Who's minding your food? Surprise! It depends

[babylonsister]

Who's minding your food? Surprise! It depends

By MARY CLARE JALONICK



WASHINGTON (AP) -- So, a guy walks into a restaurant. Who makes sure his food is safe?

It depends on what he eats.

A cheese pizza that arrived at the restaurant frozen? The Food and Drug Administration is in charge of inspecting it.

A frozen pepperoni pizza? That's the Agriculture Department.

A fresh pizza, made at the restaurant? Both departments would be responsible for the original ingredients, if the pizza has meat on it. What if he eats eggs? It depends whether the eggs are inside the shell, in liquid form or have been processed. Fish? Some fish is inspected by the Commerce Department.

The FDA bears the brunt of food safety oversight, a mission called into question in the wake of a massive recall of peanut products. But at least 15 government agencies have a hand in making sure food is safe under at least 30 different laws, some of which date back to the early 1900s.

It's a convoluted system.

"There is no one person, no individual today who is responsible for food safety," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. "We have an immediate crisis which requires a real restructuring."

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SALMONELLA_OUTBREAK_FOOD_SAFETY?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[madokie]

1. We here in Mayes County Ok are just coming off the worst e-coli

case in the USA. my hometown although I no longer live there most of my big family do. Its good that we finally have grownups back in charge. It'll take some time to clean up the mess but with the leadership we have now we can and will do it. GOBAMA

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0808/548362.html

[tavalon]

2. We tend to distrust our politicians but not our bureaucracies,

even though they have been revolving doors between the private and public sector for a hell of lot longer time than either Bush was in the WH.

I did a great deal of research around a coverup by the CDC and the IOM that happened in the eighties and continues to this day and it shattered my faith in these type of governmental agencies. I just automatically assume that they are not doing their job, actively subverting their job or just really not capable of doing their job.