Create food safety agency outside FDA: lawmaker

[Celebration]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNewsMolt/idUKTRE5134VM20090204

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress should split apart the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to create a separate agency in charge of ensuring the safety of fruits, vegetables and processed foods, the head of a House subcommittee said on Wednesday.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a longtime critic of FDA's food oversight, unveiled a bill that would create the Food Safety Administration and put an emphasis on preventing contamination of food. A food safety expert would run the new agency.

FDA has jurisdiction over produce and processed food while the Agriculture Department is in charge of meat and eggs.

DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, said the separate agency would result in more attention to food safety than is now provided by the FDA. Her proposal would require producers to meet federal standards for removing or preventing disease-causing contaminants in food, provide regular inspections and allow the new agency to order food recalls and seize unsafe products before they reach stores.

[kestrel91316]

1. I never liked how FDA regulates SOME food safety and USDA

regulates other aspects. Makes for confusion and poor coordination. IMHO it should ALL be under USDA, because ALL our food has agricultural origins, whether plant or animal (unless wild harvested, and we need not let that be a problem).

[Why Syzygy]

2. rec'd .. Good move.

Government Studies
Incredible as it seems, part of the information on cherries that the FDA wants to censor was funded by a difference governmental agency. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave the cherry industry a $141,120 grant to investigate the health benefits of tart cherries so the industry could increase its sales. Tom Dorr, special assistant to the Secretary of the USDA, had high hopes when he handed over the funds that were used to explore the nutritional and nutraceutical aspects of the tart cherry, enthusing that tart cherry growers "know how to best develop new markets for the cherry industry." Apparently not.

http://www.mi-cherries.com/fda1.htm

[Celebration]

3. The FDA and cherries

Yeah, unbelieveable that they can't check out food that is rejected by Canada, and they spend time causing problems for cherry growers.

[Why Syzygy]

4. hey ..

I'm going to try to get a concise post written about the information, or get someone else to write it :D
I met a DUer who worked for the growers and participated in the study. He sent me lots of links.
I didn't know they were high in melatonin! I'll be buying the unpasteurized juice concentrate ;)