Once food leaves the farm for processing and distribution, it is handled by a myriad of machines and workers before it reaches consumers. And the opportunities for contamination are also myriad: inadequate refrigeration, careless packing, unsanitary conditions in plants.
While the main responsibility for minimizing contamination rests with the food industry, the Government has long played a crucial watchdog role. & Checking U.S. produce, meat, poultry and fish is an operation of mind-boggling -- critics say irrational -- complexity. Responsibility is parceled out among several agencies, and jurisdictions can overlap. The FDA checks fruits and vegetables as well as fish, the...
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