The Washington Post reports that the recent egg recall due to salmonella enteritidis may prompt action in the Senate "where comprehensive food-safety legislation has languished since July 2009."
FDA investigators have "zeroed in on two facilities in Iowa" as the sources of the outbreak. "Wright County Egg, owned by the DeCoster family recalled 380 million eggs last week" and "Hillandale Farms, which has ties to the same family recalled more than 170 million eggs." The Washington Post reported that the DeCoster family has a "record of health, safety, labor and other violations that go back 20 years." To read this story, click here.
Outbreaks of food-borne illness seems to have prompted legislation in the past and some are hopeful that this will motivate the Senate to pass the food safety bill. The bill "would give the FDA the power to initiate a mandatory recall of contaminated products" and "set up systems to trace food from farm to fork thus making it easier and faster to pinpoint sources of contamination."
Others, however, remain skeptical that the Senate will pass this legislation due to ongoing conflicts over certain amendments, according to The Packer. An issue "that remains unsolved is the effort to amend the bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to restrict the use of the chemical Bisphenol A (known as BPA) in food and beverage containers." Another issue is an amendment by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., to exempt smaller operations, with adjusted gross incomes under $500,000, from some requirements.
To read the Washington Post story, click here.
To read The Packer story, click here.
