A right to safe food

Re “Making food safe,” editorial, March 4

America enjoys the safest food supply in the world, but the recent beef recall and other incidents have raised consumer concerns about our nation’s food safety net.

Last year, the Grocery Manufacturers Assn. released its “Four Pillars of Imported Food Safety” proposal, which calls on federal agencies to focus on prevention as the essential weapon against food-borne illnesses. As part of this approach, we believe the Food and Drug Administration must be given the resources to fulfill its critical food safety mission, including a doubling of its current budget. There’s never been a better time to make this happen.

We cannot merely inspect food at the borders. And although we welcome a discussion of a single federal agency for food safety, we remain unconvinced that a shifting of bureaucratic responsibilities ought to be a top priority in this effort.

An enhanced partnership between policymakers and the companies that produce food, beverage and consumer products will move us closer to meeting the legitimate expectations and demands of American consumers. They have the right to safe food.

Bob Brackett

Washington

The writer is senior vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs with the Grocery Manufacturers Assn.

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Legislation I have introduced would implement many of the recommendations made in your editorial, including granting the FDA mandatory recall authority, establishing a system of user fees to fund more inspections and requiring country-of-origin labeling, so consumers know where the food they buy is produced.

However, I disagree that establishing a singular agency to police food safety would improve the current state of affairs. The weaknesses in our food safety net have more to do with a lack of leadership and inadequate funding and staffing than with an organizational flow chart. The goal of food safety legislation should be to strengthen the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect public health, not simply shifting resources from one bureaucracy to another.

There’s no guarantee that consolidating agencies is an effective solution. Take a look at the Department of Homeland Security, for just one example. We do know that such a move would lead to delays in implementing safety valves and increase the chance that more Americans will become sick, or worse, from contaminated foods.

Rep. John D. Dingell

(D-Mich.)

The writer is the chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over the FDA.

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The USDA cannot effectively protect consumers while simultaneously promoting the beef industry. In addition to the other excellent suggestions in the editorial, the responsibility of promoting the beef industry must be stripped from the USDA mission statement. We should not be using taxpayer dollars to promote the billion-dollar U.S. beef industry -- especially when it comes at the expense of protecting the consumer.

Paul Clement

Upland