Delauro on Key Food Safety Report

Press Release

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), Ranking Member on the Labor, Education, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement in response to "Ranking the Risks: the 10 pathogen-food combinations with the greatest burden on public health," the report released by the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute today.

Congresswoman DeLauro has long been a supporter of modernizing and strengthening the country's food safety system. She first introduced legislation in 2008 to update the antiquated food safety laws that FDA and the USDA rely on to protect American consumers from unsafe food and celebrated passage of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act last year.

"This report is a valuable contribution to food safety research, and will enable us to develop a better understanding and meaningful metrics for things including illnesses, the cost of those illnesses, and the risks of specific foods. The Food Safety Modernization Act was a great first step in updating and strengthening our food safety system but this report makes it clear that there is still much work to be done to protect American consumers.

"The Food Safety Inspection Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regulates many of the pathogen-food combinations -- including poultry, pork, and beef -- that this study found caused both the most illnesses and the highest costs. But it was not included in the reforms of the Food Safety Modernization Act and it is clearly time that we modernize the Food Safety Inspection Service. It is clear that we must do more to protect American consumers and to ensure all of the foods we eat are safe, and I will continue fighting to make this a reality."

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