New law would fine grocery stores for not informing shoppers of recalls

Most consumers are unaware of many food recalls, and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand this she has an idea aimed at keeping shoppers safe from contaminated food.

According to a New York Daily News report, the junior Senator is proposing a bill in Washington which would fine grocery stores up to $50,000 if they fail to notify their shoppers of a recalled food product within 24 hours of the actual recall.

The move is only partially spurred by the massive nationwide egg recall, but more by the recall on 8,000 gallons of milk sold across her state and several others in New England and the Mid-Atlantic which was not properly pasteurized.

Much of this potentially-contaminated milk was widely available to consumers and could have been tainted with Salmonella or Listeria bacteria, the latter of which can cause the most serious complications, including death, stillbirths and miscarriages.

But if consumers are the last to know, as Sen. Gillibrand believes, then grocery stores are second-last to know, but usually serve as the only interactive point with the food industry for the common consumer. Usually it is the food manufacturer or distributor that is first to know whether a product should be recalled.

Not even the Food and Drug Administration can currently force a food manufacturer to recall a food product unless there is indisputable evidence that it causes a public safety threat.

Gillibrand’s effort is coinciding with efforts ongoing in Washington to revamp the food industry, from manufacture to distribution to retail.