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More Money Assured For Food Testing

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

WASHINGTON - President Bush's 2009 budget will include additional money to help safeguard the nation's food supply, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt told skeptical lawmakers Tuesday.

Leavitt, however, did not say how much more money the Food and Drug Administration would get for its food safety efforts. The agency has a budget of about $2 billion.

In the past 18 months, a series of food-borne illnesses led to questions about the safety of the nation's food supply. For example, spinach was contaminated with a deadly strain of E. coli, peanut butter was found to contain salmonella and canned chili contained the bacteria that causes botulism.

President Bush appointed representatives of a dozen federal agencies to develop a comprehensive plan to improve food safety, but in his executive order, he said the improvements would have to be made with existing resources. When the plan was issued last month, it stated that resources would be directed to the areas of greatest risk.

The Associated Press

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