Let's Get The Media On This

[Cindy Nevarez]

Way to go!

[willyagogo]

Time to go to bed........must get my 40 winks in so I'll be in tip-top shape for tomorrow......I'll let you all know how the "flyer" posting went!

Anyone else from the T.O. area?.......maybe you could go back to TAZ's comment with all that excellent info...and print some flyers of your own too!!!

G'night!!.....

[Geff]

The paper in my city still has not mentioned any of our issues since Froday; they have not mentioned the contaminated Pork at all. The media are supposed to be our watchdogs............ yeah, right.

[Tracy]

Thank you for all of this information and the poster that can be printed.  I think that the media will start paying more attention when people start dying.  I don't know if it is money that is talking to them or what.  But grassroots is a great way to go!

Tracy

[willyagogo]

TaZ!!!.....

Thank you once again for the info!!!

Had a great day!!...Got friends and family together to help pass out flyers EVERYWHERE.!!!!!

Had a picnic-BBQ......and then passed out more flyers!!!!!!

Beautiful weather too!!!

Tracy:....you're right!!! Grass roots IS the way to go!!!

The more...the merrier!! The louder..the better!!! (that's me in a nutshell!!.. ..)

Just got back not long ago...I'm too "pooped to pip!".......ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

[Geff]

Here's today's Washington Post article. To the best of my knowledge, they are one of only 3 mainstream newspapers covering this. This article (finally) appeared on the front page of my city's Newspaper. It's understated in places (it says that only dozens of pets have died; I WISH!); but it does show the FDA for just what they are: a worthless tool of corporations. Try to read this all the way through, the important stuff doesn't start until 1/2 way down.

FDA knew about food problems, reports say

ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON; The Washington Post
Published: April 23rd, 2007 01:28 PM

   
Federal inspectors knew about food contamination situations long before three people died and hundreds fell ill, according to documents and interviews. WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration has known for years about contamination problems at a Georgia peanut butter plant and on California spinach farms that led to disease outbreaks that killed three people, sickened hundreds, and forced one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history, documents and interviews show.

Overwhelmed by huge growth in the number of food processors and imports, however, the agency took only limited steps to address the problems and relied on producers to police themselves, according to agency documents.

Congressional critics and consumer advocates said both episodes show that the agency is incapable of adequately protecting the safety of the food supply.

FDA officials conceded that its system needs to be overhauled to meet today’s demands but denied that the agency could have done anything to prevent either contamination episode.

Last week, the FDA notified California state health officials that hogs on a farm in the state had likely eaten feed laced with melamine, an industrial chemical suspected in the deaths of dozens of pets in recent weeks. Officials are trying to determine whether the chemical’s presence in the hogs represents a threat to humans. Pork from animals raised on the farm has been recalled. The FDA has said its inspectors would not have likely found the contaminated food before problems, which called a massive pet food recall, arose.

The outbreaks point to a need to completely overhaul the way the agency does business, said Robert Brackett, director of the FDA’s food safety arm, which is responsible for safeguarding 80 percent of the nation’s food supply.

“We have 60,000 to 80,000 facilities that we’re responsible for in any given year,” Brackett said. Explosive growth in the number of processors and the amount of imported foods mean manufacturers “have to build safety into their products rather than us chasing after them,” Brackett said. “We have to get out of the 1950s paradigm.”

Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce committee will hold a hearing into the unprecedented spate of recalls, including the more recent contamination of pet food with melamine, which is suspected in the deaths of dozens of pets.

In the peanut butter case, an agency report shows FDA inspectors checked into complaints of salmonella contamination in a ConAgra factory in Georgia in 2005. When company managers refused to provide documents the inspectors requested, they left and didn’t follow up.

Earlier this year, a salmonella outbreak traced to the plant’s Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter brands sickened more than 400 people in 44 states. The likely cause, ConAgra said, was moisture from a roof leak and a malfunctioning sprinkler system that activated dormant salmonella in the plant, now closed.

The 2005 report shows FDA inspectors were looking into “an alleged episode of positive findings of salmonella in peanut butter in October of 2004 that was related to new equipment and that the firm didn’t react to … insects in some equipment, water leaking onto product, and inability to track some product.”

During the inspection, the report says, ConAgra admitted it had destroyed some product in October 2004 but would not say why. “They asked for some of our documentation and we made the request to them that they put it in writing due to concerns about proprietary information,” said ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs last week. “We did not receive a written request.”

Until February of this year. That’s when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the FDA of a spike in salmonella cases in states near the ConAgra plant. The agencies contacted the company, which initiated a recall and shut the plant for upgrades.

