Citizen Health & Safety

Bad Recordkeeping Leaves Food Safety Net Frayed

Mar 26, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Today, Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Daniel Levinson testified before an appropriations subcommittee to discuss the FDA’s ability to keep track of the comings and goings of food. “FDA’s ability to fulfill its duties largely depends upon whether it can follow a food product’s movement through each stage of the food supply chain, a process referred to as traceability,” Levinson said in testimony.

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Wage and Child Labor Violations Often Ignored, GAO says

Mar 25, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The federal agency responsible for investigating employers who employ children, fail to pay proper wages, and violate other fair labor laws is riddled with inadequacies, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today.

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EPA to Finally Declare Greenhouse Gases Harmful

Mar 24, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Environmental Protection Agency stands ready to declare greenhouse gases a harmful air pollutant, setting the federal government on a path toward regulating emissions, according to a plethora of news sources. The New York Times predicts the effects.

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Efforts to Reform FDA Begin

President Barack Obama and Congress recently began efforts aimed at shoring up the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency battered by recent consumer safety problems and declining resources. In a March 14 address, Obama named two officials he wants to lead the agency and announced the creation of a working group to propose food safety reforms. Congress is once again trying to craft legislation aimed at providing greater consumer protections and restoring resources to the agency.

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OSHA Agenda Will Include Diacetyl, Secretary Says

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) intends to limit workers' exposure to the food flavoring chemical diacetyl. Diacetyl regulation was one of the many worker protection issues left unresolved by the Bush administration.

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Court Blocks Bush Rule Allowing Guns in Parks

Mar 20, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Gun safety and park conservation advocates scored a victory yesterday when a federal judge temporarily blocked a Bush administration regulation permitting loaded weapons in national parks.

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Government Improvement Panel Finally Funded

Mar 19, 2009 by Matthew Madia

In some belated news, the FY 2009 appropriations bill signed into law March 11 includes funding for the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). ACUS will receive $1.5 million of the omnibus spending bill’s $410 billion total haul.

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Labor Dept. Reviewing Bush Worker Protection Rules

Mar 17, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Labor Department today announced separately that it will review two controversial Bush administration policies.

The first is an OSHA proposal that could limit worker exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used to give food a buttery flavor. Factory workers (and possibly consumers) exposed to diacetyl are at a higher risk for developing bronchiolitis obliterans, a potentially fatal lung disease. (Background here.)

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OMB Extends Comment Period on Regulatory Reform

Mar 16, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Update (3/30/09): Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31, is the final day to submit comments to OMB. You can submit comments by emailing them to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or faxing them to (202) 395–7245.

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Obama Pledges Food Safety Reform

Mar 16, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Ensuring the safety of the food and drug supply is something “only a government can do,” President Obama said on Saturday. Obama used his weekly address to shine a bright spotlight on food safety, focusing on government’s role in fixing the problems that have led to recent high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks like the current peanut contamination scare.

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