DeLauro does well to seek food safety

5/10/07
Federal officials Tuesday said some farmed fish have been fed meal spiked with the same chemical linked to a recent pet food recall; the contamination was probably too low to harm anyone who ate the fish, though. The same day, Cracker Barrel restaurants pulled hamburgers from dozens of locations after a woman reported finding a piece of metal in her patty. A few months back, Americans by the thousands gave up on spinach in the wake of an E. coli scare; peanut butter also had its contamination worries.
Americans are taking notice of their nation’s inefficient, ineffective food safety apparatus, and lawmakers are right to take action. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, says the nation’s inspection programs need an immediate overhaul, calling for an independent bureau to take over the task from the 15 separate federal agencies now charged with the job.
DeLauro has highlighted the issue at a time when war and politics dominate the headlines, but there’s never been a better time to push for change. People are nervous, and rightfully so — every glimpse into the convoluted and serially understaffed world of America’s food safety net makes us yearn for the time when everything edible was grown within a day’s walk.
Those days are long past, and our corporate food chain is big business. But people count on the government for basic services, and keeping contaminated food out of grocery stores — or out of the country — is high on that list.
But it just isn’t happening. According to reports, the federal Food and Drug Administration, which handles most food safety inspections, had enough workers in 2006 to check only about 1 percent of the 8.9 million imported food shipments. Domestic produce is no better; U.S.-grown ingredients are just as likely to slip through the regulatory net.
So DeLauro is right to take action. It’s only a matter of time before a food-borne illness is not caught in time and hundreds of people are sickened or killed. Getting a firm grasp on food safety in this country is in everyone’s best interest.