BUSINESS BRIEFING / FOOD SAFETY
Kellogg Co.’s chief executive is urging lawmakers to revamp the nation’s food safety system. The world’s biggest cereal maker, whose brands include Frosted Flakes and Raisin Bran, lost $70 million in the recent salmonella outbreak after recalling 7 million cases of peanut butter crackers and cookies.
CEO David Mackay wants food safety placed under a new leader in the Health and Human Services Department. He also calls for new requirements that all food companies have written safety plans, that there be annual federal inspections of facilities that make high-risk foods and other reforms.
Mackay’s endorsement of major changes could boost President Obama’s efforts to overhaul the system.
“We believe the key is to focus on prevention, so that potential sources of contamination are identified and properly addressed before they become actual food safety problems,” Mackay said in remarks prepared for a hearing today.
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