Did you see the YNN report  about proposed new FDA rules and their impact on farming and food safety? Reporter Katie Gibas turned to Upstate for some expert assessment of what would be sweeping reforms, and she interviewed Donna Bacchi MD, chair of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

"Occasionally something might slip through, but if we have this system in place now there shouldn't be any food contamination," Bacchi says.

The Food Safety Modernization Act is designed to make food safety in the United States more preventive than reactive and reduce foodborne illnesses. One in six Americans suffer from a foodborne illness every year, according to the FDA, with nearly 130,000 hospitalized and 3,000 dying from their illness. "Preventing foodborne illnesses will improve public health, reduce medical costs, and avoid the costly disruptions of the food system caused by illness outbreaks and large-scale recalls," an FDA news release says.

If adopted, the new rules would require foreign and domestic food makers who sell in the United States, to develop formal plans for preventing their food products from causing foodborne illness. They would also have to have plans for correcting any problems. Farmers, also, would have new safety standards for production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables.

See the YNN report

Read the FDA news release