Congressional Leaders Blame Food Industry’s Self-Policing System for Peanut Salmonella Outbreak

The current government policy allowing food companies to police themselves let filthy conditions at two peanut processing plants go unnoticed until they had caused an outbreak of deadly salmonella bacteria, Congressional leaders said.

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), the food company blamed for shipping tainted peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut paste to food makers across the United States, hired a private firm to inspect its facilities in Blakely, Georgia and Plainview, Texas. The two plants have now been linked to contaminated food blamed for contributing to nine deaths, nearly 700 illnesses, and the recall of more than 3,200 food products, one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history.

This week, the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee said the use of a private firm, rather than Food and Drug Administration or state inspectors, contributed to unsanitary conditions at the plants.

Congressional leaders also questioned how dozens of food makers who purchased peanut paste and other products from PCA failed to notice that peanut products were contaminated. However, committee members agreed that food companies were correct in relying on safety inspections, which turned out to be unreliable.

System Creates Conflict of Interest

Allowing food companies to hire their own private auditing firms to inspect their facilities creates a “cozy relationship” that encourages the inspectors to reach favorable conclusions and overlook problems, the committee members said.

The FDA has said that there are simply too many food companies scattered all over the United States for the agency to personally inspect every one, forcing the FDA to rely on private inspectors hired by food companies to do the job.

Overhauling the FDA

Increasing funding for FDA inspections and closer oversight of food makers is a cornerstone of most discussions regarding overhaul of the agency proposed by President Barack Obama and others.

This week, Kellogg Co. proposed creating a new federal agency to police food safety, removing the task from under the FDA. The new agency would be housed under the Department of Health and Human Services.

Whether it is done by restructuring responsibilities for food company supervision or some other means, it is clear that continuing to rely on food companies to effectively police themselves is no longer realistic.

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