Food Safety: FDA inspects only 5% of food processing facilities

[BirminghamExaminer]

EXCERPT:

Though some ideologues are browbeating the public over so-called "big government" there are clear indications that the government needs to be doing more to keep the public safe. 51% of Americans think the government needs to do more. Only 40% of Americans believe it's doing too much.

In President Obama's weekly address on Saturday, he announced the appointment of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration to be aided by Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein.

President Obama is currently creating a new Food Safety Working Group that will research, analyze and then advise the President on how to best upgrade food safety laws. Current U.S. food safety laws were created under President Theodore Roosevelt and it's clear that the laws need to be upgraded.

(snip)

As of today, March 16, labels on most fresh meats along with some other foods will show where the food originated. Some meat products will include information on where the animal was born and slaughtered. The bill that prompted the new labeling was enacted by the Bush administration last year. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is asking the meat industry to be more specific about the background of the animal on food labels.

The new labeling is a good start, but labels should also reveal if the animal was treated with antibiotics prior to slaughter.

One of the most serious and pressing issues regarding animal products sold for food n the U.S. today is the enormous quantity of antibiotics that is routinely fed to livestock. The American Medical Association has been urging prudent use of antibiotics for over a decade in the treatment of humans. Research and observation have shown that a growing number of serious diseases have developed antibiotic resistant strains as a direct result of the over use of antibiotics. Drug resistant strains of serious diseases like Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) , a strain of staphylococcus are growing at an alarming rate.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the number of MRSA infections doubled from 127,000 in 1999 to 278,000 in 2005 in hospitals alone. The CDC estimates that MRSA infections are responsible for more deaths than AIDS in the U.S. per year.

Read the article here.

[ggould1]

1. I'm sure the right wing nuts will HATE this

[BirminghamExaminer]

2. This is an important talking point for bigger government....most people want it

But the Grand Obstructionist Party can only come up with the mantra of no taxes and no big government. But we really need more government intervention.