CSPI Comments to FDA Re: Public Availability of Lists of Retailers During Food Recalls
The Center for Science in the Public Interest and four other food safety groups submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration on the agency’s draft guidance on publishing the names of stores that sold food later implicated in a recall. The groups praised the agency for breaking with its historic practice of keeping such store lists secret during recalls as “confidential commercial information.”
However, the groups also criticized the FDA for committing to publish store names only for unlabeled foods (e.g. produce or bulk items), and for not covering restaurants that may have sold food that was later recalled. They urged the FDA to commit to publishing retailer lists for all public recalls, and to include restaurants as part of its policy.