"The deadly Salmonella outbreak linked to Indiana-grown cantaloupe in 20 states is the latest in a series of foodborne illness crises that underscore the need to implement rules in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Pew Health Group told Food Safety News on Tuesday."
"Parts of FSMA -- signed into law by President Obama in January 2011 -- require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to establish a number of food safety rules, including new standards for growing fruits and vegetables. Those rules were originally supposed to come out at the beginning of 2012, but eight months later, they are still languishing behind government doors.
The current snag in the process is at the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the cabinet-level office that assists in preparing the federal budget. After FDA drafted its rules, it sent them for review to the OMB, which is now still in the process of reviewing and revising them.
In the meantime, the public has not seen exactly what these rules might entail or how they will work. While consumers and food safety experts wait for the rules to come out, more preventable produce outbreaks keep cropping up, Pew said."
James Andrews reports for Food Safety News August 22, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"Health Safety Advocates Seek Name of Ind. Farm That Recalled Melons Amid Salmonella Outbreak" (AP)
"Salmonella Linked To Indiana Cantaloupe Blamed for Two Deaths" (Politics blog/Washington Post)
To Be Broadcast on NPR at 10:06 am ET, August 22, 2012
"Delays In New Food Safety Regulations" (Dianne Rehm Show)
