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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 28 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USLawmakers seek tougher food safety rules
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s agriculture chief Wednesday asked the state Legislature to toughen salmonella reporting rules regarding peanut butter plants, following reports that a plant had found the bacteria and not told the state.
Commissioner Tommy Irvin requested that lawmakers pass a law to require mandatory reporting of internal testing at the peanut butter plants.
“This is where you can help us,” Irvin told a morning meeting of the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.
Committee chairman Tom McCall (R-Elberton) responded, “I think that’s in order.” After the meeting, Irvin said he would also like the law to include mandatory internal testing by the peanut butter plants.
A Blakely plant owned by Peanut Corp. of America has become the focus of a national salmonella outbreak that has sickened some 500 people in 43 states and may be linked to eight deaths. About half of those sickened are children.
On Tuesday, federal health officials said that the plant had found salmonella contamination on 12 occasions in the past two years, but the company sold some of the product after subsequent testing by an outside lab. The peanut butter plants are not legally required to report their internal testing to the state.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Legislature
Comments
By Patrick Malone
January 28, 2009 10:52 AM | Link to this
By their own admission the Georgia Department of Agriculture does not have the resources to enforce the current food safety laws. How is new legislation going to help?
By imfurit
January 28, 2009 11:51 AM | Link to this
The Consumer Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Agriculture is underfunded and working with unfilled positions because of budget issues. The Legislature needs to look at providing adequate funding for this vital division so they can properly go about their job of protecting the consumers (that’s you) of Georgia.
By crazygrocer
January 28, 2009 3:48 PM | Link to this
The time of the “Good Old Boy” era at the AG department has quickly come to a close. After National attention in two Peanut processing plants poor sanitation conditions have give the ‘ol AG department a bad name, it might be time for some new leadership! Tommy Irvins time has come and gone.