New federal food safety rules issued after deadly outbreaks

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — New food safety rules mean companies must be more vigilant about keeping their manufacturing facilities clean.

The long-overdue rules come in the wake of deadly foodborne illness outbreaks linked to ice cream, caramel apples, cantaloupes and peanuts.

In all those outbreaks, investigators from the Food and Drug Administration investigators found dirty equipment in processing facilities.

The rules announced Thursday will require food manufacturers to submit food safety plans to the government to show that the companies are keeping their operations clean.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150910/us--food_safety_rules-05982a876e.html

[KG]

1. oh no, more oppresive regulations crushing business!

[jwirr]

2. I am curious about why these are NEW rules. My

parents ran a small local locker plant in the 50s. The inspector came to their business every so many weeks. There were rules then. What happened to the rules and who decided we did not need them?

I will admit that some of the rules were why my parents closed their shop but it was not about cleanliness. The state was requiring stainless steel every where and they would have had to remodel the whole plant.

They were considered intrusive then but that was because the state was treating the small businesses exactly the same way as the huge packing plants. The difference between them was simple - the huge pack did not allow visitors. The produce dealt with in the smaller plant was brought in by the customer who would then stand there and watch the entire process. The customer guaranteed cleanliness.

[d_legendary1]

3. I've asked myself that very same question

You'd think companies that big would have procedures in place to keep their equipment clean and sanitized for the products people consume. One of my guesses has to do with the defunding of the USDA where there are not enough inspectors to fully inspect a plant (remember Peanut Corporation of America?) and shut things down. It also doesn't help that a few companies own everybody else. As for that stainless steel plant I believe it has something to do with regulating the competition out of business (I recall reading something about that).

It amazes me that in this day and age we are still having problems with food sanitation.

[jwirr]

4. Definitely it was about regulating the competition out of

business. There are very few small local lockers that actually do the entire process anymore. And I think a lot of the problems we are having in food sanitation is directly related to that.

When you have a monopoly you do not have to follow the rules as closely AND you can get congress to cut the number of inspectors.

My family has a small family farm coop where we garden, raise animals for food and we do the processing ourselves. Thanks to my parents who taught us how. We are going to expand the gardens more next year. We know everything is clean and prepared properly.

[sybylla]

5. A lot of states have long had stricter oversight

In Wisconsin, it's the state state inspectors that food facilities and farms worry about, not the federal ones.

It's about time that the feds stepped it up.