20% of serious food safety violations in US are ignored

Washington

GOVERNMENT inspectors in the US failed to take action on one of every five serious food safety risks identified in manufacturing facilities, according to a report released by federal auditors last Wednesday. In the remaining cases, the agency almost always asked food manufacturers to correct violations voluntarily.

In one incident in 2013, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors found listeria in a facility where rain dripped through holes in the ceiling onto food prep areas. While FDA asked the facility to address the problems, samples from the factory still tested positive for listeria two years later.