There has to be a better way than S.510.
If passed, the misnamed Food Safety and Modernization Act would authorize the FDA to tell farmers how to grow their crops...
So. Won't it prevent stuff like the salmonella-egg problem?
Not likely.
...over-regulation—not a lack of regulation— is largely to blame for the recent outbreak of salmonella. According to the Wall Street Journal, “USDA graders pointed to increasingly unsanitary conditions at Wright County Egg — but that the agriculture agency didn’t flag the problems to the FDA…”
Classic "silo" problem.
In the end, the $1.4Bn cost of the new regs will be passed to the consumer at the grocery store, of course, and the small-time truck farmers will be smacked hardest.
It would be better if a new Congress looked at the problem.
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3 comments:
The cost of the bill is puny in comparison to the cost that foodborne illness incurs upon Americans each year.
As for the conditions at Wright County Egg, the USDA graders required the sanitation conditions be clean up before they grade. Each issue was taken care of at the time. Regardless, the source of the Salmonella was not in the building that graders visited. It came from the feed mill, which is why two facilities (Wright Co. and Hillandale Farms) were effected. If this bill passes, the FDA will be required to visit feed mills more frequently. They will also have the authority to request company records that might reveal positive tests for pathogens.
The cost of the bill is puny in comparison to the cost that foodborne illness incurs upon Americans each year.
You have peer-reviewd numbers? Then come up with a cite.
You're right: the FDA screwed up. That's why we need MORE FDA, huh?
So because one government agency (USDA) visiting an offending farm wasn't communicating to another government agency (FDA) the answer is... more government?
yeesh...
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