Protecting Americans

Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

This week a new food safety law went into effect that requires the name of the country of origin to be placed on food labels for many products imported into the United States.

The law is timely because it comes amid the latest health crisis in China. Americans will have more information on food purchases, but that is not enough. As the current situation in China demonstrates, it takes more than a country-of-origin label to make a choice.

The deaths of four infants and the illnesses of approximately 54,000 children have been blamed on formula tainted by the industrial chemical melamine. In addition, Cadbury chocolates in Asia have been ordered off the shelf because of tainted milk used in their production, and some Chinese candy sold in American markets that cater to Asian clients was found to contain the chemical.

Authorities say melamine, typically found in plastic, was added to the milk because in food tests melamine makes the milk appear to have more protein than it really does. That allows the manufacturers to use inferior — and cheaper — ingredients in the milk.

That, of course, is nothing new in China. Melamine was the culprit in the pet food imported to America that killed thousands of animals.

The problem for American authorities is catching problems. Federal regulatory agencies have never had enough staff or money to do the job adequately.

The Government Accountability Office reported this week that the Food and Drug Administration has lost nearly 700 staff members assigned to the food safety program over the past four years, and because of budget constraints, the agency has not replaced them.

Congress and federal regulators will have to be creative to find ways to see that food is routinely tested and inspected before it gets to market. It won’t be easy given the tight economic times but, as we’ve seen in China, it can be a matter of life and death.