Food safety tightens under Obama administration
April 6, 2009
The New York Times: As evidenced by the recent pistachio recall despite no confirmed illnesses, the Obama administration is substantially changing the way the government oversees food safety. Food-handling practices that in the past would have resulted in mild warnings may now lead to wide-ranging and expensive recalls, even before anyone becomes ill from contaminated food.
"The food industry needs to be on notice that F.D.A. is going to be much more proactive and move things far faster," said Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at theFood and Drug Administration. "We're going to try to stop people from getting sick in the first place, as opposed to waiting until we have illness and death before we take action."