By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.Com
August 22, 2010 As the recall of tainted eggs grew to more than a half-billion late last week, three federal agencies were involved in the response, yet it was not clear which one was in the best position to lead.
On August 13, the Food and Drug Administration posted on its website a press release from Wright County Egg, one of the nation's largest egg producer, that millions of eggs were being voluntarily recalled because of possible Salmonella contamination. In the days that followed, FDA inspectors were reportedly dispatched to Wright County Egg facilities.
Because USDA is responsible for egg safety at processing plants, it is troubling that FDA is the lead agency in this investigation even though it has never inspected the Wright County Egg facility, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), a leading Congressional food safety advocate. Instead of reinforcing each others work, the current food safety system of split jurisdiction appears to have resulted in a disjointed inspection process.
So far, for reporters covering the story, most of the information has been coming from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which has little or no inspection or regulatory authority. But it was the CDC that first alerted the nation to the Salmonella outbreak and the agency has continued to be a source of information.
DeLauro says the outbreak, which has sickened at least 1,300 officially, but likely thousands more unofficially, is a strong argument for Congress to pass the Food Safety and Modernization bill, currently stalled in the Senate. The measure would give the FDA more authority to protect the food supply, including the authority to order food recalls, a power it does not now have.
The food safety bill cleared the House of Representatives a year ago, but the measure has become bogged down in the Senate. The bill appeared poised for approval in May when Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) introduced an amendment banning the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage containers, a move strongly opposed by the food industry. Though compromise language has reportedly been worked out, the measure has yet to get back on the Senate's front burner.
Preventable
This urgent nationwide recall is very disturbing, not only because it appears to have been preventable, but it also may have been the result of an inefficient and unresponsive food safety system, DeLauro said. Given the split jurisdiction between FDA and USDA over ensuring the safety of eggs, I fear the investigation and subsequent recall may have been delayed as FDA traced the source of the contamination.
DeLauro says the food safety bill, if approved, would increase inspections at high-risk facilities and establish performance standards for reducing food-borne pathogens, The granting of mandatory recall authority to the FDA, she says, would have removed tainted eggs from the food supply faster.
This bill, combined with the FDA egg safety rule that went into effect July 9, could have prevented or minimized this Salmonella outbreak, DeLauro said. In the long-term, we must create a single food safety agency that consolidates the work that is currently splintered across 15 federal agencies. One agency focused exclusively on protecting our food supply would prevent jurisdictional confusion, result in an efficient and responsive food safety system, and diminish the potential for future outbreaks such as this one.
