Monday, November 29, 2010

Food Safety Bill Coming to a Vote

In Sunday's New York Times, Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser co-wrote this op-ed urging the Senate to approve the proposed FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Here are some excerpts from their column:
The bill would, for the first time, give the F.D.A., which oversees 80 percent of the nation's food, the authority to test widely for dangerous pathogens and to recall contaminated food. The agency would finally have the resources and authority to prevent food safety problems, rather than respond only after people have become ill.

The bill would also require more frequent inspections of large-scale, high-risk food production plants.
And if you believe food safety worries are a thing of the past, consider this egg scare, this nut scare and this beef scare -- all within the last 18 months.