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Food safety bill moves

This weekend I wrote about S 510, the food safety bill moving in the U.S. Senate. (Click here for that.) The Senate’s HELP Committee passed the bill yesterday. From the DesMoines Register:

The Senate health committee, headed by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., approved an overhaul of the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates 80 percent of the food supply, virtually all products other than meat and poultry.

Harkin said the bill "comprehensively reforms our current food system, yet is adaptable enough to keep pace with an evolving industry."

The legislation now goes to the Senate floor. If approved there, it will have to be reconciled with a similar but slightly tougher bill that the House approved this summer.

Click here for the full story. (More here.)

Sen. Richard Burr was a co-sponsor of the bill and offered an amendment he said would address many of the concerns of small farmers, who worry local food economies could be hurt by the bill. From a Burr release:

“Americans are all too familiar with the nationwide outbreaks and recalls in recent years that have resulted in illnesses across the country.” Senator Burr said. “In addition to the health concerns, these incidents also had a significant economic impact on American growers and producers across our nation. I applaud the hard work of my colleagues on the HELP committee in addressing this issue and making food safety legislation a priority. This piece of legislation is essential to protect our nation’s food supply and keep Americans safe and healthy.”

Specifically, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act would improve the ability of the FDA to detect and respond to food-borne illnesses by evaluating safety threats at food facilities, increase scrutiny of imported foods, and explore ways to track fruits and vegetables in the case of an outbreak. It would also give the FDA the authority to issue a mandatory recall of an article of food if it determines that there is a reasonable probability that it is adulterated and will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

This bill also includes a bipartisan amendment by Senator Burr, cosponsored by Senator Bennet (D-CO), that would address concerns expressed by farmers and small businesses by ensuring consultation, education, and outreach on behalf of the FDA with farms, businesses, and farmers who sell directly to consumers to help them understand and comply with produce safety requirements. This amendment, which would require the FDA to hold public meetings in various locations across the country, has been endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

But the Register story says there is still some concern:

The Senate bill included provisions to address objections from small-scale and organic farmers about new regulations. However, the bills could still be an unnecessary burden on thousands of small farms, said Ferd Hoefner of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. The legislation also needs to fund training for small farms and processors, he said.

More information on the bill itself is here.