Enzi Statement on Passage of Food Safety Bill

Statement

The Senate passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) today. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., released the following statement:

"The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act will help protect the food served on dinner tables across the entire country. It addresses issues including food borne illness outbreaks and product recalls. This bill helps make sure our imported food is safe.

What the bill the Senate passed today would not do is change how meat is regulated or sold. The bill would not regulate backyard gardens, produce grown for sale at farmers markets, locally sold foods, organizational picnics or bake sales, or food grown by individuals and their families. The bill would not add record keeping requirements for farms or allow the FDA to inspect farms. We made sure an amendment was added that would shield farmers and food producers from new federal regulations as long as the producer has less than $500,000 in annual sales and sells their products directly to consumers within 275 miles or within their own state."

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.

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