Senate Unanimously Passes Food Safety Legislation
“Tonight we unanimously passed a measure to improve on our current food safety system by giving the FDA the resources it needs to keep up with advances in food production and marketing, without unduly burdening farmers and food producers,” stated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), after the Senate passed S.510, the Food Safety and Modernization Act last night for the second time. The Senate had passed the Act on November 30, but the bill was invalidated on technical grounds. The legislation is now expected to sail through the House and land on the President’s desk before the end of the year.
If signed into law, this legislation would:
- Authorize the FDA to recall contaminated food products
- Requiring food manufacturers to implement measures to prevent food contamination and require testing for foodborne pathogens
- Provide more funding for the FDA, which would possibly hire 2000 more food inspectors
- Require better track and trace of raw agricultural commodities
- Require importers of food to verify that it meets U.S. safety standards
