Tracking failure

摘要

Hard to believe six years have passed since the cow bearing BSE stole Christmas in the U.S. Harder to believe there's still no cattle and beef industry consensus for a standardized national animal identification system that could help mitigate the economic impact of the next animal health/consumer crisis. It's not like the risk is lessening. About 15% of the food Americans eat is imported, as much as 80% of the seafood, and 50-60% of fresh produce depending on the time of year. That's what David Acheson, MD, told participants at the ID Info Expo in September. Acheson is the managing director of food and import safety practice for Leavitt Partners. Until September, he held a number of roles with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), most recently as associate commissioner of foods, which gave him an agency-wide leadership role for all foods and feed issues.