Viewpoint

This page highlights efforts of Consumers Union to improve the marketplace

Consumer Reports magazine: July 2013

Where we stand: Cutting produce risks

The issue: Proposed regulations that carry out a new food-safety law need to be tough and comprehensive.

Our take: When spinach and peanut butter started causing illnesses and deaths across the country several years ago, Consumers Union began working with other groups and victims to improve the situation. It was a major victory for consumers when in January 2011, the president signed the ground-breaking Food Safety Modernization Act into law. But such laws are not an instant fix; the next step is to set regulations. The first round of regulations proposed by the Food and Drug Administration would set higher standards for sanitary conditions in the growing and handling of produce, which we support. Farmers would be required to provide hand-washing facilities for their workers and ensure that the irrigation water used on crops is clean.

The FDA says its produce regulations will cover all fruits and vegetables that people eat raw. (Cooking kills most disease-causing bacteria.) But the agency has left kale and figs—which are often eaten raw—off its list of regulated produce. We believe the method for deciding which fruit and vegetables to regulate for safety needs improvement.

To comment on the proposed regulations or read what others are saying, go to Regulations.gov and enter "produce rule" in the search box.

Flyers face less choice

Just three major full-service airlines will control the U.S. market—down from 10 in 1985—if the Department of Justice allows American Airlines and U.S. Airways to merge. Consumers Union testified to a Senate subcommittee in March that a merger could lead to higher fares, lower quality of service, and fewer flights. Read our new report on the best and worst airlines.

Taking action: Her mission = Fewer drugs

In the past few years, Diane Birmingham (right), a nurse from Fort Collins, Colo., has become increasingly worried about the constant feeding of antibiotics to food animals to make them grow faster or prevent disease in crowded, unsanitary conditions.

"The way that many meat producers regularly dose animals is contributing to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance," Birmingham says, making the drugs less effective in humans.

A public-health professional with a drive to effect change, Birmingham joined 50 other activists who traveled to Washington, D.C., in April. They urged Congress to take action on antibiotic overuse on large industrial farms. Birmingham was so enthusiastic about the experience that she has pledged to do more.

Want to get involved? Visit Consumers Union's NotInMyFood.org.

Health care costs

‘It's like getting practitioners to switch from a $3.50-a-day latte habit to a cheaper $1-a-day cup of regular coffee.'—Daniel J. Brotman, M.D., senior author of an April study from Johns Hopkins showing that doctors ordered 9 percent fewer tests or looked for less-expensive alternatives when they were aware of the cost. Charges dropped over six months by more than $400,000, with no apparent negative effect on patients.