The FDA Seems to be doing its Job Today…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cited a Tyson company seafood plant for serious food safety violations yesterday, Representatives for the plant, which produces seafood soup and sauces, are claiming that the problem was primarily related to paperwork, and did not actually involve threats to food safety. However, the FDA letter to the company states that food product at the plant was "prepared, packed or held under unsanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” How did Tyson publicly respond to such an accusation? By saying that the product in question, which FDA just happened to obverse while they were there, was simply thrown away.

Convenient!

In other news, the FDA has requested proof from the producers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages that the drinks are safe. The FDA never approved the addition of caffeine to alcoholic beverages. You might wonder exactly how a product can be on the market without the FDA approving its contents being mixed together. Well, from the LA Times…

In the absence of FDA approval, the burden of proving that a new combination of food or drink is safe falls on the manufacturer, said Joshua Sharfstein, the agency's principal deputy commissioner.

Seems problematic to allow the producer of a for-profit product to determine its safety. An FDA task force is claiming that the caffeine in the drinks mask the effect of alcohol, leading to an increase in drunk driving, sexual assault and other destructive behavior. If the producers cannot prove that the drinks are safe, the FDA may take them off the market.

Lastly, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) yesterday introduced the Processed Food Safety Act, which would prohibit the sale of any processed poultry or meat that has not either undergone a food-borne pathogen reduction treatment, or been certified to contain no traces of pathogens.