[WASHINGTON, DC] – United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the source of a recent salmonella outbreak was jalapeño peppers and not tomatoes, as previously thought.

“Three months. That’s how long it took the FDA to determine the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than a thousand people and devastated the tomato industry. That’s unacceptable. The serious delay in tracing back the source of this problem -- only to find that jalapeños peppers, not tomatoes were at fault -- has put the health of many Americans and an entire industry at risk.”

“FDA has asked for more resources and authorities in response to similar cases and Congress has responded. But the basic fact remains -- our current food safety system is dysfunctional. Congress needs to stop plugging the holes in our current food safety system and retool how we protect the nation’s food supply.”

Today’s announcement comes after a three-month investigation to determine whether tomatoes or jalapeños were the source of a salmonella outbreak which has sickened more than a thousand people. In response, Durbin has asked to meet with top FDA officials this week to explain the details of this case and what changes the agency feels would better aid future investigations.

Just last week, the GAO released a report ranking the United States last in a study of the food safety structures of seven developed nations. The other countries profiled each have an integrated food safety system, mandatory recall authority and comprehensive trace-back capabilities similar to what Durbin has proposed. The United States has 12 different federal agencies and 35 different laws governing food safety.

For two consecutive Congresses, Durbin has introduced The Safe Food Act which would consolidate all food safety activities into a single agency, responsible for the administration and enforcement of our food safety laws. Importantly, when enacted, it would create a national system for tracing food, point-of-origin to retail sale, which would have aided the investigation into source of the current salmonella outbreak.