Foodborne Illness Victims Mark President Obama's First 100 Days By Calling For Permanent...

Foodborne Illness Victims Mark President Obama's First 100 Days By Calling For
Permanent Fix To Food Safety System

Victims & Their Families Convene in Washington D.C. to Share Personal Stories
& Ask Congress to Pass Legislation that Will Protect the Public

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 20 victims of
foodborne illness, including surviving family members of those killed by
contaminated food, gathered today at the U.S. Capitol to share their stories,
meet with legislators and voice support for legislation to reform our nation's
food safety system. Representing the 76 million Americans who are needlessly
sickened each year from contaminated food -- and the thousands who die each
year from foodborne illness -- these victims and their families urged Congress
and the Obama administration - who made a commitment to improve food safety in
the U.S. within his first 100 days in office - to pass food safety legislation
that will improve consumer protection.

"The stories of these victims illustrate why Congress must act now to fix our
ailing food safety system," said Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA),
Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "We simply cannot
afford to wait. Seeing a strong food safety bill enacted will be one of my
highest priorities this Congress."

"These victims, their families and their stories must serve as the final
wake-up call. We must act now to make it happen, transform the FDA, and begin
a new movement that puts public health first. At last, we can bring our
current food safety system out of the past," said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT), Chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations.
"That is why I have introduced the Food Safety Modernization Act to separate
food safety regulation from drug and device approvals and to restore the
balance that has long been missing at Health and Human Service."

More than 5,000 Americans die annually from foodborne illness -- from
outbreaks linked to spinach, lettuce, and peanuts. Unfortunately, our food
safety system is woefully inadequate, and in key respects is still based on
laws Congress enacted in 1906 that are outdated and fail to protect our food
supply. Consider the following: in 2007 there were approximately 1.5 million
fires in the United States, causing about 18,000 injuries and 3,400 deaths.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, in that
same year, there one in four Americans were victims of foodborne illness,
causing 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. Today, no one would
tolerate fighting fires with buckets and horse-drawn wagons - this would be
unacceptable. Similarly, we cannot combat 21st century problems in our food
supply with a statute written more than 100 years ago.

"We know the system can be improved," said Robyn Allgood of Chubbuck, ID,
whose 2-year-old son Kyle died in 2006 after drinking a smoothie containing
spinach contaminated with E.coli O157:H7. "What's scary is that a foodborne
pathogen can't be seen, and once someone is sick there is no way to reverse
it. Stopping it before it gets to our grocery stores and homes would save so
much money and heartache."

Without immediate reform, the outbreaks of contaminated food, like we have
seen over the past several years, are likely to continue. Data released by the
Centers for Disease Control on April 9, 2009 shows that over the past three
years, there has been no reduction in the reported incident rate of many
foodborne illnesses. In fact, Salmonella infections may be rising.

Major consumer and food safety groups have launched the Make Our Food Safe
Campaign (www.makeourfoodsafe.org), including the Center for Foodborne Illness
Research & Prevention, Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Consumer
Federation of America, Consumers Union, Food & Water Watch, The Pew Charitable
Trusts, Safe Tables Our Priority, and Trust for America's Health - full page
advertisements promoting the campaign appear in today's Hill, Roll Call and
Politico publications. These groups have released a list of key provisions
that should be included in legislation to reform the nation's food regulatory
system:

-- A risk-based inspection process to ensure that all food facilities
are
inspected at least annually, but more frequently if the facility
produces a high-risk product;
-- Requirements that food companies test and sample for harmful
contaminants, along with a requirement that they must report any test
result showing contamination to the government;
-- Mandatory food processor plans that will identify where contamination
may occur, and include steps or interventions to prevent
contamination;
-- Science-based standards for foods, including fresh produce;
-- Steps to ensure that imported food products meet the same safety
standards as those applied to food produced in the U.S.;
-- Enhanced enforcement tools, like mandatory recall authority and the
power to promptly levy meaningful penalties against violators;
-- Structural changes in HHS that would make food safety-related
functions
in that Department more effective by creating two separate
Administrations - one for food and one for drugs and devices.

Several bills have been introduced in the 111th Congress that would give the
FDA the tools and authority it needs to keep our food safe, including clear
regulatory oversight and accountability, safety standards for imported foods,
and mandatory recall authority.

SOURCE Make Our Food Safe Campaign

Paula Chrin, +1-202-478-6138, PCHRIN@MRSS.COM, or Ben Grossman-Cohen,
+1-202-478-6185, BGROSSMAN-COHEN@MRSS.COM, Make Our Food Safe Campaign