The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be far more vigilant amid recent deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe, and leafy vegetables. The regulations are aimed at reducing the estimated 3,000 annual deaths from food borne illness. Since last summer, outbreaks of Listeria in cheese and salmonella in peanut butter, mangoes, and cantaloupe have been linked to more than 400 illnesses and as many as seven deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The actual number of those sickened is likely much higher. The proposed FDA rules would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, including making sure workers' hands are washed, irrigation water is clean, and that animals stay out of growing fields. Food manufacturers will have to submit food safety plans to the government to show they are keeping their operations clean.
