New Rules
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed two new rules aimed at reducing the incidence of food-borne illness nationwide. These directives -- should they go into affect after a 120-day period of public comment -- will implement the Food Safety Modernization Act President Obama signed into law two years ago.
One of the two regulations would require all producers of food sold in the United States to establish formal plans not only for preventing dangerous contamination, but also for dealing with contamination should it occur.
The second rule would order the creation of enforceable safety standards for the harvesting and processing of fruits and vegetables on farms.
Three Years To Comply
While large farms would have three years to come into compliance with the new rules, smaller farms would be granted more time to make the necessary changes.
Recent efforts to combat food-borne illness like 2011's Clean, Cook, Chill, Separate Campaign, were criticized by some for placing too much emphasis on consumer actions and too little on producer responsibility.
So far, critics have responded more positively to the FDA's latest announcement.