Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette sent a letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns requesting an investigation and hearing on the recent outbreak of Listeria monoctyogenes in cantaloupe. The members are making the request to better understand the causes of the deadliest food borne disease outbreak in over a decade and learn what actions can be taken by industry and FDA to avoid such outbreaks in the future.
The full text of the letter is available online here. When democratic Rep. Dingell and Stupak ran these committees from 2006 – 2010 hearings on peanut butter, spinach, post pies, eggs were had. It will be interesting to see if the republican majority does the same – or, not.