New Zealand and are related to an outbreak in the United States that has seen at least four children hospitalized. One
Continue Reading Many countries received recalled infant formula linked to outbreak; one death under investigation
The folks who write POLITICO’S Agriculture Tip Sheet were celebrating an anniversary Tuesday. Not their own, but the one-year anniversary of USDA’s proposed organic aquaculture standards being hung up in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House. 
A fish farm at Dospat
Continue Reading One year later, White House still sitting on organic aquaculture standards
Last week, former Food Safety News Washington, D.C., correspondent Helena Bottemiller Evich reached a bold conclusion — namely that the Obama administration has missed out on the opportunity to include food safety in any legacy it can claim. Writing now for POLITICO Pro Agriculture, Helena turned out a “must-read” piece
Continue Reading Letter From the Editor: Legacy or Not, FSMA Funds Needed Now
As the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) final decision regarding country of origin labeling (COOL) looms, industry is asking Congress to prepare for a judgment against the U.S. “With little potential for quick Congressional action after a WTO final adjudication, we request that Congress authorize and direct the Secretary of Agriculture
Continue Reading Groups Jockey for Position Ahead of Final WTO Decision on COOL
Journalists have long used the term “thumbsucker” to describe a piece that was usually fairly long and obvious yet still pulled together some story that was worth telling but didn’t have to be told today. “Schedule that thumbsucker from Davis to top the B section on Sunday,” I was ordered
Continue Reading Letter From the Editor: Two ‘Thumbsuckers’ Worth Reading
