FDA to Update Food Safety Rules

David Rowell — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:00:02 GMT

Dismayed consumers saw story after story break in 2008 about food safety and the FDA's struggle to cope with domestic and foreign food contaminants: Salmonella, Listeria, Clostridium and other bacterial contaminants in food, lead in the wrappers of imported Mexican candy, melamine in cookies and other products produced in China. The list goes on and on; the FDA's "Recalls, Market Witdrawals and Safety Alerts Archive" lists over 275 incidents during 2008, many for food contaminats.

Numerous causes for the problem have been identified: the expanded scope of FDA's duties, the lack of any meaninful increase in FDA's inspection budget, the increase in the quantity of imported food and the absence of any meaningful update to FDA's "good manufacturing" standards.

Whatever the cause, consumers have been demanding solutions and, apparently, the FDA has heard. The FDA has announced that it will update current food processing safety rules in order to increase the level of protection. The FDA plans a survey of almost 3000 food processing plants, targeting what the FDA says are five key areas: employee training, sanitation and personal hygiene, allergen controls, process controls, and recordkeeping.

It's none too soon for the FDA to address this critical issue.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Salmonella Danger from Dry Pet Food

David Rowell — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:10:58 GMT

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that, despite reports and recalls in 2007, eight new cases of Salmonella poisoning in humans from contaminated pet food were identified in 2008.

Salmonella, as many people know by now, is a microorganism, a "germ," that can infect food products. When humans eat the contaminated food, they can get sick; in some cases, very sick. Symptoms can be flu-like, including bloody diarrhea. The most common victims are young children, who may handle dry pet food or put dry pet food in their mouths.

According to the CDC, it identified 79 cases, mostly children, of Salmonella poisoning in 2006-2007, in 21 stataes. All the cases were linked to dry pet food produced by one manufacturer, Mars Petcare US, in a plant in Everson, Pennsylvania. Although the manufacturer closed the plant in 2007 to clean and disinfect, these new cases, linked to the same plant, have resulted in the facility's permanent closure.

In 2007 the manufacturer recalled all petfood suspected to be contaminated with Salmonella. In September 2008, following the latest cases, another recall was conducted, involving approximately 23,109 tons of dry pet food, representing 105 brands. However, since not all supplies were returned and, since dry pet food has a shelf life of 1 year, the CDC says stocks could still be in homes, creating a danger to consumers. The CDC requests that consumers who have these products discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Fresno Personal Injury Lawyer - Food Poisoning

FDA to Update Food Safety Rules

Salmonella Danger from Dry Pet Food