The beginning of the end for healthy food choices, all food to be monitored...

[Mirzam]

...all in the name of fighting terrorism?

It looks to me like another way of making sure the population doesn't eat anything healthy.

"We are providing critical new tools for the FDA to identify potentially dangerous foods and better keep our food supply safe and secure," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Thursday in announcing the regulations that take effect Dec. 12.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp.../food_security

Deborah

[Jane]

It just requires any food manufacturor to provide name and address, type of food produced, and size of operation.

Unless they add something to it later, I don't see how this is going to affect healthy food. After all, all businesses have to have licenses now. Am I missing something?

[JessicaS]

I think she is referring to what the cost of such a thing may be and how small buisnesses may have problems affording it. (we don't know the cost though so they might be ok)

Also it may raise the cost of imported food even more. I complained about the cost of some imported cheese in another thread..I can't imagine them being even more expensive. We are all going to end up just being able to afford KRAFT.

[Jane]

Hmm. I will be doing this for my company. The FDA estimates it will take 15 minutes over the internet, or slightly longer if you send for it and have to send it in. Our biggest problem will be asking our foriegn suppliers to get registered, because the shipments will be held at the border at our cost if they aren't registered. So, my impression is that if the companies in the US communicate with their suppliers, there should be minimal costs required.
I somewhat don't think of foriegn food as healthy food. I think of it as processed foods because of shipping issues. I had forgotten about how much produce gets imported. I don't think produce suppliers have to register because the food is not processed.

[JessicaS]

I am not certain what they are defining as "processed" I guess it depends on what they think that means.

If it just excluded vegetables then cheese, wine, jellies, anything in a jar like olives, oils (many cooking oils are imported)

OMG!! That would include NUTELLA! ACK! **passes out**

[Mirzam]

What I mean is food that the FDA, CDC, USDA and those with vested interests "deem" as dangerous. This would be any unpasteurized food products, basically anything that has some life to it, as they can easily say it contains "harmful" bacteria and is therefore a terrorist risk.

Maybe I am over reacting, but it seems like it is the beginning of something more....

Deborah