The presidents cited past problems like in contaminated spinach in 2006, salmonella found in vegetables in 2008 and bad peanut products this year. He said these examples were “painful reminder[s] of how tragic the consequences can be when food producers act irresponsibly and government is unable to do its job."

President Obama, this week, appointed Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. He also created the Food Safety Working Group to coordinate with other agencies to improve communication among government bureaus.

He expressed concern for upgrading food safety laws. For example, he has closed a loophole to circumvent diseased beef from entering the food supply and will increase the number of food inspectors.

In his address the president said that government does not have the answer to every problem, but one of government's responsibilities is to “... ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and don’t cause us harm.”

The presidents cited past problems like in contaminated spinach in 2006, salmonella found in vegetables in 2008 and bad peanut products this year. He said these examples were “painful reminder[s] of how tragic the consequences can be when food producers act irresponsibly and government is unable to do its job.”

The solution, said the president, was to update food safety regulations and to enforce them. He said that the FDA is highly understaffed and 95% of our food goes unexamined or inspected. “That is a hazard to public health. It is unacceptable. And it will change ...” he said.

The president was speaking as a parent citing that his own daughter eats peanut butter sandwiches every week and said that “ protecting the safety of our food and drugs is one of the most fundamental of all government responsibilities.”