New Food Safety Measures Sought

New food safety measures could be on the horizon for Georgia factories.

State senator John Bulloch is proposing a bill that would require companies to regularly test to ensure food safety and to report any tests that show contamination within one business day. Under the measure, state inspectors could also access test result records.

Few states, if any, require food manufacturers to alert state and federal inspectors to the results of their internal tests.

That issue came to light after the Peanut Corporation of America processor was linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds and may have contributed to eight deaths.

Federal officials say the company's records show that peanut butter had tested positive for salmonella at least 12 times in 2007 and 2008 but was distributed after it was retested and cleared.

(Associated Press)