Congressional panel grills FDA on Salmonella outbreak response
Congressional panel grills FDA on Salmonella outbreak response
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) criticized the Food & Drug Administration's response to this summer's Salmonella outbreak at a Sept. 17 hearing, here, and announced plans to introduce a bill to split up FDA's food and drug programs to elevate food safety in the government agency.
Rep. DeLauro plans to introduce a bill later this month that would consolidate food regulation within the Department of Health & Human Services as well as require new mandates for traceability, inspections and imported foods.
At the hearing, several members of Congress grilled David Acheson, FDA's associate commissioner for foods, on the agency's handling of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that sickened more than 1,400 people and devastated the U.S. tomato industry.
"We estimate more than $2 million in losses" for our own company, said Greg Murray, owner of Georgia-based Murray Farms, who recounted the financial impact of FDA's advisory that directed consumers not to eat certain tomatoes. Georgia tomato growers have lost up to $17 million, he added.
U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) said that the FDA owed Mr. Murray an apology. "You all ruined the tomato industry. It might never recover," he said. "I feel for Mr. Murray," said Dr. Acheson. "He was wrapped up in a situation we were trying to avoid."
But Dr. Acheson said that the agency would not offer a formal apology because it did nothing wrong in the outbreak investigation.
"We can't say it was wrong to implicate tomatoes," said Dr. Acheson, who pointed the finger at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the agency that first implicated tomatoes as an early culprit in the summer-long outbreak.
In 2008, the tomato crop looked good, but when news of the outbreak started and FDA issued the warning, sales dropped to nearly non-existent, said Mr. Murray. The farm left half of its tomato crop in the field to rot and the price for tomatoes dropped to $2 a box, despite the fact that Georgia tomatoes were never implicated, he said.
Mr. Murray said he planted more than 100 acres last year, but now he's planning on planting only 57 acres this fall.
Rep. DeLauro plans to introduce a bill later this month that would consolidate food regulation within the Department of Health & Human Services as well as require new mandates for traceability, inspections and imported foods.
At the hearing, several members of Congress grilled David Acheson, FDA's associate commissioner for foods, on the agency's handling of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that sickened more than 1,400 people and devastated the U.S. tomato industry.
"We estimate more than $2 million in losses" for our own company, said Greg Murray, owner of Georgia-based Murray Farms, who recounted the financial impact of FDA's advisory that directed consumers not to eat certain tomatoes. Georgia tomato growers have lost up to $17 million, he added.
U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) said that the FDA owed Mr. Murray an apology. "You all ruined the tomato industry. It might never recover," he said. "I feel for Mr. Murray," said Dr. Acheson. "He was wrapped up in a situation we were trying to avoid."
But Dr. Acheson said that the agency would not offer a formal apology because it did nothing wrong in the outbreak investigation.
"We can't say it was wrong to implicate tomatoes," said Dr. Acheson, who pointed the finger at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the agency that first implicated tomatoes as an early culprit in the summer-long outbreak.
In 2008, the tomato crop looked good, but when news of the outbreak started and FDA issued the warning, sales dropped to nearly non-existent, said Mr. Murray. The farm left half of its tomato crop in the field to rot and the price for tomatoes dropped to $2 a box, despite the fact that Georgia tomatoes were never implicated, he said.
Mr. Murray said he planted more than 100 acres last year, but now he's planning on planting only 57 acres this fall.
