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Far-reaching food industry rules aimed at reducing food-borne illness in the United States have become final, the federal government announced on Thursday, nearly five years after Congress passed a law requiring an overhaul of the nation’s food safety system. About 48 million Americans a year become sick from food-borne diseases and 3,000 die, according to federal data, tallies that many health officials say could be significantly reduced if the food industry took a more proactive role in monitoring and reducing risks. But carrying out the law, the Food Safety Modernization Act, which was the first significant update of the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety authority in 70 years, has been criticized as slow. (Tavernise, 9/10)

The rules, once promoted as an Obama administration priority and in the works for several years, ran into delays and came out under a court-ordered deadline after advocacy groups had sued. Even then, the Food and Drug Administration allowed the Aug. 30 deadline to pass without releasing the rules to the public. (Jalonick, 9/10)

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday finalized long-awaited rules that will require U.S. food manufacturers to make detailed plans to identify and prevent possible contamination risks in their production facilities. The new regulations, which will apply to the production of both human and animal foods, mark the first step in a broader effort to make the nation's food safety system more proactive, rather than merely reacting to outbreaks after they occur. (Dennis, 9/10)

U.S. officials said a second person had died from consuming cucumbers contaminated with salmonella poona and that the number of cases has increased to 341 people in 30 states. (Cha, 9/10)