Yet another reason why the FDA needs to get back to its mission

It's too expensive to do otherwise.

This new study shows how expensive it is for consumers.

The repugicans always love to talk about the high cost of regulations and oversight for business but they conveniently forget about the cost to everyone else. Sure business wants to cut costs but as this study shows, the costs are pushed out to others. Obama has been moving the FDA in the right direction and Democrats in Congress have been leading the way since coming back into power but there's more to be done.

Food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli and salmonella, cost the United States $152 billion annually in health care and other losses, according to a report released Wednesday by a food safety group.

The report comes as the U.S. Senate considers legislation that would require more government inspections of food manufacturers and give the Food and Drug Administration new authority to order recalls, among other things. The House passed a similar bill last year.

The government estimates 76 million people each year are sickened by food-borne illness, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and about 5,000 die. Recent outbreaks have resulted in large recalls of peanuts, spinach and peppers.