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The Food and Drug Administration did not force a recall of tainted peanut butter that caused salmonella poisoning in 14 people until 165 days after confirming the contamination, the agency’s watchdog said in report released Thursday. And in a similarly alarming case, it took the government 81 days to recall a variety of cheese products made by a Virginia firm — after eight people had fallen ill from a bacteria in the food and a baby died. This lax approach to food safety put consumers “at risk of illness or death” after testing showed the food was potentially hazardous, investigators for Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson at the Department of Health and Human Services, the FDA’s parent agency, wrote in a rare urgent warning. The “early alert” called the issue a “significant matter” that “requires FDA’s immediate attention.” (Rein, 6/9)

Federal health officials failed to force a recall of peanut butter and almond products for three months after advanced DNA testing confirmed salmonella contamination, government investigators reported Thursday. Despite new legal powers to compel recalls and sophisticated technology to fingerprint pathogens, the Food and Drug Administration allowed some food-safety investigations to drag on, placing consumers in jeopardy of death or serious illness, according to the inspector general's office at the Department of Health and Human Services. (6/9)

The Food and Drug Administration often moves too slowly on food recalls, letting companies take their time in recalling contaminated food and leaving the public uninformed and in danger, a government report found Thursday. For example, it took the maker of Hispanic-style cheese more than two months to recall listeria-contaminated products, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Health and Human Services Department found. One baby died and two women miscarried because of listeria infections caused by that contaminated cheese. (Fox, 6/9)