Originally published April 25, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified April 25, 2007 at 2:02 AM
Families tell panel of tainted food illnesses, fears
Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter put a human face on recent high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness Tuesday...
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter put a human face on recent high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness Tuesday, urging lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation's food supply.
"I can't protect them from spinach — only you guys can," said Michael Armstrong, as he and his wife, Elizabeth, cradled daughters Ashley, 2, and Isabella, 5.
The two girls fell ill — Ashley gravely so — in September after eating a salad made with a bag of the leafy greens contaminated by E. coli.
That and other incidents of contamination have raised questions not only about the U.S. food supply but efforts by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies to keep it safe.
"I hope these hearings will help alert the American people, Congress and the administration to the seriousness of this issue," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations.
Also testifying was Gary Pruden, joined by his 11-year-old son, Sean, who was seriously sickened in November by E. coli after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant. Pruden said a key element of trade and commerce is trust.
"That is also extended to the trust in the food we order or buy from the grocery store — that it's edible and safe," Pruden told the panel. "Without that trust, commerce cannot work. And where failure occurs, oversight is required."
The safety of domestic food was questioned anew last fall when officials traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to contaminated spinach processed by Natural Selection Foods LLC. Three people died and nearly 200 others were sickened. More recently, contaminated peanut butter and pet food have been recalled.
"I don't see the latest string of incidents as aberrations," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. "It's become a systemic problem and it calls for systemic solutions."
DeGette has introduced legislation to give the FDA and Agriculture Department the authority to mandate recalls, in line with a proposal by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Other legislative efforts include proposals to create a single Food Safety Administration and develop a uniform reporting system to track contaminated food.
In January, the government's fragmented food-safety system was added to a congressional "high-risk" list, indicating its inefficiencies leave it vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse. Fifteen federal agencies administer at least 30 laws pertaining to food safety. The FDA, however, is the main food-safety agency.
A panel of officials from companies involved in the recalls expressed their sympathy for victims of the outbreaks. None said a government-mandated recall would have changed how they dealt, voluntarily, with removing their products from the marketplace.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
A Bing deal for Microsoft, News Corp.?
Amazon, Wal-Mart escalate Web price war
8 charged in probe of terrorism-recruiting network in U.S.
Hate crimes against gays, religious groups up, FBI says
SC legislators begin Sanford impeachment hearings

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Jerry Brewer | Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Husky Football Blog | Ranking the Pac
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
408 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
215 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
106 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
96 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
77 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
58
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research
- UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
- Children in home day care watching hours of TV, study says
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit


