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USDA to work with FDA on food safety regs
The USDA is joining with the Food and Drug Administration to develop new food safety rules for the produce industry at the request of the FDA. Leanne Skelton, chief of the USDA’s Ag Marketing Service (AMS) fresh produce branch will work with the FDA for the next six months as it develops new safety procedures in its overall reform of the current food safety system.
Officials insist that the concerns of small and organic farmers will be included in FDA’s gathering of information and feedback about the impact on growers and their operations under new rules. Small and organic producers had expressed concern that their operations would be negatively affected.
This summer, the U.S. House passed a bill that would give FDA more authority in dealing with and preventing food-borne illnesses. In July, the FDA proposed a number of steps to curtail the recent food related outbreaks in the U.S.
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