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Could the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act have Stopped the Salmonella Outbreak?

The Food and Drug Administration has received a good amount of public criticism regarding their apparent lack of effectiveness in handling threats to America's food safety, such as with the recent Salmonella outbreaks in peanut and pistachios products. The FDA does not currently have the authority to require food facility test results to be provided, or to be shared with the FDA. Furthermore, the FDA does not have the ability to impose a recall order should a facility not act in a timely or efficient manner. The current legislation aimed at empowering the FDA to enforce their orders has moved slowly through Congress.

In a recent comparison of food safety initiatives for two private food producers, the contrast between their food safety methods and procedures were significantly different. For instance, Kraft Foods took a proactive stance and voluntarily provided data which confirmed the presence of Salmonella in a trail mix made from Sexton Pistachio, and recalled the company's entire 2008 pistachio crop. However, Peanut Corporation of America's position was strikingly different. Though the company conducted Salmonella testing, there have been allegations that the company "shopped around" for desirable test results.

If the FDA was able to mandate testing and reporting, the likely hood for the distribution of contaminated food may be greatly reduced. Moreover, had regulation been supported, the Salmonella outbreak that caused the largest product recall to ever take place in the United States, with a direct correlation to an estimated 691 illnesses in 46 states, and according to the FDA, the death of nine people in the US, may have been prevented.

The need for reform is definitely a concern. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), has released a report that will call for the revamping of our country's food safety policy. Unfortunately Congress has been unsuccessful in moving the legislation that would empower the FDA with the authority to protect our nation's supply fast enough. Representative Diane DeGette (D-Colo), is supporting a bill that requires the FDA to create a monitoring program for our nation's food supply chain. The program  would monitor the food distribution life-cycle from the farm to the table. Furthermore, Rep. John D. Dingell's (D-Mich.) sponsorship of The Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act, would mandate consistent test result reporting from a company to the FDA, and also empower the FDA with the ability to enforce a mandatory recall in the event of emergency situations.