Governor Rell Urges the President to Take Action on Food Safety
Press Release
Governor Rell Urges the President to Take Action on Food Safety
Asks For State Representation on Import Safety Panel, Opposes Plan to Close FDA Testing Labs
Governor M. Jodi Rell has written to the President to request that a representative from state government be placed on a newly created import safety panel.
"States like Connecticut are doing so much of the work that the federal government is failing to do," Governor Rell said. "We are on the front lines of this battle. A perspective from someone at the state level would be helpful in solving the problem we face and in understanding its full scope."
President Bush on Wednesday established a high-level government panel to recommend steps to guarantee the safety of food and other products shipped into the United States and to improve U.S. policing of those imports. The panel was created by an executive order and is chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.
In her letter, the governor also opposed a proposal by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to close seven of its thirteen testing laboratories.
"In light of the pet food contamination in March of this year, the recent tainted toothpaste and other similar problems, the FDA's already limited resources need to be bolstered rather than reduced," the Governor said.
In Connecticut, state inspectors have confiscated more than 1,100 tubes of contaminated toothpaste from more than a dozen discount stores. The attorney general's office and the Department of Consumer Protection are seeking a customer list from seven Chinese manufacturers and two U.S. importers of toothpaste suspected of containing diethylene glycol.
Diethylene glycol, an anti-freeze chemical sometimes used by Chinese manufacturers as a cheap sweetener, can cause liver and kidney damage. The Food and Drug Administration says brands with the chemical include Bright Max, Cooldent, Dr. Cool, DentaPro, Dentakleen, Everfresh, Oral Bright, Pacific Fluoride, ShiRFresh Mint and Tian Qi. Counterfeit 5-ounce Colgate tubes whose labels say "Made in South Africa" also have been found with diethylene glycol.
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