In the wake of several recent food scares in Colorado, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette on Tuesday said the federal government should step up its food-safety efforts.
The Denver Democrat is sponsoring bills that would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to force recalls of tainted food, rather than rely on the current voluntary process. She also called for a tracing system to follow the movement of food products.
“We have had some heart- wrenching hearings in Congress about terrible incidences where people have gotten sick,” said DeGette, vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee that oversees food safety. “It makes everybody, particularly parents like me, very concerned about what we’re feeding our children.”
DeGette is reintroducing legislation that previously died in a Republican-controlled Congress.
She said she was more optimistic about the legislation’s prospects with a Democratic Congress and news coverage of food- borne illnesses. But she’ll still need to overcome the likely objections of the powerful food lobby.
In addition to her own legislation, DeGette is co-sponsoring a bill that would gather 15 different federal agencies responsible for food safety, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and FDA, under one roof.
Appearing with DeGette at a conference at her Denver office was Kip Moore, a father from Golden who described how his son’s kidneys failed after eating E. coli-contaminated food in a restaurant. The boy recovered but spent weeks in the hospital.
“I’ll never forget my wife looking at me and saying, ‘Maybe we should let him die,”‘ Moore said, describing watching his son’s pain.
DeGette cited several incidents in Colorado this month where canned foods were recalled because of a fear of botulism and contaminated baby carrots were pulled from grocery shelves.
Last year, several people in the state were sickened after eating E. coli-contaminated spinach that killed three people nationwide.
“In Colorado, we have 18 to 48 food-borne outbreaks documented by the health department each year, and, of course, there are many more that are never reported,” said Ed Janoff, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
A spokesperson for Rep. Joe Barton, the ranking Republican on the House committee, said Barton remained concerned about the ability of the FDA to ensure the safety of the food supply.
“We’re exploring potential legislative and administrative solutions and haven’t ruled out anything, including Rep. DeGette’s approach,” Barton spokesperson Larry Neal said.
Staff writer Christa Marshall can be reached at 202-662-8990 or cmarshall@denverpost.com.
