EDITORIAL: How safe is that salad? FDA needs an overhaul
The last time Congress enacted major legislation to protect the nation's food, the uproar was over standards for mayonnaise and ketchup, which were just starting to get produced outside of the home; banning milk from tubercular cows; and punishing those who sold toxic elixirs as good-health tonics.
That was in 1938, and the new law created the Food and Drug Administration. It came into being 32 years after the first proposal for a federal agency to keep food and drug labels honest, to stop misleading claims and to set minimum standards for processed, mostly canned foods, such as tomatoes.
Stunningly, Congress has not passed a major food safety law since.
Other consumer protection issues have advanced. Cars and toys are subject to mandatory recall - but not bags of salad greens. Aspirin and heart-valve factories get inspected, but not facilities that make peanut butter. Now, as our food supply becomes ever more complex, industrialized and distant from its source, there is an even greater need for vigilance from farm to grocery store.
Certainly, our food supply is one of the world's safest. But it can be even better. The U.S. Senate needs to vote on an FDA modernization bill that has been inexplicably stalled on the floor since late 2009.
While they wait, the food scare stories continue. Earlier this year, there was a problem with tainted salami - the pepper coating might be the culprit. Before that, there was a well-publicized string of contaminated items - spinach, peppers, peanuts and cookie dough - that sickened and killed Americans. The cost in lives and dollars is just too high and unnecessary.
About 76 million people a year are sickened by what they eat, with food-borne disease causing 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The health-related costs of food illnesses are estimated to be $152 billion annually, including $10 billion in New York, according to the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, which advocates for more federal regulation.
FDA inspections decreased dramatically from 2004 to 2008 because staffing levels were cut, according to a report earlier this month by the Department of Health and Human Services. The same report found that the FDA lacks the enforcement tools and resources to keep the food supply safe. The Obama administration has increased funding, but the FDA needs a new playbook as well.
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, unfortunately, is not a comprehensive reorganization of the multiple agencies currently involved in food inspection, into one that is just responsible for the nation's food. After years of struggling to accomplish that, food safety groups made the tactical decision to try a step-by-step approach.
Since the FDA's mandate is the most out-of-date, its overhaul came first. And that's good. Fruits, vegetables, dairy products and grains are the most susceptible to microbacterial contamination. (Historically, meat, poultry and eggs are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture.)
The Food Modernization Act is a major departure from the goals of the 1938 law, which allowed criminal sanctions to punish manufacturers for adulterating food and drugs. This law, instead, is aimed at prevention; the goal is to minimize the instances of contamination. This is especially important when dealing with fresh produce that is mostly eaten uncooked, with little chance for heat to kill the bacteria.
If the law is enacted, the FDA would have more authority to trace the source of the problem foods and order mandatory recalls of food products. Processors would have to determine what their contamination hazards are and have written plans to mitigate them. The law also would require mandatory inspections of food production facilities, which are now done on a voluntary basis and performed, on average, once every 10 years.
There is a concern that the bill could be counterproductive for those who prefer to buy local and support nearby farms, including the organic ones. The final version of the law should focus on the large facilities that can do the most harm, and not burden small farms - such as the many on Long Island - with expensive paperwork and fees. In balancing the risks, Congress should realize that small local growers aren't the problem.
The House of Representatives passed the FDA Modernization bill with overwhelming bipartisan support back in July. In November, a Senate committee voted unanimously to move a slightly different version to the floor for a vote. Supporters say the administration is putting pressure on the Senate leadership to deal with bigger issues first, such as health care and, now, financial regulation.
By any definition, however, this is a priority as well. New York's two senators, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, support the legislation, but pushing for a quick vote would be an even better position. Unlike in 1938, when Congress finally acted after 107 young people died from a sulphur-based elixir, the time is ripe now to enact a better food protection law. hN
