Bush forms committee to monitor import safety

Bush forms committee to monitor import safety    President George W. Bush last week created a cabinet-level panel to examine how to improve and enforce safety standards on imported goods in the wake of incidents this year of tainted or adulterated food, children’s toys, health products and other goods from China.
   The Interagency Working Group on Import Safety is led by Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Levitt and includes the heads of Homeland Security, Transportation, the U.S. Trade Representative, Agriculture and other agencies.
   Bush asked the panel to review how foreign governments and manufacturers inspect and certify goods for export, how U.S. agencies can coordinate safety monitoring, and steps U.S. importers can take to improve safety, including identifying best practices for selecting foreign manufacturers, inspecting manufacturing facilities and goods before export to the United States, identifying the origin of products and safeguarding the supply chain.
   The group is to provide recommendations within 60 days.
   Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, criticized the move as insufficient.
   “Establishing a product safety panel is like stamping out a single leaf in a forest fire,” he said, as quoted by the New York Times. Sherrod has proposed legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration stronger powers to regulate food imports and more money to inspect them.