AP Interview: FDA Chief Focuses on Produce Safety

Calling it “a critical time” for food safety, the Food and Drug Administration’s new chief says she will strengthen steps to prevent contamination of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Dr. Margaret Hamburg tells The Associated Press that there are too many food suppliers here and around the world for the FDA to physically inspect every one. Her goal is to focus on the riskiest foods, and a string of recent outbreaks linked to spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and peppers put fresh produce on the top of her list.

Hamburg says she intends to implement prevention strategies, what scientists call risk-based controls, to target the spots along the chain farm-to-store chain where contamination can occur. The Associated Press