By: Cash Strapped Readers Spare a Dime for America’s Cheapest Family | EcoSalon | Conscious Culture and Fashion

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:59:24 +0000

[…] would probably feel more comfortable doing bi-monthly shopping expeditions with weekly trips to farmers’ markets for fruits and […]

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:16:01 +0000

Thanks for stopping by Carol and sharing even more detailed and interesting history of the FDA and USDA. Wow. What tangled webs we weave.

By: Carol L. Tucker-Foreman

Carol L. Tucker-Foreman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:46:52 +0000

Dear Vanessa Barrington. Your article was full of good information but the history of why FDA regulates the safety of some foods and USDA regulates meat and poultry is even more interesting than you relate. The first Pure Food and Drug Act, precursor of today’s Food Drug and Cosmetic Act was passed in June 1906. The goal was to stop people from adding dangerous chemicals to foods to make them appear fresh or to mask decay. The law was administered by the USDA’s Bureau of Chemistry. The Meat Inspection Act was passed on the same day in 1906 and also administered by the USDA but by a separate agency, the Bureau of Animal Industry. The primary goals of the law are to prevent adulterated or misbranded livestock and products from being sold as food, and to ensure that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. The original 1906 Act authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to inspect and condemn any meat product found unfit for human consumption.
The big difference between the two laws continues today. The Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act direct the Secretary to inspect ever cow, sheep, goat, pig, chicken, turkey, etc at slaughtered and at each step of further processing. No meat or poultry product regulated by USDA can be sold unless it is stamped as having been inspected and passed by USDA. The meat and poultry acts aim to PREVENT dangerous food from being sold. The FDA has no specific authority to prevent foodborne illness.
The separate administration also continues today. The Pure Food functions were moved from USDA after a few years and ultimately became the FDA which is now in the Department of Health and Human Services. Meat and poultry inspection remain in USDA and, after being located in numerous agencies within the Department, the Congress in 1995 created a separate Food Safety and Inspection Service and directed that it be the public health agency within USDA. Food safety functions are under the direction of the Under Secretary for Food Safety who by law is the highest ranking food safety official within the U.S. government. At least on paper, the Under Secretary outranks the FDA commissionert

By: Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:07:45 +0000

Great information and lots to digest here, no pun intended. Thanks for the education!

Comments on: A Primer on Current Food Safety Politics for Non Policy Geeks

By: Cash Strapped Readers Spare a Dime for America’s Cheapest Family | EcoSalon | Conscious Culture and Fashion

By: Vanessa

By: Carol L. Tucker-Foreman

By: Daniel