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MDARD outlines food-safety and animal-disease response; bird-flu figures limited by confidentiality
Summary
Officials from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development told a legislative subcommittee they have responded to recent food-safety incidents and avian influenza outbreaks, but said federal and state confidentiality rules limit the public release of some outbreak counts.
LANSING — Officials from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) briefed the House Appropriations Subcommittee on “Appropriations - Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources” on their Bureau of Food Safety and Animal Health operations, including the department’s recent work on highly pathogenic avian influenza and retail food safety.
MDARD legislative liaison Mikayla Heffernan and Tim Slowinski, director of the Bureau of Food Safety and Animal Health, described the bureau’s mission to protect food safety, agricultural production and Michigan’s economy, and outlined responses to recent product and animal-disease incidents.
The presentation emphasized rapid response and prevention. Slowinski said MDARD staff removed an apple-sauce product with elevated lead levels from “over 325 locations that the product was known to be distributed to to make sure that…
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