A Step to Safer Food

Statement

The Senate today passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act in a bipartisan vote of 75 to 23. I was a cosponsor of the bill and voted in support of it.

Too often, our approach to outbreaks of foodborn illnesses like E. coli has been response rather than prevention. Just this August, 1,500 people got sick from an outbreak of salmonella. As food distribution across our country has grown and become more complex, regulation has been unable to keep up.

This bill gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the necessary tools to stop outbreaks from happening in the first place.

The final bill also included an important provision, the Tester-Hagan amendment, which I strongly supported, that exempts our small, local farmers and businesses from costly new measures intended for large scale processors. Small food processors and producers who make less than $500,000 in annual sales and who sell most of their food locally will be exempt from the federal standards included in the bill.

New requirements in the bill include:

* More FDA inspections at all food facilities,
* Enhanced tracking of high-risk foods,
* Facilities must create a food safety plan that identifies, evaluates, and addresses contamination hazards,
* Food importers must verify the safety of foreign suppliers and imported food.

There have been a lot of myths about this bill floating around the Web. It's important to know that this bill:

* Does NOT outlaw home gardens and family farms,
* Does NOT outlaw traditional organic growing methods,
* Does NOT charge farms and small businesses new registration fees,
* Does NOT criminalize seed savings.

The FDA regulates 80 percent of our food supply, and this bill will put into law important measures to ensure that food is safe and sanitary. Last year, I also introduced a bill that would give similar tools to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure the safety of our meat supply.

I look forward to the implementation of the bill we passed today, and I'm sure it will provide helpful insight into how we continue to secure our food system.

Source