WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's pick to oversee food and drug safety pledged on Thursday to revamp protection of the nation's food supply to help prevent future disease outbreaks.

USA TODAY's article "Broken system hid peanut plants' risks" raises some important questions surrounding the Peanut Corp. of America recall (Cover story, Money, April 27). But the article failed to note that industry and government both have unique and important roles when it comes to food safety.

OTTAWA -- The federal government should establish an independent food safety agency reporting directly to Parliament because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is failing consumers, a so-called leading food-safety expert on Monday told parliamentarians probing the listeriosis outbreak.

A Launceston food testing facility has pleaded not guilty to failing to notify authorities about the presence of listeria in a local cheese. Tasmanian Laboratory Services has been charged with failing to notify about the presence of a specific human pathogenic organism in food. The case will be heard in the Launceston Magistrates Court in July.