Well, I get to follow the testimony via the Blackberry’s of two folks sitting in the hearing, the live webcast and Phil Brasher’s Blog – while sitting at my kitchen counter watching the Sun rise.

Have not heard much on food safety.  I know "Change is on the way."

Somewhere between the shower and the ferry terminal I missed the minute spent on food safety.  Thanks to Phil Brasher for blogging:

Two hours into the hearing, Vilsack finally got a question on food safety – from Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar. She wanted to know what he thought needed to be done to improve the exsting food-safety system, which is splintered among federal agencies.

Vilsack offered nothing concrete. He said “we need to modernize our inspection, surveillance system so it is focused on prevent and mitigation,” and he pledged to work with the federal agencies that have responsible for food safety. USDA is responsible for the safety of meat. FDA is responsible for most all other foods.

My guess is that he reads my blog at night, or the New York Times last Sunday:

Bill Marler, a personal-injury lawyer in Seattle who represents clients in food poisoning cases, says the first thing the Obama administration should do is invest in better surveillance for food-borne illness, like a system that Minnesota uses. “If you are able to figure out food-borne illnesses quicker,” Mr. Marler said, “you are able to prevent people from getting sick and save lives.”