Massive meat recall sparks call for more FDA funding

By Kimberly Atkins The Daily Record Newswire After a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that killed at least one person prompted the third largest meat recall in U.S. history, members of Congress are calling for an investigation of the ground turkey manufacturer - and an increase in funding for federal agencies to stop similar incidents from happening in the future. Rep. Rosa L. DeLaura, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Labor, Education, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, said the recall of nearly 36 million pounds of ground turkey products produced at the Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. plant in Springdale, Ark., is "yet another example of how critical it is to fully fund and support the agencies that are responsible for protecting our food supply." She blasted recent cuts to the budgets of the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, saying they endanger the safety the nation's food. "By cutting their funding, we have limited their effectiveness and asked FDA and USDA to do more with less, and the impact of these cuts is starkly clear with this most recent recall," DeLauro said in a statement. DeLauro said she will be questioning the company and involved agencies about their response to this recall. Published: Thu, Aug 11, 2011