Brown works to add teeth to proposed food safety bill
Mansfield News Journal – MANSFIELD — The issue of food-borne illnesses is making waves on the national scene again this week. It's a topic north central Ohio residents know well.
In 2008 six people in eastern Crawford County were diagnosed with food-borne illnesses. Four more cases took place in Ashland County.
In 2009, the Galion Health Department had 30 suspected cases of foodborne illness, but Environmental Health Director Stephanie Zmuda said none of them were confirmed.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed comprehensive food safety legislation last year. However, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced Wednesday he is working for swift approval of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, while seeking to make improvements to the bill.
"Too many Ohio families are already struggling to put food on the table. They shouldn't also have to worry about the safety of that food," Brown said. "But we've seen a flood of imported food from countries that ignore food safety, and our own system has not been able to keep pace with changes in food production.
Brown is the author of the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act (S. 425), which would establish a nationwide tracking system through the FDA to identify and track the sources of tainted food.
