Sludge Watch ==> Spinach - is it safe for our kids?

[Maureen Reilly]

http://www.masslive.com/editorials/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/117774578742130.xml&coll=1



EDITORIALS
If it's safe for Popeye, is it safe for our kids?
Monday, April 30, 2007

'Eat your spinach," parents have told their children for generations. "It's 
good for you."

Can a parent say the same thing to a child today with absolute certainty 
that the leafy green vegetable is healthy?

Spinach is a good source of fiber, protein, vitamins A, C, E, K and B6, as 
well as calcium, but can a parent be certain that it is not also a source of 
E. coli?








A series of food poisoning cases - bagged spinach, lettuce and peanut butter 
- has made Americans worry that their food isn't safe.

More recently, contaminated pet food was sent to hog farms in as many as six 
states, prompting fears that the tainted hogs have entered the human food 
supply.

Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office, declared food 
safety as a "high-risk" issue to public health and the economy.

Lawmakers heard last week from people sickened by tainted food at a hearing 
of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and 
investigations.

When it comes to government regulation of food safety, there are too many 
cooks in the kitchen. The U.S. Agriculture Department is responsible for 
meat, poultry and eggs. The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for 
fruits and vegetables, while the pesticides used by farmers to protect 
produce from pests are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. 
Seafood? Call the National Marine Fisheries Service. Altogether, there are 
15 agencies that handle food safety.

There is legislation in both the Senate and the House that would consolidate 
food safety under a new independent food agency.

Another federal agency? That could be a recipe for disaster, but the nation 
can no longer depend as much as it does now on individual food companies to 
ensure that its food is safe. Some consolidation is in order, and a thorough 
review of the outdated rules on food inspections is necessary. Also, the 
government should have the authority to issue a recall.

When American consumers buy a food item in a supermarket, they put their 
trust in everyone who has played some role in making it appear on the 
grocery shelf.

It's time to restore that trust.