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DeLauro calls for FDA to tighten produce safety rules
Friday August 31, 2007Danbury News-Times
By Peter Urban
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro called Thursday for the Food and Drug Administration to strengthen safety guidelines for fresh-cut produce in the wake of another spinach recall.
"It is time for the FDA to renew their commitment to their mission of protecting the public health, and make a declarative statement that the goal is to prevent food-borne illness, not just to react when outbreaks occur," said DeLauro, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture.
Earlier this week, a California distributor voluntarily recalled bagged spinach after it tested positive for salmonella.
No reports of illnesses have been linked to the spinach distributed under the label Metz Fresh. The recall, however, comes almost a year after three people died and 200 were sickened from spinach contaminated with E. coli.Last year's outbreak promoted the FDA to warn Americans not to eat fresh bagged spinach until the spinach contamination was traced back to a specific processor. The incident prompted stricter monitoring procedures by growers and processors, and stepped-up inspections by California health officials.
DeLauro said the federal government missed an opportunity last year to step up its efforts to protect consumers from tainted food. In March, the FDA suggested that fresh-cut processors consider adopting a state-of-the-art safety program designed to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to acceptable levels the microbial, chemical and physical hazards associated with food production.
FDA has also launched a national program to have state agencies adopt more uniform and high-quality regulatory programs for the manufacturing, processing, packing or holding of food.The recall covers 10- and 16-ounce bags, and 4-pound cartons and cartons that contain four 2.5-pound bags, with the following tracking codes: 12208114, 12208214 and 12208314. It covers 8,118 cases of spinach, although the company said more than 90 percent of those cases were on site and would not be shipped out.
"As soon as we learned of the presumptive positive test, we directed all customers to hold all boxes of the spinach affected as a precaution. Now, with this positive test confirmation, there is no question that we would recall and destroy all spinach bearing these three codes," Andrew Cumming, president of Metz Fresh, said.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., vice chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Metz Fresh acted responsibly to recall the spinach but the federal government should have the authority to mandate such recalls.
"Every new outbreak of contaminated food illustrates the need for comprehensive reform of the food safety system in the United States," she said.
DeGette plans to introduce legislation that would give the government the authority to force a recall and require the FDA to establish a product-tracing system to enable faster recalls.
By Peter Urban
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro called Thursday for the Food and Drug Administration to strengthen safety guidelines for fresh-cut produce in the wake of another spinach recall.
"It is time for the FDA to renew their commitment to their mission of protecting the public health, and make a declarative statement that the goal is to prevent food-borne illness, not just to react when outbreaks occur," said DeLauro, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture.
Earlier this week, a California distributor voluntarily recalled bagged spinach after it tested positive for salmonella.
No reports of illnesses have been linked to the spinach distributed under the label Metz Fresh. The recall, however, comes almost a year after three people died and 200 were sickened from spinach contaminated with E. coli.Last year's outbreak promoted the FDA to warn Americans not to eat fresh bagged spinach until the spinach contamination was traced back to a specific processor. The incident prompted stricter monitoring procedures by growers and processors, and stepped-up inspections by California health officials.
DeLauro said the federal government missed an opportunity last year to step up its efforts to protect consumers from tainted food. In March, the FDA suggested that fresh-cut processors consider adopting a state-of-the-art safety program designed to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to acceptable levels the microbial, chemical and physical hazards associated with food production.
FDA has also launched a national program to have state agencies adopt more uniform and high-quality regulatory programs for the manufacturing, processing, packing or holding of food.The recall covers 10- and 16-ounce bags, and 4-pound cartons and cartons that contain four 2.5-pound bags, with the following tracking codes: 12208114, 12208214 and 12208314. It covers 8,118 cases of spinach, although the company said more than 90 percent of those cases were on site and would not be shipped out.
"As soon as we learned of the presumptive positive test, we directed all customers to hold all boxes of the spinach affected as a precaution. Now, with this positive test confirmation, there is no question that we would recall and destroy all spinach bearing these three codes," Andrew Cumming, president of Metz Fresh, said.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., vice chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Metz Fresh acted responsibly to recall the spinach but the federal government should have the authority to mandate such recalls.
"Every new outbreak of contaminated food illustrates the need for comprehensive reform of the food safety system in the United States," she said.
DeGette plans to introduce legislation that would give the government the authority to force a recall and require the FDA to establish a product-tracing system to enable faster recalls.