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Administrative Law

Bioterrorism Rule Ineffective in Salmonella Outbreak

Posted Jul 10, 2008, 08:59 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A Food and Drug Administration rule adopted under a bioterrorism law was supposed to help officials trace threats to the food supply.

The rule requires importers, processors and distributors to keep track of where they buy produce and where it goes—keeping records for one step forward and one step back in the supply chain, the New York Times reports. The problem, though, is that many food handlers repack produce, mixing together items from several sources. The repacking makes it difficult to trace contamination to the source.

Some consumer groups and lawmakers are calling for changes to allow tracking of food from the point of origin to sale. David Acheson, the FDA’s associate commissioner for foods, told… Continue reading...

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