President Obama Proposes New Agency to Make Food Safer

President Barack Obama is proposing a new government agency dedicated to keeping the nation's food safe.
It would consolidate parts of the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration. The proposal in the president's budget released Monday comes after outbreaks of illness linked to chicken, eggs, peanuts and cantaloupe. More than a dozen federal agencies oversee food safety, and consumer advocates have long called for giving it a single home. (President Obama's Favourite Super Bowl Snacks) Currently, the Agriculture Department oversees the safety and inspections of meat and processed eggs and the Food and Drug Administration oversees safety of most other foods. The budget proposes consolidating the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service and all of FDA's food safety oversight into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.