Comments on: KQED's Forum: Food Safety http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2009/04/09/kqeds-forum-food-safety/ Culinary Rants & Raves from Bay Area Foodies and Professionals Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:41:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Austin E. Lucero http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2009/04/09/kqeds-forum-food-safety/comment-page-1/#comment-12777 Austin E. Lucero Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:52:08 +0000 http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/?p=3012#comment-12777 I am a California Senior Legislator, and it is my job to lookout for Senior Citizens, with that thought in mind I would like to ask you a question. Today about 9:45 AM I was listening to Forum during which time the safety of food, and the FDA were the topic. The best before dates on packaged food was one of the topics. I too am concerned about the lack of and accuracy of the date printed on food packages but I can't seem to get the CA Legislators to a bill proposal that required that dates Of Best before be printed on all food packages. Where can I get some real information, that I can use to convince the legislators that bills like best before, are important. 4csl.org is the website for the California Senior Legislature, and it has this bill listed as a top choice, along with over the counter hearing aids, bill. Thanks for your help. Austin I am a California Senior Legislator, and it is my job to lookout for Senior Citizens, with that thought in mind I would like to ask you a question. Today about 9:45 AM I was listening to Forum during which time the safety of food, and the FDA were the topic. The best before dates on packaged food was one of the topics.
I too am concerned about the lack of and accuracy of the date printed on food packages but I can’t seem to get the CA Legislators to a bill proposal that required that dates Of Best before be printed on all food packages. Where can I get some real information, that I can use to convince the legislators that bills like best before, are important. 4csl.org is the website for the California Senior Legislature, and it has this bill listed as a top choice, along with over the counter hearing aids, bill.
Thanks for your help.
Austin

]]> By: John Flint http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2009/04/09/kqeds-forum-food-safety/comment-page-1/#comment-12774 John Flint Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:42:46 +0000 http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/?p=3012#comment-12774 I'm a retired veterinarian. I understand that the federal inspectors were frustrated when the meat inspection system changed to federal inspectors calling on plants on regularly scheduled days to supervise the company's inspectors. The older system was for federal veterinarians to be assigned to plants to manage lay inspectors and look into questions the lay inspectors had. I suspect the company has little problem keeping the federal veterinarian occupied so that he has no time to see the deficiencies in the company's inspections. Outside inspectors would usually notice the processes that cause E. coli contaminations of meet and maybe get it stopped before the problem gets so bad it bankrupts the offending company. I've also read the many of the supervising people in USDA headquarters are retired packing plant employees who apparently think having federal veterinarians in the plants is an unnecessary bother. I’m a retired veterinarian. I understand that the federal inspectors were frustrated when the meat inspection system changed to federal inspectors calling on plants on regularly scheduled days to supervise the company’s inspectors. The older system was for federal veterinarians to be assigned to plants to manage lay inspectors and look into questions the lay inspectors had.

I suspect the company has little problem keeping the federal veterinarian occupied so that he has no time to see the deficiencies in the company’s inspections. Outside inspectors would usually notice the processes that cause E. coli contaminations of meet and maybe get it stopped before the problem gets so bad it bankrupts the offending company.

I’ve also read the many of the supervising people in USDA headquarters are retired packing plant employees who apparently think having federal veterinarians in the plants is an unnecessary bother.

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