FDA unveils voluntary food safety rules (key word: "voluntary")

[brentspeak]

(Only in the Brave New World of corporate lobbying, and with Bush as President, could this happen.)

By LIBBY QUAID, AP Food and Farm Writer 2 hours, 21 minutes ago

March 11, 2007

WASHINGTON - The government has new rules for preventing food poisoning in fresh-cut produce, but companies don't have to follow them.

Fruit and vegetable-related outbreaks of food poisoning are on the rise and in recent months have struck in spinach, tomatoes, lettuce and cantaloupes.

In the new, voluntary rules, announced Monday by the Food and Drug Administration, fruit and vegetable processors are urged to adopt food safety plans similar to those in the meat industry.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070312/ap_on_he_me/food_safety

[Dr.Phool]

1. They'll volunteer to do exactly nothing.

This crap about voluntary regulations is insane and ineffective.

This is what they mean by smaller government. No rules, no enforcement.

[Karenina]

17. Americans do nothing, eat the shit

and die...

[OhioChick]

2. Key Phrase...

"but companies don't have to follow them."

[sakabatou]

3. Expect more salmonella illnesses and/or deaths

[Proud Liberal Dem]

22. You mean "VOLUNTARY" salmonella illnesses and/or deaths!!!

[Robbien]

4. I don't expect any rules developed by this GOPer ruled FDA

would ever be strict enough to keep the public safe. In fact, most companies are probably keeping stricter safety plans than the GOPer ruled FDA would ever have the nerve to suggest.

[pinniped]

5. Hey, voluntarily is the key!

The POS* wants companies that emit pollutants into our air and waterways to voluntarily control theirs, too.

[fooj]

6. Voluntary? What a joke.

[kestrel91316]

7. I buy almost all my produce (organic of course) at the farmer's market.

I don't buy "processed" produce, lol. I don't want more than an absolute minimum of people handling my food before I do.

It's basic food hygiene.

[rfranklin]

8. Wasn't it the organic spinach grower that caused the last ourbreak?

Wasn't it pig shit leaking into the fields of something like that?

[AllegroRondo]

15. They believe it was wild pigs

which is why the new guidelines include fencing around farms, and growing produce at least 50 feet from fences.

[kestrel91316]

18. I believe the "organic grower" rumor was completely debunked.

IIRC it was a conventional LETTUCE grower, and it was cow manure from a factory feedlot or dairy operation, tracked into the fields by wild pigs.

Factory farming's failure to fence off and contain their own mess is what caused this.

Organic farmers don't let raw waste from ANY livestock anywhere near their crops.

[kineneb]

9. welcome to the year 1900

when there were few food safety laws...the Neo-Cons just love the "gilded age" when the corporations were the owner/operators of the US...and they have been trying to drag us back there...

[struggle4progress]

10. Next! Voluntary speed-limits! Coming soon "Voluntarily refrain from killing your neighbor" laws!

[depakid]

11. All this does is create an incentive NOT to comply

because by complying, corporations give their shoddy competitors a comparative advantage.

It's almost like these idiots never took a basic econ, science or history class....

[w4rma]

13. Exactly. Voluntary rules are *always* broken by the shrewd buisnessman. (nt)

[LiberalFighter]

12. Will these FDA regulators voluntarily eat food that doesn't meet the standards?

And will the owners of companies eat the same food that doesn't meet the standards?

[Odin2005]

14. "Voluntary regilations" is an oxymoron.

It's a euphemism for "making fools think we are doing something."

[gratuitous]

16. Dole's dilemma

"Gee, we could follow these voluntary rules and make sure what we send to market is wholesome and safe. That would cost money, and some of my product wouldn't make it to market. Or . . . I could toss the voluntary rules in the garbage, a few people would die, but I'd make a lot more money. And I'll just pass the cost of paying off the families of the deceased by raising the price on bananas by a nickel a pound. If things get really hot, I'll just retire and have my friends on the board vote to give me several million dollars severance. What to do, what to do?"

[rman]

19. Next up: voluntary traffic regulations.

And when i violate those regulations i'll investigate myself *without outside interference*, thank you very much.

[undergroundpanther]

20. We are officially fucked over

Bush wants to dismantle the government,and this is part of his"plan".
It's DELIBERATE..

I hope I don't spend more time sick because of this bullshit.
It's bad to get sick but for me it's worse than bad..
Food poisoning is terror to emetiphobics.

[Javaman]

21. FDA voluntary rule #1: Eat only if you have too.

FDA voluntary rule #2: refer to rule #1.