The White House today announced new food safety measures aimed at reducing salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, plus the creation of a new FDA deputy commissioner position to increase coordination of federal food safety activities.

“These new measures represent real progress towards improving the safety of food in the U.S.," said Jean Halloran, the director of Consumers Union’s food safety campaign. "The creation of this new position means that, for the first time, there is a ‘go to’ person at the FDA whose sole responsibility is keeping food safe."

President Obama is traveling so it was left to Vice-President Biden to announce the findings of the  Food Safety Working Group, which was formed in March. Among the key actions the administration is taking to improve food safety are:

• Developing guidance for industry on "traceback" so that contaminated food is quickly identified and removed from shelves and so that people hear about problems faster;
• Instituting a new salmonella rule to prevent contamination in the egg industry;
• Issuing new FDA guidance to prevent E. coli O157:H7 contamination of leafy greens, melons and tomatoes; and
• Implementing more thorough inspections to prevent E. coli and other pathogens at facilities that handle beef.

Biden also called on Congress to empower the FDA with mandatory recall authority so the agency can stop contaminated food from spreading in the food supply.

"We are pleased to see the issuance of the FDA egg safety rule, which languished for years during the previous administration without becoming final," Halloran said. "We also support the Administration's plan to develop traceability systems, so the FDA can more quickly find the source of contaminated products. But guidance, while useful, is voluntary, so we hope the FDA will move quickly to issue binding regulations in these areas as well.”

Halloran added, “We urge lawmakers to move promptly to pass the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.  This is a good piece of legislation."