Obama

  • So much for hope: best Obama food safety group can do is ‘we have safest food in world’

    Posted: December 21st, 2011 - 2:20pm by Doug Powell

    The last thing people need from any agency is another list of tips to protect consumers from foodborne illness.

    Salmonella in jalapeno’s, E. coli in leafy greens and strawberries, listeria in cantaloupes. These are not consumer issues. The only thing consumers can do is to avoid such products. But with no marketing of food safety at retail, shoppers really can’t choose until long after defective foodstuffs are publicized and recalled.

    Faith-based food safety.

    So when U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is reduced to reciting meaningless clichés to describe food safety achievements in the Obama administration -- “We have the safest food supply in the world, but we can always do more to protect consumer” -- they’ve thrown in the towel.

    The feds are also going to refocus on consumer education, whatever that means.

    As some smart policy wonk (not an oxymoron, in this specific case) told me 25 years ago, when politicians talk about educating people, things have really gone off the rails.

    As part of clear consumer education and communication, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued a progress report highlighting the accomplishments and strategies of President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group (FSWG) combined with useful information for consumers on safe food handling.

    Who said the information was useful? Was the information evaluated? Were consumers asked if they thought the information was useful? Did anyone test to see if this useful information translated into food safety behavioral change? Or is useful just some characterization thrown in by a PR flunky.

    “As families across the country share in this holiday season, it is important to reiterate our commitment to protecting the food supply and our desire to remain vigilant to protect the American people,” said Secretary Vilsack. “We have taken a number of steps to improve the safety of America’s meat and poultry supply in recent years and the President’s Food Safety Working Group has proven to be a vital component to our work.”

    Yes, the full report highlights a number of accomplishments. Most of these are good. But when the “FSWG also plans to continue its efforts to improve food safety by collaborating more with state and local health and agriculture agencies, and food producers, as well as providing education to consumers” in the absence of any science or data to support such information provision, they’ve thrown in the towel.

    Your rating: None (1 vote)
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Culture  |  0 Comments
    food safety, Food Safety Working Group, Obama, Rocky, safest food in world, Sebelius, throw in towel
  • Will fewer people barf after Obama signs food safety bill? No

    Posted: January 4th, 2011 - 2:40pm by Doug Powell

    Maybe? Who knows? But with all the gushing --"The Food Safety Modernization Act is the most significant food safety law of the past 100 years" – Debora MacKenzie of New Scientist presents me as food safety grump.

    It’s accurate.

    Margaret Hamburg, head of the FDA, said at a press conference on 3 January that the law will shift the FDA's approach to food safety "from a reactive to a preventive mode", regardless of funding.

    Didn’t that happen years ago?

    On 15 December the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first estimate since 1999 of the toll of food-borne diseases in the US: 48 million people sick each year, 128,000 hospitalized and 3000 deaths.

    This is down from 5,000 deaths in 1999, but it could be even lower if the FDA inspected food producers more often, says Michael Jacobson, head of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food-safety pressure group in Washington DC. The FDA, which regulates all foods except meat and eggs in the US, normally inspects producers once every five or 10 years.

    The new law gives the FDA more inspectors and mandates more inspections. It also requires producers to have written risk-management plans, requires importers to check the safety of imported products, and excludes foreign producers who refuse FDA inspections. In a food-poisoning emergency it gives the FDA power to inspect producers' records and to order a recall if a producer refuses to do it voluntarily.

    The last measure "is a red herring", says Powell: faced with a public relations disaster, no producer ever refuses to recall suspect food.

    The bill gives the FDA the money to do its extra inspections by allowing it to charge for them. The expected bill, $1.4 billion over five years, is far less, the FDA argues, than the cost of poisoning incidents to the food industry.

    The most effective way forward, Powell believes, is to make producers list safety procedures and track records on food packaging, and compete for buyers on the basis of safety.

