Hence, we we end up with the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, among other things…

President Obama accused the Bush administration yesterday of creating a “hazard to public health” by failing to curb food contamination problems, and he announced new leadership and other changes aimed at modernizing food-safety laws.

In his weekly address to the nation, Obama said he is forming a Food Safety Working Group to “upgrade our food safety laws for the 21st century,” and he formally named former New York City health chief Margaret A. Hamburg as his new Food and Drug Administration commissioner. Baltimore Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein will be Hamburg’s deputy, he said.

Obama also said he will ask Congress for $1 billion in new funds to add inspectors and modernize laboratories, and announced that the Agriculture Department is moving ahead with a rule change banning all sick or disabled cattle from entering the food supply. The change had stalled during the last months of the Bush administration, which allowed some “downer cows” to be slaughtered for sale.

“There are certain things only a government can do,” Obama said. “And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and do not cause us harm.”

Source:   washingtonpost.com

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