Posted: April 20th, 2012 - 5:21pm
Source: wpxi.com

WASHINGTON -- Today, with a salmonella outbreak reaching 20 states, including Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., called on the Office of Management and Budget to act on proposed food safety rules that are intended to protect consumers from foodborne illness.
"This latest salmonella outbreak should be a wake-up call for OMB that it's time to release these food safety rules," Casey said. "OMB has had more than enough time to consider these safety rules. It's time to get these rules out of the door for public comment and better protect Americans against these outbreaks."
New sets of rules for produce and imported foods such as seafood were supposed to be made public three months ago. Rules covering how small food-processors should keep food clean and uncontaminated are also pending.
The rules could lead to safer growing and treatment practices for foods that have been at the center of recent outbreaks, such as spinach and melons. Listeria in cantaloupes, for example, killed 30 people last fall.
In his letter, Senator Casey wrote, “OMB must take seriously its responsibility to promptly review the rules in order to improve food safety and allow FDA to direct its attention toward this issue in order to ensure that the American food supply is safe.”