    Your rating: None (1 vote)
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy  |  1 Comment
    Barf, Fda, food safety, New Scientist, Obama, policy, Sick
  • Obama dines at critically filthy Miami restaurant

    Posted: August 27th, 2010 - 3:01am by Doug Powell

    President Barack Obama got a sandwich at Jerry's Famous Deli in Miami last week, which was slapped with 26 restaurant violations for all types of uncleanliness by a state inspector on Monday.

    The restaurant inspection comes less than a week after Obama made his to-go order of two corned beef sandwiches on rye.

    An inspector stopped the sale of cooked meatballs after he found raw meat sitting out in the open in unsafe temperatures. Employees were also seen handling meat and bread without gloves and without washing their hands properly.

    Your rating: None (2 votes)
    Bookmark and Share
    Restaurant Inspection  |  0 Comments
    Filth, Miami, Obama, restaurant inspection, violation
  • What's the worst thing to say to a farmer? Hi, I'm from the government, I'm here to help

    Posted: October 5th, 2009 - 8:19pm by Doug Powell

    We figured out about 15 years ago that the worst thing to say to a farmer was, Hi, I’m from the government, I’m here to help, cause we hung out with farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration apparently hasn’t figured this out, and went all gushy about how the two agencies are sharing people and resources to develop new produce regs.

    Farmers across the nation were cleaning themselves after hearing the news from Washington.

    “USDA's fresh produce chief will join FDA to develop new food safety rules, as part of a cooperative initiative between FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Today's announcement comes amid beefed up outreach efforts with key agriculture and safe food stakeholders to better share and exchange produce safety ‘best practices’ and ideas.”

    Will this result in fewer sick people? No . Is it complete bureau-speak that no one, especially those that grow fresh produce for a nation, will care about? Yes. Saturday Night Live captured the do-nothingness that has already cloaked the Obama change administration.
     

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy  |  1 Comment
    Fresh Produce, Hugh Jackman, Obama, Produce, Saturday Night Live, Snl, Squat
  • First lady dined at D.C. restaurant that got lousy inspection

    Posted: August 25th, 2009 - 6:07am by Doug Powell

    With all the Obama food groupies, someone should have probably figured out before now that the first lady, first vice-lady and D.C.’s mayor and spouse ate at a Washington restaurant earlier this year that sucked at food safety.

    But kudos to the Washington Post for highlighting the failures in basic sanitation at a local eatery – the same failures other mere mortals are subjected to on a daily basis.

    Toronto, Los Angeles, Sydney, London, Copenhagen: World-class cities that have all come to embrace some form of restaurant inspection disclosure for the consuming public. Maybe Washington, D.C. will one day join the rank of truly world-class cities, and provide basic information to taxpaying citizens.

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Restaurant Inspection  |  0 Comments
    Obama, Washington
  • Obama wants White House farmers market: buy liability insurance, try not to make people barf

    Posted: August 21st, 2009 - 12:49pm by Doug Powell

    U.S. President Obama said on Thursday that he and the First Lady are looking into setting up a farmers market just outside the White House, which might sell food from the White House garden or from local farmers. 

    The President said it could give the city of Washington, D.C., “more access to good, fresh food, but it also is this enormous potential revenue-maker for local farmers in the area.”

    Obama mentioned the idea while answering a citizen question at a health-care forum.

    I’d ask the same questions I’d ask any other purveyor of fresh produce: how often is your water tested and what are the results? What soil amendments are used? And what is the sanitation and handwashing  program for the employees and anyone else who may have handled the produce?
     

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy, Raw Food  |  0 Comments
    Farmers Markets, Marketing, Obama, Washington
  • How many food poisoners can you spot on this list?

    Posted: July 7th, 2009 - 6:30pm by Doug Powell

    As Eddie Murphy said in the movie, 48 Hours, “A badge and a gun goes a long way. … There’s a new sheriff in town.”

    That’s the impression the Obama Administration is trying to project with a spate of announcements to enhance food safety, which makes me feel it’s 1994 all over again … and look, there’s Michael Taylor back as a food safety advisor at the Food and Drug Administration (good choice, BTW).

    For all the various announcements and endorsements today, the list of invitees to the White House is the most telling. How many food poisoners can you spot on this list, the ones who profit from selling food, have proven themselves incapable of providing safe food, and now have to ask for a babysitter?

    Below is a list of expected attendees at today's Food Safety Announcement, including representatives from consumer, industry, producer associations, public health, and academic organizations.
    ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS:
    * Vice President Joe Biden
    * Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
    * Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
    * Dr. Peggy Hamburg, Commissioner, FDA
    * Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Deputy Commissioner, FDA
    * Melody Barnes, Director, Domestic Policy Council
    * Dr. John Holdren, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
    MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:
    * Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
    * Representative John Dingell (D-MI)
    * Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI)
    OTHER EXPECTED ATTENDEES INCLUDE
    (in alphabetical order by last name)
    * Brent Baglien, ConAgra Foods
    * Andrew Bailey, National Turkey Federation
    * Scott Becker, Association of Public Health Laboratories
    * Georges Benjamin, American Public Health Association
    * Ellen Bloom, Consumers Union
    * Abigail Blunt, Kraft Foods
    * Melane Boyce, Confectioners Association
    * Thomas Bradshaw, American Frozen Food Institute
    * David Buck, Center for Foodborne Illness, Research & Prevention
    * Christine Bushway, Organic Trade Association
    * Jonathan Cantu, Government Accountability Project
    * Barry Carpenter, National Meat Association
    * Anthony Corbo, Food and Water Watch
    * Jo Ellen Deutsch- United Food & Commercial Workers International Union
    * Caroline DeWaal, Center for Science in the Public Interest
    * Orlo Ehart, NASDA
    * Cathleen Enright, Western Growers Association
    * Sandra Eskin, Georgetown University, Health Policy Institute
    * Scott Faber, Grocery Manufacturers of America
    * Gregory Ferrara, National Grocers Association
    * Anthony Flood, International Food Information Council
    * Molly Fogarty, Nestle
    * Randall Gordon, National Grain and Feed Association
    * Robert Green, United Egg Producers
    * Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League
    * Lisa Griffith, National Family Farm Coalition
    * Robert Guenther, United Fresh Produce Association
    * Margaret Henderson, National Fisheries Institute
    * James Hodges, American Meat Institute
    * Katherine Houston, Cargill, Inc.
    * Jonathan James, Allen Family Foods, Inc
    * Alice Johnson, ButterBall
    * G. Chandler Keys, JBS
    * Lonnie King, CDC
    * Barbara Masters, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC
    * Margaret Mellon, Union of Concerned Scientists
    * Joel Newman, American Feed Industry Association
    * Donna Norton, Mom's Rising
    * Erik Olson, Mars
    * H. R. Bert Pena, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
    * Robert Pestronk, National Association of County and City Health Officials
    * Adam Reichardt, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
    * Tanya Roberts, Center for Foodborne Illness, Research & Prevention
    * Welford Roberts, National Environmental Health Association
    * Donna Rosenbaum, S.T.O.P. - Safe Tables Our Priority
    * Marianne Rowden, American Association of Exporters and Importers
    * Ruth Saunders, International Dairy Foods Association
    * Bryan Silbermann, Produce Marketing Association
    * Brian Snyder, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
    * Steven Steinhoff, Association of Food and Drug Officials
    * Michael Taylor, George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Services
    * Mary Toker, General Mills, Inc.
    * Omar Vargas, Pepsi-Cola North America
    * Christopher Waldrop, Consumer Federation of America
    * Deborah White, Food Marketing Institute
    * Heather White, Environmental Working Group
    * Andrea Yabulonsky, ConAgra Foods

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy, Raw Food  |  1 Comment
    Food Safety Working Group, Obama, Poisoning
  • Obama moves on food safety: will it mean fewer sick people?

    Posted: July 7th, 2009 - 6:14am by Doug Powell

    Reuters is reporting this morning ahead of a press conference later today by recently formed supergroup, the Food Safety Working Group (right, not exactly as shown), that the Obama administration is ordering tougher steps to curb salmonella and E.coli contamination in U.S. food processing plants and created a new deputy food commissioner post to coordinate safety.

