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Friday, May 4, 2007 12:10 PM CDT
Harkin: Food incidents should be 'wake-up call'
Harkin: Food incidents should be 'wake-up call'
Road projects move forward in Evansdale, Elk Run Heights
Waterloo man dies in house fire
County updates building codes, inspections and fees
Woman pleads to theft from company
Witnesses recount downtown assault
DISCLAIMER: The Courier provides our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. For a more in-depth explanation of our policy, please see our Rules of the Road. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.
Harkin: Food incidents should be 'wake-up call'
By DAN GEARINO, Courier Des Moines Bureau
DES MOINES --- U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin says the recent pet food recall, along with other incidents such as last year's E. coli outbreak from contaminated lettuce, should be a "serious wake-up call" about gaps in the nation's food safety enforcement.
He's asking the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to review current inspection practices and determine how to prevent a possible crisis in food safety.
"These events are a serious wake-up call. I fear that they indicate broader flaws and gaps in our nation's food-safety system," Harkin said Thursday in a conference call with Iowa reporters.
He listed a series of problems, including:
--- The pet food contamination, which hit last month, was traced back to wheat gluten imported from China that was found to contain a toxic chemical. Many brands of pet food were part of the recall. Cats and dogs across the country got sick and many died.
--- E. coli was detected in December in lettuce served in Taco John's restaurants in Cedar Falls and Minnesota. At least 50 Iowans got sick.
--- Peter Pan and Wal-Mart Great Value peanut butter was recalled in February after hundreds of people got sick and salmonella was detected.
Harkin, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said regulators need to assess the current food safety system and make changes to reduce the likelihood of future problems.
Sam Beattie, food safety extension specialist at Iowa State University, said Harkin's suggestion may be useful, but he thinks the food safety system is already working effectively.
"Any time you do a non-biased, non-finger-pointing review of a regulatory authority, I think it's a good idea. Whether or not it's going to show any areas where we can make improvements is questionable," Beattie said.
He said recent examples of contaminated food are a tiny blip in an otherwise healthy food system.
"What we have to understand is that food in the United States is probably the safest in the world at this time. We've seen a decline in the number of illnesses associated with the major bacterial pathogens in the past 10 years. That's good news," he said.
Harkin said his concern is that the small problems with contaminated food may indicate a risk for big problems.
"We need to fix these vulnerabilities to prevent a truly catastrophic outbreak," he said.
Contact Dan Gearino at (515) 243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net
He's asking the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to review current inspection practices and determine how to prevent a possible crisis in food safety.
"These events are a serious wake-up call. I fear that they indicate broader flaws and gaps in our nation's food-safety system," Harkin said Thursday in a conference call with Iowa reporters.
He listed a series of problems, including:
--- The pet food contamination, which hit last month, was traced back to wheat gluten imported from China that was found to contain a toxic chemical. Many brands of pet food were part of the recall. Cats and dogs across the country got sick and many died.
--- E. coli was detected in December in lettuce served in Taco John's restaurants in Cedar Falls and Minnesota. At least 50 Iowans got sick.
--- Peter Pan and Wal-Mart Great Value peanut butter was recalled in February after hundreds of people got sick and salmonella was detected.
Harkin, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said regulators need to assess the current food safety system and make changes to reduce the likelihood of future problems.
Sam Beattie, food safety extension specialist at Iowa State University, said Harkin's suggestion may be useful, but he thinks the food safety system is already working effectively.
"Any time you do a non-biased, non-finger-pointing review of a regulatory authority, I think it's a good idea. Whether or not it's going to show any areas where we can make improvements is questionable," Beattie said.
He said recent examples of contaminated food are a tiny blip in an otherwise healthy food system.
"What we have to understand is that food in the United States is probably the safest in the world at this time. We've seen a decline in the number of illnesses associated with the major bacterial pathogens in the past 10 years. That's good news," he said.
Harkin said his concern is that the small problems with contaminated food may indicate a risk for big problems.
"We need to fix these vulnerabilities to prevent a truly catastrophic outbreak," he said.
Contact Dan Gearino at (515) 243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net
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More Stories from News » Metro
Harkin: Food incidents should be 'wake-up call'Road projects move forward in Evansdale, Elk Run HeightsWaterloo man dies in house fireCounty updates building codes, inspections and feesWoman pleads to theft from companyWitnesses recount downtown assault
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DISCLAIMER: The Courier provides our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. For a more in-depth explanation of our policy, please see our Rules of the Road. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.
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