Health Law

Mandatory Food Code Adoption by the States: one of many good projects for FDA and Michael Taylor

By Drew Falkenstein

 As the newly appointed deputy commissioner for food safety at the FDA, Michael Taylor has a lot on his plate.  Many different things to accomplish, not least of which a ramped up, more proactive approach to food safety within the agencies of government.  Perhaps the creation of a unified governmental body for all things food safety?  Maybe giving the USDA and FDA the legal authority to recall products themselves, rather than rely on conflicted food manufacturing companies to do it themselves when they learn about a problem.  Stiffer penalties, including personal liability, for reckless or willful corporate conduct that ends up causing an outbreak?

Another idea went up on foodsafetynews.com today:  the mandatory and continuous adoption of the FDA's Model Food Code, by the states, as a baseline regulatory scheme.  See A Call for Uniform Model Food Code Adoption.  As was stated in the article:

It is time for greater uniformity in our regulatory system. There are more than three thousand state, local, and tribal agencies responsible for regulating the retail foodservice industry, which includes over a million foodservice establishments in the United States. It is time for a federal mandate making the FDA's Model Food Code (the Code) compulsory as a baseline regulatory scheme on all states, territories, and tribal jurisdictions. The FDA apparently agrees, stating on its website: "Adoption of the Food Code represents a successful federal/state/local partnership in improving food safety." 

"FDA and [the Association of Food and Drug Officials'] goal is the prevention and reduction of foodborne illness and death from food produced at the retail level. Adoption of the Food Code by all food safety agencies at the federal, state, local and tribal levels establishes a sound regulatory foundation and legal framework for uniformity in achieving such a reduction."

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on January 14, 2010 (boomark / email).