US-USA Today-FDA to get only slight increase in food-safety funding

The Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to receive a modest increase in food-safety funding next year despite calls from many corners that it needs far more to keep up with soaring imports and heightened food-safety concerns.

A $516 billion spending bill working its way through Congress includes $513 million for FDA food-safety programs, up $56 million from the 2007 fiscal year. The new budget is for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

 

FOCUS ON IMPORTS: Lawmakers seek more food-safety oversight

The appropriation is 12% more than the agency got for food safety in fiscal 2007. But half the increase will be eaten up by annual cost increases, including pay raises, and the FDA won’t get the other half until July — and only then if it has a performance plan in place that lawmakers find adequate…more…

Canada-Meatingplace.com-Canada reports another case of BSE

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Tuesday confirmed the diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a 13-year-old beef cow from Alberta, noting that the agency has the animal’s carcass under its control and no part of it entered the human food or animal feed systems.

The latest discovery marks the 11th case of BSE to befall Canada since its first in a native-born animal in May 2003, which prompted many export markets to ban Canadian beef.

In May of this year, the World Organization for Animal Health designated Canada as a controlled-risk country for BSE, acknowledging the effectiveness of its controls and effectively allowing the export of beef from Canadian cattle of any age.

“This case will not affect Canada’s risk status,” CFIA said in a news release. ..more..

US-Meatingplace.com-ConAgra new pot pie labels hitting store shelves

In the wake of the Banquet pot pie recall in October that cost ConAgra Foods $30 million (See ConAgra Foods recalls pot pies on Meatingplace.com, October 12, 2007.), redesigned labels aimed at getting consumers to cook such products properly are starting to hit store shelves.

“We have taken steps to make it clear the cooking instructions are for food safety and quality,” ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs told Meatingplace.com. Larger, brighter cooking instructions that include enhanced visual cues are all part of the redesign….more…