Unfortunately, fraud isn't the only problem with our nation's food supply, according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) audit that found beef tainted with heavy metals, pesticides and veterinary antibiotics is being sold in American grocery stores.

The problem isn't just the porous testing of processed foods we eat every day (remember last year's salmonella outbreak in peanut butter). The real issue is a lack of regulation by the FDA and EPA that has failed to set even minimal limits on human exposure to potential hazardous substances, like heavy metals (copper and arsenic) and veterinary drugs (flunixin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug given to horses and cattle).

Even worse, this lack of standards prevents the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) from doing anything about the problem, even when it discovers higher-than-normal levels of vet drugs or pesticides in meat.

This disconnect became very apparent two years ago, when one shipment of beef was rejected for sale in Mexico because the amount of copper detected by food regulators there exceeded the country's own standards. Unfortunately, due to the lack of any federal oversight on copper in America, FSIS couldn't prevent that food manufacturer from reselling that heavy metal-laden beef in America.

The U.S. House is considering a bill that would set limits on seven antibiotics commonly used by farmers. That said, isn't this attention coming a bit late in the game?

USA Today April 15, 2010

Food Safety News April 14, 2010