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U.S. Sen. Harkin: Bipartisan Group Of Senators Introduce Comprehensive Bill To Reform FDA's Food Safety Systems
7/31/2008

For Immediate Release
July 31, 2008

Contact:
Kate Cyrul /Jennifer Mullin (Harkin)
202.224.5702
Max Gleischman (Durbin)
202.228.5244
Andrea Wuebker (Gregg)
202.224.3324
David Ward (Burr)
202.228.1616
Justine Sessions (Dodd)
202.224.0345
Lee Pitts (Alexander)
202.224.8816

HARKIN, BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS, INTRODUCE COMPREHENSIVE BILL TO REFORM FDA’S FOOD SAFETY SYSTEMS

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce a bill that will dramatically improve the way the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protects the safety of the nation’s food supply. The bill, The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act , will give FDA new authorities, tools and resources to comprehensively reform the nation’s food safety systems. The bill is cosponsored by Dick Durbin (D-IL), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Richard Burr (R-NC), Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN).

“This country doesn’t need any more spectacles like the slow unfolding of FDA’s investigation of the recent Salmonella outbreak. The present system is not just a public health concern, but an issue for producers feeling the economic impact of food safety scares,” said Harkin. “This food safety bill gives FDA the authority it needs to prevent and respond to food safety problems, from requiring recalls, to setting food safety standards for fresh produce, to enhancing trace-back and surveillance of food-borne illness. It’s a win-win for producers and consumers.”

Last week, the FDA announced that the source of a recent salmonella outbreak was jalapeño peppers and not tomatoes, as previously thought. The three month outbreak has sickened more than a thousand people and highlighted significant gaps in FDA’s ability to adequately protect the nation's food supply.

Today’s bill addresses some of those failings head-on by authorizing new science-based standards for the safety of produce; increasing the frequency of inspections of all food facilities; establishing a new pilot program for tracking and tracing-back fruits and vegetables in the event of a food-borne illness; and by giving FDA mandatory recall authority in the event a company fails to recall a product at FDA’s request. Food safety experts note that had any of these provisions been in place, the scope of the recent salmonella outbreak could have been drastically reduced and FDA’s response time, dramatically improved.

“Over the last year we’ve seen major recalls of peanut butter and jalapeño peppers spiked with salmonella, spinach laced with e-coli and chili loaded with botulism,” Durbin said. “It’s clear these are not isolated incidents and are the results of a food safety system that is outdated, under-funded and overwhelmed. Today’s bipartisan bill will close many of the gaping holes in FDA’s food safety authorities and help to ensure the food on our store shelves is safe.”

“When Americans go to the grocery store, the last thing on their mind should be the safety of the foods they are bringing home to serve their families,” Gregg stated. “The recent salmonella outbreak highlights the current vulnerability of our food supply and the need to modernize our food safety laws. We cannot afford to wait until the next food-borne illness outbreak or an intentional attack on our food supply occurs for Congress to act on this bipartisan legislation to ensure the safety of our food and restore confidence in the quality of these products for American families.”

“As we have seen in the past few months, our nation is in need of increased food safety measures to ensure that public health in America is not jeopardized by bad food,” Burr said. “This bill will go a long way towards giving the FDA the authorities and resources it needs to properly regulate our food safety system and respond to food-borne illness outbreaks.”

The bipartisan bill focuses on four key areas where FDA’s authorities and resources need to be improved: food-borne illness prevention; food-borne illness detection and response; food defense capabilities: and overall resources.

“As the nation watched and waited for answers, the FDA’s investigation of the most recent Salmonella outbreak offered little reassurance to American consumers and food producers. This debacle underscores the need for significant improvements in our food safety system,” Dodd said. “Although not perfect, this legislation will work to guard Americans against future outbreaks by providing the FDA with the tools necessary to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to food-borne illnesses. Ensuring the safety of our food supply must be a top priority and deserves our full and immediate attention. I am particularly pleased that this bill includes a bipartisan provision I authored to develop consistent federal guidelines for the management of food allergies in schools, protecting and perhaps saving the lives of millions of children with life-threatening allergies.”

“This bill will help protect every American and help keep all of us healthy by improving and streamlining the FDA’s food safety efforts,” Alexander said. “Americans should be able to go to the grocery store and out to dinner without having to worry about the safety of the food they are eating. Parents shouldn’t have to risk their child’s safety in school and wonder whether their son or daughter could suffer a life-threatening allergic reaction at the lunch table.”

Specifically, the bill:

Strengthens Food-borne Illness Prevention:

Hazard Analysis – Domestic food facilities are required to evaluate potential food safety hazards (such as pesticides, toxins, etc.) and implement preventive controls to mitigate the identified risk and prevent adulteration.

Produce Standards – FDA is given the authority to set commodity-specific standards to improve the safety of fresh produce.

Imports – Certification from exporting countries that high-risk food meets U.S. food safety standards. Importers are required to verify the safety of imported food. FDA is given the power to qualify importers for expedited review and importation of food if importers go above and beyond basic standards to ensure the safety of imported food.

Third-Party Inspection and Labs – FDA is given the authority to establish an accreditation system to enable qualified third parties to certify domestic and foreign food facilities’ compliance with U.S. food safety standards. FDA is empowered to recognize laboratory accreditation bodies to ensure U.S. food testing labs meet high quality standards.

Improves Food-borne Illness Detection and Response:

Surveillance – Enhances food-borne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting, and usefulness of data on food-borne illnesses.

Traceability – Requires the Secretary to establish a pilot project to test and evaluate new methods for rapidly and effectively tracking and tracing-back fruits and vegetables in the event of a food-borne illness outbreak. Also provides for expanded access to records in the event of an outbreak.

Mandatory Recall – Gives FDA the authority to order a mandatory recall of a food product when a company fails to voluntarily recall the product upon FDA’s request.

Suspension of Registration – Empowers FDA to suspend a food facility’s registration if there is a reasonable probability that food from the facility will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Enhances U.S. Food Defense Capabilities:

Directs FDA to promulgate regulations to assist food companies in protecting their products from intentional contamination, and calls for a national strategy to protect our food supply from terrorist threats and rapidly respond to food emergencies.

Increases FDA Resources:

Increases funding for FDA’s food safety activities. A portion of the additional funding proposed in the bill will come from targeted fees for domestic and foreign facilities.


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