Statement from U.S. Senator Patty Murray:
“We know that the U.S. has the safest food supply in the world, largely because of the joint efforts of the food industry and our regulatory agencies. But each year, millions of Americans are still getting sick as a result of food borne illnesses. I’ve worked with Bill since
Presently the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is holding hostage FSIS’s desire to move forward with deeming certain other non-O157 E. coli’s adulterants. I will forgo arguing that FSIS did not in fact need to ask OMB’s permission, or that it should have been done years ago, but WE are where WE are.
Although no one believes me, I am actually in Hawaii for a Food Safety Expo where I will be giving two speeches. OK, I admit that there might be a bit of sun and an attempt at recalling how I once knew how to surf. But when I picked up the paper this morning I
I have been invited to speak at the Hawaiian Expo this coming week.
A few days ago I posted – “The FDA and Revisionist History of its Position on non-O157 E. coli” about what seemed to be some juggling of words and sentences in a series of FDA Press Releases about the E. coli O104:H4 outbreak in Germany. This morning I got a response from the FDA clarifying that in fact the “FDA does consider any disease-causing strain of E. coli in food to be illegal.” Here is the email chain (FDA in italics):
From: “DeLancey, Siobhan” <Siobhan.Delancey@fda.hhs.gov>
Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:34:45 -0400
To: Bill Marler <bmarler@marlerclark.com>
Subject: FDA statement on E. coli
Hi Bill,
A consumer notified me of your blog post on our press release on the E. coli O104 outbreak in Europe. As is often the case in these situations, there’s a simple and not very mysterious explanation.
Back on June 3, FDA posted an early [not finalized] draft of a press release titled “FDA statement on E. coli O104 outbreak in Europe.” Less than an hour later, we posted the final release, which was the same one that went to reporters via our distribution list.
As we have been stating since the outbreak in Europe, FDA does consider any disease-causing strain of E. coli in food to be illegal.
Hope that helps to clarify.
Siobhan DeLancey, RVT, MPH
Team Leader for Food, Veterinary and Cosmetic Products
FDA Office of Public Affairs
Office: 301-796-4668
BB: 202-510-4177
FDA Press Beat List:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/MediaContacts/default.htm
__________________
Continue Reading “FDA does consider any disease-causing strain of E. coli in food to be illegal”
I am old enough to remember when Politburo members would disappear from photos, and I was bothered by the Europeans when I posted – “EFSA and ECDC Change Published Risk Assessment because “some key partners involved felt that it may unnecessarily harm the company to publish its name while the investigations (into E. coli O104:H4 Outbreak) are still ongoing” – a few days ago, but, this really, in the U.S., the day after the 4th of July?
U.S. FDA CFSAN Deputy Director Donald Kraemer made a statement on June 3, 2011 regarding the E. coli O104:H4 outbreak in Europe. This statement was published on the FDA Web site and on various news Web sites. I touted it a day ago in my post – “The FDA considers any disease-causing strain of E. coli in food to be illegal. What is FSIS’s Position?”
Now the FDA Web site has a statement with different words than the original one.
The original paragraph read (my emphasis):
“Food growers, manufacturers and distributors are responsible for marketing safe food and taking any steps necessary to ensure that their products are indeed safe,” said Donald Kraemer, deputy director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “The FDA considers any disease-causing strain of E. coli in food to be illegal. The FDA has provided scientific guidance to the produce industry on ways to minimize the risk of E. coli, and these methods will reduce the risk of the strain of E. coli causing the European outbreak as well as the more common strains.”
The new paragraph reads:
“Food growers, manufacturers and distributors are responsible for marketing safe food and taking any steps necessary to ensure that their products are indeed safe,” said Donald Kraemer, deputy director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “The FDA has provided scientific guidance to the produce industry on ways to minimize the risk of E. coli, and these methods will reduce the risk of the strain of E. coli causing the European outbreak as well as the more common strains.”
The bold and italic sentence – “The FDA considers any disease-causing strain of E. coli in food to be illegal” – has been removed from the FDA Web site. The FDA Web site does not mention this change nor the reason for this revision.
There are about 1,000 subscribers to my blog and over 10,000 visitors a day – many in government and the media. Do you think someone will ask the FDA about the revision?
FYI:
Donald W. Kraemer, Deputy Director, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, College Park, MD, Phone: 301-436-2429, E-mail: donald.kraemer@fda.hhs.gov
See below for the original and revised releases:Continue Reading The FDA and Revisionist History of its Position on non-O157 E. coli
I was rereading the June 3, 2011 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) statement on the E. coli O104:H4 outbreak in Europe on my flight from Seattle to Boston today thinking about my upcoming meeting with a man who has spent over 30 days hospitalized from eating E. coli – tainted fenugreek sprouts.
On June 3
Our President set out the choices today:
if we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, if we choose to keep a tax break for corporate jet owners, if we choose to keep tax breaks for oil and gas companies that are making hundreds of billions of dollars, then that means we’ve
When I got a call last week from a Washington Post reporter that she was about to leave the food safety beat to cover education, I said congratulations until I learned than she would not be replaced. Then came the Tweet from the Dean of Ag reporters, Phil Brasher, that the Des Moines register was
Have you seen the new graphic ads that will be placed on cigarette packages?
I get asked all the time what foods I do not eat and what recommend that others not eat. My top two are raw milk and sprouts – not necessarily in that order.
With the German/French sprout E. coli O104:H4 outbreak
