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Food Marketers Want FDA Oversight On Imports

A plan proposed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association yesterday would require all importers to develop a plan for assuring the quality of imported foods and give the Food and Drug Administration the power to enforce it. The GMA represents the country's largest food suppliers, including Kraft Foods, H.J. Heinz and Dole Food.

The proposal would also create a voluntary program that would allow importers to submit testing records, information about their supply chain and other data to the FDA in return for expedited processing at the borders. That would allow the FDA to focus on the riskiest importers, the group says.

Concerns over imports have risen since the FDA restricted the import of five types of seafood from China and recalled pet food containing ingredients from China tainted with melamine, an industrial toxin, this year. On Monday, Dole recalled 4,530 bags of salad in the U.S. and 528 bags in Canada after E. coli was found in a sample taken by a Canadian grocery store.

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