INSIDE FDA'S INFANT FORMULA TIMELINE: As millions of parents navigate a major recall of three brands of Abbott Nutrition formula — Similac, Alimentum and EleCare — there are a lot of questions about what FDA knew about the problem, and when. The beginning: We now know that the agency was told of the first infant Cronobacter case in September, per this scoop from Pro Ag's Helena Bottemiller Evich. (That baby was hospitalized for 22 days, but survived, according to Minnesota health officials.) FDA told POLITICO it received this report Sept. 21. The next day, the agency contacted Abbott Nutrition. The middle: FDA told POLITICO the next two Cronobacter cases, plus one Salmonella case linked to the same Sturgis, Mich., facility, came through in November, December and January, without specifying when. The infants in all four cases were hospitalized. One infant died, though FDA has said it's not clear whether it was solely due to the Cronobacter infection. Months later, an inspection: The agency told POLITICO Friday that it initiated an inspection of the Abbott Nutrition plant on Jan. 31. Inspectors found Cronobacter sakazakii in several environmental samples taken at the plant. They also found records suggesting the company had previously found the bacteria in the plant and had destroyed product because of the issue. Finally, a recall: The FDA and Abbott Nutrition announced the sweeping recall Feb. 17, nearly three weeks after the inspection began. An inspection gap: Infant formula, it should be noted, is one of the most regulated food products in the U.S. Formula plants are inspected annually, which is much more frequent than a typical food facility. The plant in Sturgis, however, doesn't appear to have been inspected in 2020, per FDA's inspection records (likely due to the pandemic). A routine inspection took place every September leading up to 2019, with some issues found and resolved. Communication breakdown: Another routine inspection took place in September 2021, just days after FDA received the first complaint. However, it does not appear that inspectors were looking for Cronobacter sakazakii. Still, inspectors uncovered several issues, including lapses in basic plant sanitation and handwashing ( see eFoodAlert here for more details). Stay tuned: More to come on all this. Have a tip? More context to share? Shoot Helena an email: hbottemiller@politico.com. VILSACK'S BIG WEEKEND ABROAD: The secretary traveled to Dubai over the weekend for the first-ever ministerial meeting of the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate coalition, and to lead USDA's first in-person international trade mission in two years. Quick recap: Regular MA readers may recall that the U.S. formed AIM as a global coalition to work on increasing food production in a "sustainable" way — and as an alternative to the EU's aggressive Farm to Fork strategy. Vilsack launched the coalition during the U.N. climate summit in November. Doubling down: The coalition, made up of more than 100 partners including trade groups, nonprofits and dozens of other governments, set a new goal this weekend of raising global investments in climate-related agriculture practices and technologies to $8 billion by November 2022, at the 27th U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt. That's double the group's original $4 billion target. As for the trade mission: Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Daniel Whitley was on hand, along with representatives from nearly 40 agribusinesses, farm groups and state departments of agriculture — groups that are interested in new export opportunities in the UAE. They held 300 meetings with more than 70 regional buyers, including the Fresh Fruit Trading Company and the Al Douri group. USDA will check back with the participants in August to inquire how many leads and sales resulted from the trade mission. "We had a number of minority-owned companies, veteran-owned companies, women-owned companies that had not traded or exported before but were interested in doing so," Vilsack told MA. Tackling industry skepticism: President Joe Biden has faced complaints from farm-state lawmakers for not prioritizing new trade deals during his first year in office. But Vilsack said on a call with reporters that he's puzzled by the criticism, especially due to the recent record-breaking ag export levels. "We are breaking down barriers, and I think the fact that we resumed face-to-face trade missions is another indication of the commitment this administration has to trade," Vilsack said. BIDEN UNVEILS NEW PUBLIC CHARGE RULE: The Homeland Security Department is expected to formally publish its proposal to amend the federal "public charge" rules, in its latest effort to unwind the Trump-era policy that discouraged many immigrants from accessing crucial safety-net programs. How we got here: Early last year, Biden issued an executive order to effectively eliminate the public charge rule, which called for agencies to take into account green card applicants' use of government assistance programs, including nutrition and medical assistance. Migrants using the programs would be deemed a "public charge" — a potential mark against them as officers weighed their application — which had a chilling effect on participation. Recent surveys found that even though Biden reversed the Trump-era rule, many migrants still abstained from applying for assistance last year. Fast forward: The new DHS rule, unveiled last week, is similar to what was used prior to the 2019 revision. Receiving benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, housing aid or transportation vouchers would not count against green card applicants. But some immigrant advocates say it doesn't go far enough. "The proposal falls short, in failing to clearly exclude all state and local programs from public charge determinations. We look forward to working with the administration to strengthen protections for families," said Adriana Cadena, director of Protecting Immigrant Families, in a statement. Other migrant worker advocates are on board, including Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (Northwest Tree-Planters and Farmworkers United). "An estimated 50 percent of our country's farmworkers lack immigration status, so denying them public health benefits they should qualify for is a recipe for disaster," Reyna Lopez, the group's executive director, told your host. "The forthcoming changes in Public Charge rules would bring much needed relief to the very families that need the most support." Covid concerns: During the pandemic, farmworker advocates argued that the Trump administration's public charge rule was among the barriers to educating workers about Covid-19 vaccines, testing and treatment. Workers reportedly were fearful that accessing Covid resources would eventually be labeled as a public charge. The United Farm Workers Foundation, which plans to submit comments on the proposed rule, cheered the administration's move "to undo harm." "Immigrants should not be penalized for accessing government assistance such as health benefits and other supplemental services, which are programs created with the intention of being used by those most in need," UFFW spokesperson Leydy Rangel told your host.
| 
Comments
Post a Comment