Mike
Well-known member
Jolley: Do You Mind If I Say, "I Told You So?"
In most cases, I love being right. In this case, I would love to be wrong. On April 12, I wrote an editorial headlined, "We're Blessed With The Safest Food Supply In The World"
It started this way: "If you think this is a "flag-waving, high-fiving, I'm proud to be an American" salute to the quality of the U.S. food supply, do yourself a favor and stop now. You're going to be sorely disappointed."
My point was painfully easy to make. We've taken our political eye off the issue of food safety and, in the process, lost the right to make that claim. Last week, the two agencies that carry the responsibility of checking our food supply stubbed their political toes and proved my point beyond a shadow of a doubt. Today, two news reports spelled out some serious FDA and USDA shortcomings.
Mike Nizza, writing "Putting the 'F' Back in F.D.A." for the New York Times, quoted Robert Brackett, Director. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration. Brackett justifiably pointed out "We have 60,000 to 80,000 facilities that we're responsible for in any given year." Explosive growth in the number of processors and the amount of imported foods means that manufacturers "have to build safety into their products rather than us chasing after them."
Perhaps not understanding the duty of the FDA, Brackett took a stubbed toe and, attempting to put his foot in his mouth, missed completely and gave the FDA a black eye by saying, "We have to get out of the 1950s paradigm."
In other words, put complete trust in those 60,000 to 80,000 facilities to do the right thing every time, all the time. Bobby, my boy, if we could do that, we wouldn't need the FDA and its enormous overhead. The 1950s paradigm is an imperative paradigm
The agency must have "complete scientific proof of what is responsible for the (spinach and peanut butter) outbreaks," according to Marian Burros of The Times. And 'complete scientific proof', is an unsure thing that can be debated for years by hired guns while hundred, if not thousands, are exposed to deadly and preventable food borne illnesses.
The result is hamstrings all around. Burros said the FDA did little more than "offer nonbinding guidelines for avoiding contamination in March, a step that was called "disappointing" by a leading House member on food safety, who thought it only told manufacturers "what they already know."
Dr. Mark B. McClellan, urged Congress to "give the F.D.A. the resources it needs," including an increase in the $10.6 million in additional funds proposed in the Bush administration's 2008 budget.
Then John Gregerson, Meatingplace editor, struck the second blow. In a piece written for the meat industry publication's afternoon e-newsletter, he wrote, "No sooner did members of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service endure a scathing session with the House Agriculture Subcommittee on the issue of food-borne illness last week than they were confronted with a pair of major recalls on Friday, both involving outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7."
Wait a minute! Hadn't we solved that E. coli thing long ago?
Gregerson, following up on the Calistoga Little League baseball snack shack e.coli attack on April 3 noted that Richwood Meat Co. voluntarily recalled more than 100,000 ponds of frozen ground beef patties associated with the outbreak. The frozen patties were distributed to discount grocers and institutional foodservice providers in five Western states.
At almost the same time, HFX Inc. voluntarily recalled almost 260,000 pounds of beef after discovering a positive test for E. coli in eastern Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Health linked HFX's steaks to a March outbreak at Hoss's Family Steak and Sea Restaurants.
Although FSIS claims unchanging or decreasing figures among plant samples, the CDC and the Government Accountability Office say a third of U.S. meat plants weren't inspected last year.
Gregerson said Richmond VP Steve Wood refused to discuss Friday's recall with Meatingplace.com. Wood did tell other members of the media that the blame for Friday's recall rests with his company's suppliers. "It's supposed to be clean, but they are picking out [only] little samples here and there," he said.
The "safest food supply in the world?" Not hardly. Not even close. It's time to combine the USDA and FDA under one roof and adequately fund the new organization. But here's the agonizing political truth. Not until there is an outbreak of a food borne illness on a monumental scale will our politicians find the backbone to make it happen and our major food processors grudgingly give up their "right' to police themselves.
In most cases, I love being right. In this case, I would love to be wrong. On April 12, I wrote an editorial headlined, "We're Blessed With The Safest Food Supply In The World"
It started this way: "If you think this is a "flag-waving, high-fiving, I'm proud to be an American" salute to the quality of the U.S. food supply, do yourself a favor and stop now. You're going to be sorely disappointed."
My point was painfully easy to make. We've taken our political eye off the issue of food safety and, in the process, lost the right to make that claim. Last week, the two agencies that carry the responsibility of checking our food supply stubbed their political toes and proved my point beyond a shadow of a doubt. Today, two news reports spelled out some serious FDA and USDA shortcomings.
Mike Nizza, writing "Putting the 'F' Back in F.D.A." for the New York Times, quoted Robert Brackett, Director. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration. Brackett justifiably pointed out "We have 60,000 to 80,000 facilities that we're responsible for in any given year." Explosive growth in the number of processors and the amount of imported foods means that manufacturers "have to build safety into their products rather than us chasing after them."
Perhaps not understanding the duty of the FDA, Brackett took a stubbed toe and, attempting to put his foot in his mouth, missed completely and gave the FDA a black eye by saying, "We have to get out of the 1950s paradigm."
In other words, put complete trust in those 60,000 to 80,000 facilities to do the right thing every time, all the time. Bobby, my boy, if we could do that, we wouldn't need the FDA and its enormous overhead. The 1950s paradigm is an imperative paradigm
The agency must have "complete scientific proof of what is responsible for the (spinach and peanut butter) outbreaks," according to Marian Burros of The Times. And 'complete scientific proof', is an unsure thing that can be debated for years by hired guns while hundred, if not thousands, are exposed to deadly and preventable food borne illnesses.
The result is hamstrings all around. Burros said the FDA did little more than "offer nonbinding guidelines for avoiding contamination in March, a step that was called "disappointing" by a leading House member on food safety, who thought it only told manufacturers "what they already know."
Dr. Mark B. McClellan, urged Congress to "give the F.D.A. the resources it needs," including an increase in the $10.6 million in additional funds proposed in the Bush administration's 2008 budget.
Then John Gregerson, Meatingplace editor, struck the second blow. In a piece written for the meat industry publication's afternoon e-newsletter, he wrote, "No sooner did members of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service endure a scathing session with the House Agriculture Subcommittee on the issue of food-borne illness last week than they were confronted with a pair of major recalls on Friday, both involving outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7."
Wait a minute! Hadn't we solved that E. coli thing long ago?
Gregerson, following up on the Calistoga Little League baseball snack shack e.coli attack on April 3 noted that Richwood Meat Co. voluntarily recalled more than 100,000 ponds of frozen ground beef patties associated with the outbreak. The frozen patties were distributed to discount grocers and institutional foodservice providers in five Western states.
At almost the same time, HFX Inc. voluntarily recalled almost 260,000 pounds of beef after discovering a positive test for E. coli in eastern Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Health linked HFX's steaks to a March outbreak at Hoss's Family Steak and Sea Restaurants.
Although FSIS claims unchanging or decreasing figures among plant samples, the CDC and the Government Accountability Office say a third of U.S. meat plants weren't inspected last year.
Gregerson said Richmond VP Steve Wood refused to discuss Friday's recall with Meatingplace.com. Wood did tell other members of the media that the blame for Friday's recall rests with his company's suppliers. "It's supposed to be clean, but they are picking out [only] little samples here and there," he said.
The "safest food supply in the world?" Not hardly. Not even close. It's time to combine the USDA and FDA under one roof and adequately fund the new organization. But here's the agonizing political truth. Not until there is an outbreak of a food borne illness on a monumental scale will our politicians find the backbone to make it happen and our major food processors grudgingly give up their "right' to police themselves.
