New USDA policy aims to reduce foodborne illnesses

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

Under a new federal policy aimed at reducing illnesses caused by food, processors of meat and poultry must wait until laboratory tests show their products are free from contamination before they can ship them to be sold, Agriculture Department officials announced Tuesday.

“This is one more tool that we can use to protect consumers from food-borne illnesses, such as salmonella, E.coli and others,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters in a conference call.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six Americans gets sick from food-borne illness every year, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

“Those numbers are unacceptable,” Vilsack said. “We are committed to reducing those numbers so families should never have to worry about the food they place on their dinner tables.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new_usda_policy_aims_to_reduce_foodborne_illnesses/2011/04/05/AFHavclC_story.html

[ThomCat]

1. Good. But it should be noted that the meat industry lobbied for this.

They wanted this to pass, going back as far as the Bush administration.

It's easier to get government to approve safety regulations when the industry itself WANTS that regulation because it will help them improve their public reputation and save them money in the long run.

It is much more difficult to get regulations that Consumers are pushing for, but industry doesn't want, that will cost the industry money instead of save them money.

I'm not saying this isn't a good move. It is. I'm just saying that we should keep in mind that this was a no-brainer. The real test comes with any consumer protections that industry doesn't want to implement or pay for.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Irradiating is the swiftest method to certify meat products free of these contaminants.

I wonder if that's why the industry lobbied for this. A slower, more expensive approach would involve rethinking and retooling the handling of animals from birth to abattoir. Much of the contamination comes from keeping animals in disgusting conditions then rushing them through the slaughter without proper hygienic measures.

[chriscruzan]

2. What about local small farms?

This smells of Big Agro, of which meat and poultry fall under. Some how I expect only the small farms will suffer from this legislation.I believe the actual article indicates this will not stop food borne illnesses from reaching the public. I bet it might stop locally produced, organically fed, free range meat and poultry from reaching the public. There is a war being fought against the small local farmer by the corporate farm industry and, at times, I am sure the USDA fits nicely in their corporate pockets. Not to belittle the suffering of anyone who has become seriously ill or died from food borne illnesses, but the numbers sighted by Vilsack are miniscule,compared to the grand total of the American population. The 1 in 6 stat also includes nasty McDonalds "special sauce" borne illnesses and microwaved lettuce illnesses from Taco Hell that have nothing to do with meat and poultry production. Now that I have read the article again, I am sure this smells bad and it smells like shit coming out of Vilsack's mouth.

[Recursion]

5. Meat isn't the big problem with foodborne illness

Leafy vegetables are the biggest culprit IIRC.

[stockholmer]

3. reading the article, this reeks of big agro/government cartel capitalism, as well as not effective

"In the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, the meat industry petitioned the USDA to make “test and hold” mandatory. And after President Obama was elected, the American Meat Institute wrote to Vilsack and asked him to get personally involved and require the policy."


" Still, Hagen suggested that “test and hold” will not catch all contamination because not every piece of meat is tested. She said it was unlikely that the policy could have prevented an ongoing outbreak of salmonella illness associated with turkey burgers. Last week, Jennie-O recalled 55,000 pounds of frozen raw turkey burgers sold nationwide through Sam’s Club stores that may be contaminated with Salmonella hadar, a strain that is resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics. As of April 1, 12 people have been sickened in connection with the turkey burgers, the CDC said."

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this will squeeze the little farmers, and the big boys will end up with waivers


so typical

[Recursion]

4. All food safety regulation does

Even in Upton Sinclair's days it was the big packers pushing for safety reforms because it priced the smaller ones out.

It's a dirty world we live in.

[freshwest]

7. Breaking News: 'Friendly hand slaps man on back with knife in it.' Film at Eleven!