US government unveils new rule on food safety

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday finalized a new rule aimed at preventing food contamination during transportation.

Under the rule, those involved in transporting human and animal food -- shippers, loaders, carriers and receivers -- should follow sanitary transportation practices, such as properly refrigerating food, adequately cleaning vehicles between loads and properly protecting food during transportation.

The regulation will apply to food transported within the United States by motor or rail vehicle, whether or not the food is offered for or enters interstate commerce.

"Consumers deserve a safe food supply and this final rule will help to ensure that all those involved in the farm-to-fork continuum are doing their part to ensure that the food products that arrive in our grocery stores are safe to eat," FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine Michael Taylor said in a statement.

The FDA said businesses would be required to comply with the new regulation one year after publication of the final rule, with smaller businesses having two years to comply with the new requirements.

The FDA has finalized six of the seven major rules proposed to implement the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, which directed the FDA and food producers to prevent problems across the entire food system, rather than waiting to act until illness occurs.

The first five rules, all of which were finalized last year, involved food processing and storage facilities as well as imported food and produce farms.

The seventh rule, which focused on mitigation strategies to protect food against intentional adulteration, is expected to be finalized later in 2016.

According to recent data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 48 million people, or one in six Americans, get sick each year from foodborne diseases. That leads to about 128,000 hospitalization and 3,000 deaths each year.