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4A – Daily News – Tuesday, September 21, 2010 Food safety legislation won't mend regulatory divide WASHINGT ON (MCT) — As lawmakers prepare for hearings Tuesday into the largest egg recall in U.S. history, food safety advocates say the congressional probe could give momentum to a long-delayed measure that would enhance the power of the Food and Drug Administration. If passed, say policy- makers, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act could be the first major step toward streamlining the often unwieldy food safety system. For example, in the United States, cheese pizza is regulated by one federal agency, but a pep- peroni pizza is overseen by another. An open- faced turkey sandwich, likewise, falls under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture, but one with two slices of bread is under the jurisdiction of the FDA. Liquid beef broth and dehydrated chicken broth? USDA. Liquid chicken broth and dehy- drated beef broth? FDA. These are just a few examples of the confus- ing divide in the nation's food safety system that contributed to the mas- sive egg recall. Lawmak- ers will grapple with the circumstances surround- ing the recall this week in the congressional probe of the outbreak of Salmo- nella enteritidis that has sickened more than 1,500 people. But while most policy- makers and food safety experts agree the regula- tory system is broken, they also agree that chances of a significant overhaul any time soon are dwindling. The hearing, which is expected to attract signif- icant media attention, could speed passage of the Senate bill, which has languished for months. Or the bill could be side- lined by a legislative cal- endar already compressed by the pending midterm elections. In either case, the bill doesn't solve the awk- ward division of responsi- bility between the USDA and the FDA. We wish to thank the community for their support during our 16 years in business. Gold Exchange 528-8000 423 Walnut St, Red Bluff The House Energy and Commerce Subcommit- tee on Health has invited the owners of the two Iowa mega-farms impli- cated in the recall of 550 million eggs to testify at the proceeding. It also has requested records from both the USDA and FDA in an effort to untangle what is a classic illustra- tion of food safety regula- tion at its most confusing. The USDA regulates the quality of eggs still in their shells; it also inspects liquid, dried and frozen egg products. The FDA is responsible for the safety of eggs still in their shells, but until recently it could inter- vene only after problems became evident. So nei- ther agency was proactive about examining the pro- duction facilities operated by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa, where federal inspectors recently found giant manure piles, rodents and maggots. On Sept. 14, congres- sional investigators released records showing Wright County Egg received a positive test result for Salmonella enteritidis more than a week before the FDA pressed the company to Mark's Fitness -Private Personal Training Affordable Packages ! -Public Fitness Classes • Spin Class: M-W-F 6 PM Inquire about FREE Spin • Boot Camp call for times WANTED: Certified Fitness Instructors Call: (530) 941-2832 821 Walnut St. launch a recall. The records also indicated that from 2008 to 2010, testing at the Iowa farm found 426 positive tests for some strains of salmo- nella, including 73 sam- ples potentially positive for Salmonella enteri- tidis. The Justice Depart- ment and FDA have launched a criminal investigation into the dis- tribution of the contami- nated eggs. In what FDA Commis- sioner Margaret Hamburg recently termed an "unfortunate irony," new FDA rules governing egg safety went into effect July 9, too late to prevent the current salmonella outbreak. The rules set standards for facility cleanliness, testing for salmonella and record- keeping. But it doesn't bridge the gap over the split oversight of eggs. Though the Senate bill also remains mum on rec- onciling such divides, it represents a badly needed leap forward in regula- tion, said Carol Tucker Foreman, a distinguished fellow at the Consumer Federation of America and former Agriculture Department food safety official. The most important thing is to modernize the underlying statutes and clarify authority, Fore- man said. "If you brought (food regulators from the FDA and the USDA) together now, you'd just have a ter- rible mess," Foreman said. It's a jumble that has been compounded by decades of ad hoc fixes as new food concerns arose. Divided oversight dates to the days of "The Jun- gle," Upton Sinclair's 1906 fictionalized account of the dismal, unsanitary conditions in Chicago slaughterhouses, which caused a massive public outcry and led to federal investigations of the meatpacking industry. The book, which was serialized in 1905, increased pressure on Washington to deal with food safety, and in response Congress passed two laws. The Pure Food and Drug Act was designed to fix problems with adul- terated food and drug products, such as so- called elixirs peddled as miracle cures. Responsi- bility for enforcing the law was assigned to the USDA's Bureau of Chem- istry, which later was spun off and became the FDA. The Meat Inspection Act also gave enforce- ment duties to the USDA because the agency had staff veterinarians capa- ble of dealing with sick animals and other live- stock problems. Since then, food pro- duction has become glob- alized and vastly more complex, and the FDA's powers and funding, in particular, have not kept up. The food safety bill now in the Senate aims to transform the FDA from an agency that reacts to food-borne illness out- breaks to one that heads them off by setting new quality standards, increasing inspections and requiring better record-keeping by food producers. It also would give the FDA the power to order food recalls on its own instead of relying Always a Realtor on call! Homes • Mountain Cabins Commercial • Land Ag • Ranch 530 529-4111 658 Rio St., Red Bluff www.UCAREA.net EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY DRE # 01174300 on cooperation from industry. The bill enjoys wide- spread support from food safety groups, consumer advocates and food pro- ducers, some of them stung by the expense of major recalls resulting from federal regulators' inability to prevent out- breaks. But the measure is far from a perfect fix. The proposed Senate legisla- tion doesn't say how such expanded authority will be funded. It excludes producers who sell only at their farms or in local farmers markets. There are also concerns that countries with weaker food safety standards could force the U.S. to accept their food exports under international agree- ments. The House passed a version of the legislation in July 2009 that does include funding. The Sen- ate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Com- mittee approved its ver- sion in November. "Hopefully, we can get this bill passed and to the White House before year's end," committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said last fall, shortly before his panel approved the measure. Ten months later Harkin still is stuck in wish mode. Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was non- committal about when the bill might be placed on the Senate calendar. It's not yet scheduled for a floor vote. One sticking point has been a proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., to attempt to graft an amendment onto the bill that would ban use of the controversial plastics additive bisphenol A, or BPA, in food and bever- age containers. A number of studies have linked BPA to a range of health problems including reproductive abnormalities and increased risks of cancer and diabetes. Some U.S. states and cities have banned its use in certain products, and many com- panies have voluntarily removed BPA from their products. Major food industry groups promptly promised to withdraw support for the bill if it included restrictions on BPA use in food packag- ing. BPA makes plastic more durable and is an ingredient in epoxy resin used in can linings. Mak- ing that change in food packaging would be extremely expensive, pro- ducers warn. In recent weeks, Fein- stein has narrowed the scope of her efforts, say- ing she will offer an amendment that will out- law the use of BPA in baby drinking cups, baby bottles and containers used for baby food and infant formula. RED BLUFF OUTDOOR POWER 527-5741 490 Antelope Blvd., Red bluff Mon. - Sat. 8-5 Read the owner’s manual before operating Honda Power Equipment