In January of 2013, the Food and Drug Administration announced
“sweeping†rules aimed at food safety, but 2014 may be the year when Americans
and businesses actually start seeing changes.Â
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The FDA action included long-overdue rules to reduce foodborne illness, the culmination of the 2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that
empowered the FDA to make these changes. More than 48 million Americans are hit by a foodborne illness each year.Â
The rules required farmers to take precautions against contamination, such as ensuring that workers’ hands are washed, irrigation water is clean, and
animals stay out of fields. Food safety plans would have to be submitted to the
government.
But, in December, the FDA announced those rules will be delayed to better accommodate farmers and businesses that would be affected.
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 “Because of the input we received from farmers and the
concerns they expressed about the impact of these rules on their lives and
livelihood, we realized that significant changes must be made, while ensuring
that the proposed rules remain consistent with our food safety goals,“ the
FDA’s Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods, said in a Dec. 19
statement.
The agency in July announced tighter regulations for manufacturers who import their goods, but it’s unclear at this time if those changes will also be delayed.
Also in December, the FDA announced plans to reduce antibiotics in meat in an effort to make Americans safer by curbing antibiotic resistance in the United
States. The agency asked pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily change the
labeling on these drugs so they would no longer be used for livestock production purposes.
Antibiotics are used to fatten up animals like cattle,
poultry and hogs for meat consumption, but government researchers warn
antibiotic-resistant germs kill 23,000 people each year.
The changes are only voluntary, but the FDA says based on
its outreach, “We have every reason to believe that animal pharmaceutical
companies will support us in this effort.â€
Look to see whether either of these yet-to-be-enacted rules finally come into play in 2014.