Brackett said that if the inspector had seen anything truly dangerous the agency would have taken further action. But, he said, the agency cannot force a disclosure, a recall or a plant closure except in extreme circumstances, like finding a hazardous batch of product.

The problem in 2005, he added, “doesn’t necessarily connect to the salmonella outbreak right now. It’s not unusual to have it in raw agricultural commodities.”

The FDA has known for even longer about illnesses among people who ate spinach and other greens from California’s Salinas Valley, the source of outbreaks over the past six months that have killed three people and sickened more than 200 in 26 states, including Washington. The subsequent recall was the largest ever for leafy vegetables.

In a letter sent to California growers in late 2005, Brackett wrote, “FDA is aware of 18 outbreaks of foodborne illness since 1995 caused by (E. coli bacteria) for which fresh or fresh-cut lettuce was implicated … In one additional case, fresh-cut spinach was implicated. These 19 outbreaks account for approximately 409 reported cases of illness and two deaths.”

“We know that there are still problems out in those fields,” Brackett said in an interview last week. “We knew there had been a problem, but we never and probably still could not pinpoint where the problem was. We could have that capability, but not at this point.”

According to Caroline Smith DeWaal, head of the Center for Science and the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, “When budgets are tight ... the food program at FDA gets hit the hardest.”

In next year’s budget, passed amid contamination problems in spinach, tomatoes and lettuce, Congress has voted FDA a $10 million increase to improve food safety, DeWaal said.
 

[Mary K]

Willyagogo, This has been on my mind, to tell you how great I think you are for all the work you did with passing out the flyers and getting the word out this past weekend. Thank you for your great spirit!

[willyagogo]

Thanks for the kind words Mary!!!!

I haven't quit!!.....I'm still at it! I have also have Petition forms which I've been getting folks to sign in support for a solution to this problem! I will be sending these forms off to the House of Commons.....it's also another way of letting people know how serious this problem is!!!! ....I still am blown away by the sheer number of people that know nothing about it OR think that it has blown over and that everything is OK now!!!!.............Unbelievable!!!

But since the Media isn't doing their job of informing the Public...it's caring people like us that have that honour!!!

I also give people these website (blog) addies so they can do their own research and keep themselves updated and informed!!!

Once again....thanks for the kind words!

[ally]

Anyone wanting to get the media involved should also check out the "Pile O Death" thread at Itchmo's forum.

The more that get involved, the louder our voices will be heard!

[Cindy Nevarez]

What a great idea. And you are so enthusiastic.
But I still can't believe what a huge problem this is. One of my clients whose cat got sick from poisoned food was telling me yesterday she went to the store to get new food. A Rep. was there pushing her product (a company on the recall list), and my client was telling her what had happened to her cat. The Rep. was just completely defensive, and denying that her company could be involved. When my client then went through the check-out and mentioned it to the clerk SHE never heard anything regarding the recalls at all!
This is just so ridiculus!

[Cindy Nevarez]

God...I hope that works!

[Mary K]

Maybe we could get some petitions going here on this Forum. I am not very politically gifted, but I can sure sign and send! I have lots of friends that would sign, too. Anybody willing to take this on???

[willyagogo]

Cindy....

Unfortunately....there's too many retailers like that! Could be that so many are bombarded with questions for answers that are not being supplied from the Media...but regardless...as onwers of stores OR representatives....they would be better off calmly discussing things with their customers, understanding their concerns....instead of being impolite!

I know that anytime an employee is rude to me (no matter what the business or concern is)....I don't return...ever! I'll take my business elsewhere and let them know that as I'm walking out the door, tell them that you'll also tell EVERYONE you know....how poorly you were treated!!.........

[willyagogo]

great idea Mary!!!!!

I'm not sure if you reside in Canada or the USA....but here's an addy, where you can get printable petition forms....as well as some printable flyers to use. The petition forms are great as you can print them out, get signatures and send them to the House of Commons without having to worry about adding postage! If you DO live in Canada...and are interested....here's the web-addy:
...............http://www.petfoodcampaign.blogspot.com..........

Calling all Canadians!!!!! Please, let's do what we can to move the Government here off their asses........afterall..the Members of Parliament HAVE just received an increase in pay......Let's make them ACTUALLY work for it!!!!!!!........

[ally]

Maybe we could get some petitions going here on this Forum.

Hi Mary,

I'm not trying to support one site over the other (I visit both sites and forums), but wouldn't it be better if we all worked together?  I think it would have more impact rather than splintering the two attempts to get the media's attention.  Just my 2 cents worth.....