Egg recall: FDA seeks more powers
Source: Agencies |
August 24, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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THE head of the United States government's regulatory Food and Drug Administration said yesterday her agency is taking the massive egg recall "very, very seriously," but needs more enforcement powers.
Appearing on morning news shows, Margaret Hamburg urged passage of legislation pending in Congress that would give her agency significantly more authority to intervene in the area of food safety.
Hamburg also said the FDA wants to shift its focus to "a preventive approach" to identify problems in the food supply before they cause disease outbreaks.
"We need better abilities and authorities to put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable," Hamburg said on NBC in the wake of some 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning and the recall of roughly a half-billion eggs from two Iowa distributors.
Two Iowa farms linked to the disease outbreak - Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms - share suppliers of chickens and feed as well as ties to an Iowa business with a history of violating state and federal law.
The number of illnesses, which can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems, is expected to increase. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever eight to 72 hours after eating a contaminated product.
Jewanna Porter, a spokeswoman for the egg industry, said on Saturday the company Quality Egg supplies young chickens and feed to both Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. The two share other suppliers but she did not name them.
The US egg industry has consolidated over recent years, placing fewer, larger businesses in control over much of the country's egg supply to consumers.
The salmonella outbreak has raised questions about federal inspections of egg farms. The FDA oversees inspections of shell eggs, while the Agriculture Department is in charge of inspecting other egg products.
FDA investigators have yet to determine the cause of the salmonella outbreaks and the investigation could take months.
William Marler, a Seattle attorney for a person who filed a suit alleging illness from tainted eggs in a salad at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said on Sunday his firm has been retained by two dozen families and was representing a woman who was hospitalized in California.
"The history of ignoring the law makes the sickening of 1,300 and the forced recall of 550 million eggs shockingly understandable," Marler said in an e-mail to AP.
"You have to wonder where the USDA and FDA inspectors were."
Businessman Austin "Jack" DeCoster owns Wright County Egg and Quality Egg. Wright County Egg recalled 380 million eggs on August 13 after it was linked to more than 1,000 cases of salmonella poisoning. A week later, Hillandale Farms recalled 170 million eggs.
DeCoster is no stranger to controversy in his food and farm operations:
- In 1994, the state of Iowa assessed at least four separate penalties against DeCoster Farms for environmental violations, many of them involving hog waste.
- In 1997, DeCoster Egg Farms agreed to pay US$2 million in fines to settle citations brought in 1996 for health and safety violations at DeCoster's farm in Turner, Maine.
Appearing on morning news shows, Margaret Hamburg urged passage of legislation pending in Congress that would give her agency significantly more authority to intervene in the area of food safety.
Hamburg also said the FDA wants to shift its focus to "a preventive approach" to identify problems in the food supply before they cause disease outbreaks.
"We need better abilities and authorities to put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable," Hamburg said on NBC in the wake of some 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning and the recall of roughly a half-billion eggs from two Iowa distributors.
Two Iowa farms linked to the disease outbreak - Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms - share suppliers of chickens and feed as well as ties to an Iowa business with a history of violating state and federal law.
The number of illnesses, which can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems, is expected to increase. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever eight to 72 hours after eating a contaminated product.
Jewanna Porter, a spokeswoman for the egg industry, said on Saturday the company Quality Egg supplies young chickens and feed to both Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. The two share other suppliers but she did not name them.
The US egg industry has consolidated over recent years, placing fewer, larger businesses in control over much of the country's egg supply to consumers.
The salmonella outbreak has raised questions about federal inspections of egg farms. The FDA oversees inspections of shell eggs, while the Agriculture Department is in charge of inspecting other egg products.
FDA investigators have yet to determine the cause of the salmonella outbreaks and the investigation could take months.
William Marler, a Seattle attorney for a person who filed a suit alleging illness from tainted eggs in a salad at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said on Sunday his firm has been retained by two dozen families and was representing a woman who was hospitalized in California.
"The history of ignoring the law makes the sickening of 1,300 and the forced recall of 550 million eggs shockingly understandable," Marler said in an e-mail to AP.
"You have to wonder where the USDA and FDA inspectors were."
Businessman Austin "Jack" DeCoster owns Wright County Egg and Quality Egg. Wright County Egg recalled 380 million eggs on August 13 after it was linked to more than 1,000 cases of salmonella poisoning. A week later, Hillandale Farms recalled 170 million eggs.
DeCoster is no stranger to controversy in his food and farm operations:
- In 1994, the state of Iowa assessed at least four separate penalties against DeCoster Farms for environmental violations, many of them involving hog waste.
- In 1997, DeCoster Egg Farms agreed to pay US$2 million in fines to settle citations brought in 1996 for health and safety violations at DeCoster's farm in Turner, Maine.
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