Did You Know the Government Does Not Have the Authority to Recall Your Poisoned Food?
Poisoned food can kill you, so most consumers are surprised to learn that the United States Government does not have the authority to force food companies to recall tainted food products.
That’s right, all recalls for food infected with e.coli, salmonella, parasites, or other harmful agents may stay on the grocery store shelves unless the company that released them in the first place decides to recall it back to the factory.
While the United States Department of Agriculture or the Food & Drug Administration can pressure companies to recall food that is known to be tainted, it is ultimately the company’s choice whether to issue the recall or release information to the public about the problem. Not surprisingly, this often means food is in the marketplace for days if not weeks longer than necessary.
The past few months have seen stories about tainted meat, poultry, soups, salads, peanut butter, and even cocktail mixes. As the graphic from ABC News above indicates, these stories can get big headlines and leave consumers feeling panicked about the safety of their food and worried about what to eat. This hurts industry players as well as consumers, but in the age of quarterly earnings reports long term concerns usually take a back seat to short term profit margins.
The good news is that increased publicity for this issue means that legislators are finally introducing bills that propose to grant the government mandatory recall authority, however we have been here before. Mandatory recall is an issue that comes up every time there is a large food safety crisis in the headlines, however it usually fades away from the public mind with the next big story. If you are interested in keeping the momentum going on this issue, contact your legislator, raise awareness with friends and family members about the issues involved, or get involved with a food safety advocate organization.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
[...] out of every day to actively take care of nature. Worried about all of the food recalls out there? Read up about your rights as a consume and what the government’s really allowed to do for you. And, [...]
November 7th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Great article, Margie.
November 7th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
What a sad state of affairs.