The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday set out to take a tougher stance against food contamination in U.S. food processing plants. The move to stop salmonella and E.coli contamination in processing plants comes amidst growing concerns about the delayed identification of the source of the salmonella contamination that sickened more than 700 people in 46 states earlier this year. The actions, to be unveiled by the administration at an event on Tuesday, were based on recommendations from a Food Safety Working Group created by Obama in March after a salmonella outbreak in peanut products forced the largest food recall in U.S. history. “The Working Group is recommending a new public health-focused approach to food safety based on three core principles: prioritizing prevention, strengthening surveillance and enforcement and improving response and recovery,” the White House said in a statement. A panel of the House of Representatives passed a food safety overhaul in June and a similar bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. The actions proposed by the administration anticipate passage of the pending legislation. In response to the working group recommendations, the administration created a new position—deputy commissioner for foods—at the Food and Drug Administration to increase coordination of food safety activities in different parts of the federal government.
