On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) released two proposals to improve food safety.The regulations are a response to a series of recent foodborne (食物传染的)illnesses.The FDA hopes test new rules will prevent problems of food in the earliest stage of production, before the contaminated (受到到污染的) food could cause consumers to get sick.
Over the past decade, foodborne illnesses have caused many people to get sick. Food like spinach, ground beef and cantaloupes (甜瓜) has been sent back to producers, because it was found to contain germ and bacteria that can cause illnesses.
Among the most common problems are dangerous bacteria that cause stomach pains and food poisoning. Often these illnesses occur when food is under-cooked or improperly prepared. While not all illnesses are reported, the FDA estimates that nearly 130,000 people are hospitalized for food-related problems a year.
The two new rules proposed by the FDA are called the Preventative Controls for Human Food and Standards for Produce Safety. Each rule is described in detail on the FDA's website. Rulera can write comments, which the FDA will use as feedback to make future adjustments to the proposal.
The first rule demands producers should have formal plans for preventing contamination and for fixing problems when contamination occurs This regulation is applied to food produced in the US. And overseas.The second rule is specific to food that is eaten raw. It requires strict standards for growing, harvesting, and packing fruits and vegetables.Workers must make sure the materials used in soils are safe.The FDA believes these new rules will not just improve peoples' health but also have' a positive economic effect .The regulations could lead to major savings in medical costs for people who get sick because of eating contaminated food.
If producers are able to fix problems at source, they will prevent future issues. However, putting the proposal into action will take time and money.