    In response to the working group recommendations, the administration created a new position -- deputy commissioner for foods -- at the Food and Drug Administration to increase coordination of food safety activities in different parts of the federal government.

    Other highlights include:

    • the FDA has issued a rule aimed at reducing salmonella contamination of eggs during production;

    • the administration directed the Food Safety and Inspection Service to develop standards by the end of the year to reduce salmonella in turkey and poultry;

    • to reduce E.coli contamination of beef, the FSIS was directed to improve surveillance and testing for the bacteria in plants that handle beef, especially ground beef; and,

    • the administration said the FDA would issue new guidance to the industry by the end of the month in an effort to reduce E.coli contamination in tomatoes, melons and green leafy vegetables.

    Scott Faber of the Grocery Manufacturers Association said the absence of a federal standard for commodities like leafy greens, tomatoes and melons was the "biggest hole in the current food safety net" and the proposal to issue guidance "is the single most important step that we can take to reduce the risk of foodborne contamination."

    Yes, fresh produce is the biggest hole – although all the processing-related outbreaks of late suggest a fairly big hole – but FDA has been issuing guidance for growing safe, fresh produce for 10 years. Does anyone follow it? Will more guidance mean fewer sick people? Doubtful.

    As I wrote when the supergroup, Food Safety Working Group, announced its inaugural tour back in March, ??????U.S. President Obama is excellent at setting tone, and maybe that’s the best that can be expected. At least food safety is on the White House agenda. Maybe it will send a message that everyone, from farm-to-fork, needs to get super-serious about providing microbiologically safe food. Maybe that will increase the safety of the food supply and result in fewer sick people. Maybe there will be a hit single to be found in the Working Group’s first release.
     

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy  |  0 Comments
    Fda, Food And Drug Administration, Food Safety Working Group, Obama, Produce, Surveillance
  • Microbiologically safe produce - local or otherwise

    Posted: June 23rd, 2009 - 4:36pm by Doug Powell

    The Obama’s – meaning Michelle – have started a gardening craze. Robert Kenner, the director of Food Inc., told Vanity Fair the solution to so-called industrial food issues was “to go to a farmers’ market whenever possible … it kind of feels like a religious experience.” And on rolls the bandwagon.

    Massive rainfalls and 100F days has lead to some ideal growing conditions here in Manhattan (Kansas) but also presents some challenges in the form of floodwater (I’m convinced there’s just no drainage around here).

    The microbiological safety of water sources is critical when growing fresh produce that is not going to be cooked. Did that floodwater come downstream from any sort of livestock operation (or human outhouse)? Did the water provide a vehicle for bird or rodent or lizard poop and pathogens to contaminate produce, inside and out? Will those pathogens now flourish in heat?

    Those issues and more are discussed in the latest video from the SafeFoodCafe, the bites.ksu.edu digital video subsidiary. The new video guy, Evan, did his best to make me look cool with what he had. He needs better source material.
     

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy  |  1 Comment
    Flood, Food Inc., Gardens, Local, Microbiology, Obama, Produce, Water
  • Obama's administration suggests handwashing in schools

    Posted: June 16th, 2009 - 5:25pm by Megan Hardigree

    The Obama administration submitted an emergency war-spending bill this week, which includes flu prevention funds.

    The White House sent a letter to every public school superintendent that outlines how to cope with expected increases in outbreaks of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) this fall. The letter was co-authored by Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, and Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius. The purpose of the letter urges local school officials to spend this summer developing better policies for handwashing, food service, sick students, and other health safety issues.

    The letter reads: “Our hope is that the summer months can be used to develop and share a coordinated public health strategy that aims to protect our children and families and minimize disruptions.”

    Handwashing is the primary means to stop the spread of the H1N1 virus, along with many other infectious diseases. Increasing handwashing compliance in schools can be accomplished with informing teachers and students on why it is important, having posters or other media around to influence behavior, and to stress handwashing to teachers (monkey see, monkey do).

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Handwashing  |  0 Comments
    H1n1 Virus, Obama