Food Safety Advocates Put Pressure on White House

CHICAGO, Ill. – Food safety advocates are joining together to urge the White House to implement parts of the Food Safety and Modernization Act, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The law, signed by President Barack Obama in January of 2011, contained sweeping food safety changes, but the Tribune reports that the White House Office of Management and Budget has failed to meet statutory deadlines for rules on new standards for high-risk produce and imported foods.

“We have been given no good reasons for the delay, which has been causing some real problems,” Erik Olson, director of food programs for the Pew Health Group, told the Tribune. “In fact (because of delays), the FDA just sent out a letter to the industry saying that they are suspending enforcement of the new key protections under the law until the rules are finalized.”

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(Source: The Chicago Tribune)