Food safety reform is on the table again

April 3, 2009
by Mary MacVean
Los Angeles Times

Consumers could be forgiven for feeling a little weary about this week's recall of pistachios that might be contaminated with salmonella.

It comes just weeks after thousands of products containing peanuts were voluntarily recalled in a salmonella outbreak that sickened about 700 people, and follows highly publicized food-borne disease outbreaks connected to peppers and spinach.

"As consumers, we all have that reaction, 'Here we go again,' " said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that works to reform the food safety system.

But the string of alerts keeps food safety on the minds of Americans and could lead to legislative changes in California and the rest of the country.

The Food and Drug Administration told consumers Monday to stop eating anything containing pistachios -- an effort to keep people from getting sick while investigators looked for the source and the extent of the problem.

View the full story (some sites require registration)