No booty for you

Cases of salmonella outbreaks continue to hit the news, and it seems like pretty soon we’ll be out of things to eat! Part of the problem, some would argue, is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t have enough power over manufactured foods. The FDA can’t even issue a mandatory recall of tainted foods–it can only inform the public and simply urge the manufacturer to order a recall.

Reforms may be coming soon, however, as the U.S. House in June moved forward with legislation that would give the FDA more authority. The bill would provide the FDA with the power to issue mandatory recalls, give the FDA better access to company records, and would require manufacturers to have food safety plans. In addition, inspections would happen with greater frequency.

In the meantime, the lawsuits continue. The latest lawsuit I read about involves a local woman who is suing the manufacturer of the snack Veggie Booty. The woman’s son allegedly was struck by salmonella poisoning from tainted Veggie Booty. The maker of Veggie Booty recalled the snack two years ago when tainted product sickened about 65 people across the nation. The lawsuit is asking for $192,000 in damages.

This was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 and is filed in the Legal, Public Safety categories.