The Catfish Farmers of America are urging newly confirmed USDA food safety chief Elisabeth Hagen to enforce a law approved by Congress more than two years ago requiring tough new USDA inspections and regulation of all catfish sold in America. “With the many food safety problems in America today, the Obama administration is delaying an important law that would provide new protections for the health and safety of consumers,” said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America, in a press release sent to food media.
“Congress voted more than two years ago to require USDA oversight of all catfish — imported and domestic. President Obama and his administration have refused to implement the law and safeguard our families.
“As in the current situation with eggs, reports indicate that bureaucratic stalemates are preventing the enforcement of critical food safety regulations,” Lowery added.
Lowery and Carole Engle, an aquaculture expert from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, were part of a group highlighting food safety concerns in urging Hagen to take action on the law. Hagen recently took over as chief of the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service, the agency authorized to move the regulation forward.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Orlando Sentinel.
