FDA Commissioner Calls for Passage of Stalled Food Safety Bill in Wake of Egg Recall

Margaret Hamburg says the agency needs the authority to order recalls instead of relying on private businesses to initiate them, as was the case in a recent egg recall.

The head of the Food and Drug Administration Monday renewed her call for passage of stalled legislation to give her agency more tools to ensure food safety and prevent dangers such as the salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds of people and led to the recall of 550 million eggs.

As the investigation into the cause of the nearly two-week old recall continued on Monday, political pressure began building on regulators and the operators of the two egg-laying operations believed responsible for the outbreak, with congressional overseers seeking information about conditions at the egg farms and about the rigor of federal oversight of them.

Two Iowa egg producers with ties to each other, Hillandale Farms of Iowa Inc. and Wright County Egg Farms, voluntarily recalled the eggs in a series of announcements beginning Aug. 13. FDA officials described the product withdrawal as one of the largest egg recalls in history.

An FDA food safety official said that barring further investigative developments, the recalled eggs should not expand beyond the current total.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said her agency needs the authority granted in the proposed legislation to order recalls, instead of relying on private businesses – such as Hillandale and Wright County Egg – to pull back products on their own.

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Source: LA Times