CSBJ Daily

<p>Congress is exploring options for food safety in the wake of  the nationwide salmonella outbreak.</p><p>Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trusts for America’s  Health, testified before Congress and urged the Food and Drug Administration to  provide detailed plans to make food safer.</p><p>His report identified major gaps in the nation’s food safety  system, including obsolete laws, misallocation of resources and inconsistencies  among major food safety agencies.</p><p>Food-borne illnesses hospitalize about 325,000 Americans  every year, cause 5,000 deaths – and cost the United States $44 billion annually.</p><p>Levi’s recommendations include: repealing outdate  end-product and processing plant inspection mandates; creating mechanisms that  allow inspection practices to keep pace with changes in the industry;  establishing uniform performance standards that include punishment, recall and  civil penalty authority, requiring food safety education for commercial food  handlers; strengthening the FDA with increased funding resources.</p>