Other News Feeds Nations Restaurant News - Food Safety News Feeds   Food Safety Food Safety Food safety looms large on Capitol Hill, campaign trail Prompted by calls for stricter food safety standards from the foodservice industry and even presidential candidates, federal lawmakers here have introduced a bipartisan bill that many see as a way to better protect the U.S. food supply. Industry’s beef with meat recall centers on USDA inability to enforce regulations Foodservice industry experts are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to step up its food safety efforts after federal inspection regulations were flouted at a California meat processing plant last month, resulting in the largest beef recall in U.S. history and dealing a blow to consumers’ confidence in the food supply. List shows hundreds of restaurants received suspect beef California state officials have released a list of nearly 3,000 restaurants and businesses that may have received beef that was recalled two weeks ago by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., but distributors indicated that some of the restaurants could have been included in error. Support grows for stronger regulation of imports The White House has voiced support for extending federal oversight of food safety beyond the nation’s borders to the points of origination for imports, addressing what many experts regard as the top current risk to the U.S. food supply. In a letter to two lawmakers, Health and Human Services secretary Michael Leavitt said the law empowering the Food and Drug Administration to safeguard the nation’s foods, drugs and cosmetics has “not kept up to date” with “global marketing realities.” USDA announces biggest beef recall ever In the largest beef recall in U.S. history, the Hallmark Meat Packing Co. and its affiliated Westland Meat Co. are trying to recover 143 million pounds of beef after a U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation revealed the processor’s plant failed to follow a safeguard against bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Regulators, consumer advocates lament gaps in U.S. food safety inspections as imports increase The exponential growth in imports is exposing the nation’s food supply to dire safety risks, but government watchdogs lack the resources to react accordingly, warned a gathering here of self-professed “stakeholders.” Imports pose growing food safety risk, experts warn The exponential growth in imports is exposing the nation’s food supply to dire safety risks, but government watchdogs lack the resources to react accordingly, said a gathering here of self-professed “stakeholders” at the recent Food Safety: Problems & Solutions conference. Restaurateurs expected to shape new produce-tracking initiative Such foodservice powerhouses as McDonald’s, Applebee’s, Sysco and U.S. Foodservice are helping to craft a new multi-industry initiative that will boost food safety by tracking produce shipments more precisely, according to organizers of the effort. Activists, suppliers and restaurateurs connect at food-safety confab The parties that routinely square off after a food-poisoning incident came together here last month to see if they could work in concert for a safer food supply. Called Cooperating for Food Safety, the meeting brought together such traditional adversaries as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, restaurant chains, multinational food processors, governmental regulators, produce suppliers and food-poisoning victims. Cooperating operators join up to fight food contamination “Collaboration” was the oft-repeated mantra of nearly 50 industry professionals gathered to discuss food safety trends and best practices at the recent Food Safety Symposium held here.