Food Poisoning: Federal Government Tightens Food Safety Standards
Federal officials have announced new rules aimed at reducing food poisoning outbreaks--especially salmonella and E. Coli infections that have been commonly occurring in the United States over the last two years or so. According to an Associated Press news report, a food safety panel established by President Obama has developed new safety standards for foods such as eggs, poultry, beef, leafy greens, melons and tomatoes, as well as for better coordination and communication among the agencies that oversee the nation's food supply. The recent string of breakdowns in our country's food safety system led to a surge in food poisoning cases.
Thousands of Americans were sickened and many killed as a result of these outbreaks involving spinach, peanut butter, pistachio nuts, beef and other contaminated food products. Earlier this year, a massive salmonella outbreak in peanut products sickened hundreds nationwide and led to nine deaths. Just this last month, Nestle Toll House cookie dough and 380,000 pounds of beef produced by Colorado-based JBS Swift Co. were recalled because of E. Coli contamination.
How will these new rules and new safety standards ensure better food safety? Here are some of the highlights of this new plan:
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will help the food industry help set up better tracing methods to track the origins of a bacterial outbreak.
- Communication between the different federal and state agencies that regulate food safety will be improved.
- Egg and poultry producers must follow new standards to reduce salmonella contamination.
- The Food Safety Inspection Service will step up sampling of ground beef ingredients to better detect E. Coli contamination.
- The FDA will work with food producers to reduce contamination in vegetables
- Food safety agencies will hire more inspectors and create more positions to oversee food safety
It's about time the federal government not only introduced such new rules, but also made sure they are enforced. The Obama administration must keep up its promise to hire more inspectors. Without manpower to enforce them, these new regulations are worthless. I'm pleased that the government is taking the step in the right direction. It may be too little too late for the food poisoning victims who have suffered serious personal injury because of these bacterial outbreaks and for those American families that lost loved ones to these illnesses. But hopefully, it is one of the first steps to regulate our food safety system, which as of now requires major reform.
If you or a loved one has been afflicted with food poisoning, please contact an experienced food-poisoning lawyer who will protect your rights and inform you about your legal options. You would also be well-advised to file a report with your local health care agency.
