The Walton Family Foundation invested in a Honduran lobster fishery, targeting its sustainability and touting its success. Ten years later, thousands of workers have been injured or killed.
July 7, 2009
The key members of the Food Safety Working Group (FSWG) didn’t announce Michael Taylor as the new Special Food Safety Commissioner/Advisor during their press conference today, but they did announce a new, excellent public-health based approach to food safety. This is based on a new, more aggressive approach to the three core principles of prevention, improving enforcement, and improving response to and recovery from foodborne disease outbreaks, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Food Pol expert Marion Nestle of Food Politics, however, is confirming that Michael Taylor has gotten the job.
During today’s announcement, Secretary Sebelius thanked Rep. John Dingell and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, longstanding champions of food safety, before she introduced her FSWG partners, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Vice President Joe Biden.
In the audience for today’s announcement were family members of foodborne illness victims, and VP Biden said changes in food safety laws were “long overdue,” and had been unchanged since 1906…”since Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle.” He noted that part of his work with the Middle Class Task Force was ensuring food safety, and made a long statement about imported foods, processed foods, and how we’re all put at risk by these.
“In the past, we’ve focused on food safety problems when they occur, now we’re putting our focus on prevention,” said VP Biden. “The tragedy of someone getting sick from food is made worse by someone else getting ill after we know what’s making people ill.”
“The President has made food safety an important national priority,” VP Biden said.
He closed by thanking Brian Sylberman, president of the Produce Marketing Association, someone who has been critical in promoting food safety for the produce industry.
Jointly, VP Biden and Secs. Sebelius and Vilsack announced the following imperatives for the new food safety approach:
(1) Prioritizing prevention
(2) Strengthening surveillance and enforcement
(3) Improving response to and recovery from outbreaks
In an effort at better management and coordination, the FSWG is seeking to coordinate the activities of agencies that oversee food issues, and has created two new positions:
Also announced: Some Big New Rules, many of which have a three-month time frame; some have a longer time frame…
This post originally appeared on Obamafoodorama.
December 6, 2023
The Walton Family Foundation invested in a Honduran lobster fishery, targeting its sustainability and touting its success. Ten years later, thousands of workers have been injured or killed.
December 7, 2023
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