Kellogg CEO Calls for Overhaul of U.S. Food Safety Policies

The chief officer of cereal and food maker Kellogg Co. says the United States should dramatically change the way it regulates the food industry to better prevent deadly and costly outbreaks of contaminated products.

As part of the overhaul, Kellogg’s CEO David Mackay is set to testify today before a Congressional hearing that the job of policing food companies should be moved from the Food and Drug Administration and placed in a newly created branch of the Health and Human Services Department.

The FDA has been widely criticized in recent years for its handling of deadly outbreaks of food poisoning caused by salmonella linked to contaminated peanut butter products, tomatoes, and other products. Some critics have said the FDA is understaffed for the job of ensuring the safety of food consumed in the U.S. The FDA is responsible for regulating all foods except beef and poultry, which are covered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Kellogg lost an estimated $70 million due to the peanut salmonella outbreak, which forced the company to recall millions of its peanut butter crackers and cookies. The outbreak forced the recall of more than 3,000 food products, one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history.

Mackay’s opinion, to be delivered today to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, could give a boost to President Barack Obama’s announced plan to overhaul the FDA, which may include placing food inspection duties with another agency.

Other Changes Urged

Mackay also is calling for new, stricter requirements for all food companies requiring written safety plans, annual federal inspections of food-processing facilities that make high-risk foods, and other changes.

The recent outbreak of salmonella in peanut butter and other peanut products was traced to a single company, Peanut Corp. of America, which operated plants in Georgia and Texas. Conditions at those two facilities were described as “filthy” by inspectors who visited after the outbreak had begun. The company, which sold peanuts and peanut paste to Kellogg and other large food makers, has since filed for bankruptcy and the plants have been closed. Company officials may face criminal charges for knowingly shipping peanut products tainted by salmonella to consumers.

Salmonella from the company’s plants has been blamed for causing nine deaths and nearly 700 illnesses across the United States.

Years of lax inspections of Peanut Corp. facilities by the FDA and state inspectors were blamed for allowing the company to keep processing contaminated food until it was too late.

Mackay’s call for moving the job of regulating food safety to the Health and Human Services department mirrors recently announced plans by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who has said she will recommend taking food safety enforcement away from the FDA and placing it with a new agency within the department.

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