THE PROCESS of ensuring the safety of food from farm to fork is undergoing a major overhaul.
Although concern about food safety is nothing new, the latest move promises action. In January, President Clinton announced a new initiative aimed at improving the safety of the nation's food supply and said he was putting $43 million for this purpose into the 1998 budget, which takes effect this October.
Many think the president's move is being made none too soon, because many of the US
Food-containing packages as well as fresh foods are the targets of thorough government safety inspections to prevent microbial disease outbreaks. regulations regarding food safety date back to the beginning of this century. Since then, new food processing procedures have been developed, the amount of food imported has increased greatly, and the increased use of antibiotics in animal feeds has raised the issue of antimicrobial resistance.
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