Science
(2009-07-21)
JEFFERSON CITY, MO
(KBIA) -
Health officials in Missouri want to overhaul the state's food safety laws, many of which were written in the 1940's. Those attending a summit in Jefferson City this week are studying issues ranging from protecting school kids from food-borne allergies to safeguarding food supplies from bio-terrorism. Mary Fandrey is with the Department of Health and Senior Services:
"We are trying to plan for the future of food safety in Missouri, what direction do we need to go, where do we have some opportunities, where we need to strengthen the system, and where are we doing a great job, what's going really well."
Fandrey indicated that recommendations from the summit would be used by lawmakers to craft food safety legislation.
Susan Groeders with the group Safe Tables Our Priority, or STOP, discussed the risks of food poisoning:
"Statistics tell us that 76 million Americans become ill with food-borne diseases every year, with approximately 325-thousand hospitalizations and 5-thousand deaths these are toddlers, children, college students, parents and grandparents."
Recommendations from the summit will be forwarded to state lawmakers for possible new legislation.
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