WASHINGTON NEWS

Record funding proposed for food safety programs
President Bush will seek record-level support for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s meat and poultry food safety programs, as well as increase efforts to strengthen agricultural protection systems in his fiscal 2004 budget, according to a USDA announcement on January 23, 2003. USDA’s food safety budget will increase to $797 million, an increase of $42 million over the 2003 request. The new request will fund 7,680 food safety inspectors, provide spec…