FDA seeks millions for food safety in wake of listeria outbreak
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants a $220 million boost to its food safety budget next year, citing Colorado’s listeria outbreak in cantaloupe as primary proof the system needs work.
The agency’s request, highlighted in the rollout of President Obama’s proposed federal budget, said the outbreak is the “latest illustration of the continuing need for a strong food safety system.”
The outbreak, traced to Jensen Farms in southeastern Colorado, killed 30 people and caused one miscarriage, the worst food-borne illness outbreak in the United States in nearly a century.
The agency is asking Congress to approve a $220 million increase funded by new fees on food processors and handlers, money that would go to bolster inspections and implement new guidelines on how food should be grown and packed.
The administration also wants major expansions of food safety offices in nations like China and India with surging food exports to the United States. An overhaul of food safety laws in 2011 gave the FDA new authority to recall food in the U.S. and oversee inspections and audits of food companies overseas.
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