Get Ready For More Federal Food Rules; Dioxin Report Due

All eyes in the food industry are scanning the recently-released Federal Dioxin study for what it will mean for them. They're especially concerned that the Obama administration will place more costly restrictions on what American consumers can expect to see in the grocery store.

Food and agricultural groups are worried that the release of a long-awaited federal study on the health effects of dioxins will lead to new regulations from the Obama administration on what Americans can eat.

The study, released Friday, says the persistent contaminants at current levels don’t pose significant health risks, but for the first time establishes a benchmark for exposure — an exposure that, for most Americans, comes through their daily diet.

Observers say that the new levels are more strict and that will mean a drastic change to food regulations.

But food and agricultural groups have argued the new benchmark would translate into costly new regulations from the Obama administration.

In December, the American Frozen Food Institute, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Chicken Council and others told the White House in a letter that most Americans could “easily exceed the daily [0.7 picogram limit] after consuming a single meal or heavy snack” — one toxicologist has said a typical hot dog would do the trick.

Foodindustryfretsaboutfederaldioxin-riskreport-WashingtonTimes.