There is no news to report on the status of the new FSMA regulations. As this WAPO op-ed makes clear, there is no “true” explanation for the delay, but politics seems to be the root cause.
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Effective next week, the US Agriculture Department will be expanding its testing for E. coli in some (but not all) raw beef products. The new tests will test for six additional strains of E. coli that produce the so-called Shiga toxin — O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145. They will also continue to test for the better known E. coli — as well as the better known O157:H7. This new testing paradigm follows on the heels of a report that the FDA denied a petition by the Corn Refiners Association to change the name of the sweetener high-fructose corn syrup to corn sugar on nutrition labels. A sign of governmental toughening, or just a momentary blip? We should get a better sense when (if?) the new FSMA draft regulations are finally posted for comment.
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The Food Safety Modernization Act (“FSMA”) was supposed to result in a dramatic restructuring of the US food industry. And someday soon it might. But to implement its strategic vision, tactics (i.e. rules) need to be implemented. The four key rules (for preventative controls for food facilities, preventive controls for animal feed facilities, the foreign supplier verification program and the produce safety rule) were supposed to be ready for comment in January. But, the proposed rules have yet to be published by the White House Office of Management of Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The cause of the hold-up is unknown, but in this election cycle (and given Congress’s unwillingness to fund the FSMA), our guess is that politics (and not in the good Artisotelian sense) is to blame.
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Pink slime is all over the news these days. It is the derogatory term for “meat product made by processing leftover beef trimmings.” In other words, it’s meat filler made from leftovers with the addition of amonia. It sure doesn’t sound very tasty, but it’s been in use for more than 20 years. Public concerns about its safety have led some stores to offer free refunds/recalls. A claim to the insurers of those stores or suppliers cannot be far behind.
It also makes you think that maybe you want to stick with lamb or chicken for Easter or Passover dinner…
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