So far, new food safety legislation is still on the House’s front burner. The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 is moving swiftly through each stage of discussion and development, making its way now to the full Energy and Commerce Committee following a unanimous vote during Wednesday’s markup meeting of the Subcommittee on Health.
A few changes were made before sending the bill along, including halving to $500 the proposed $1000 facility registration fee to FDA, as well as setting a $175 thousand cap on such fees paid by a single company. Other changes are being called for from all sides, including the American Meat Institute, whose recent letter to the committee expressed concerns about, among other issues, the feasibility of the bill’s proposed traceability requirements and the burden they may place on small businesses (we blogged about the necessity of food product and ingredient traceability here: Frozen Food Safety).
Another beef that AMI has with the new legislation: beefing up FDA enforcement power (both puns shamelessly intended). Here’s a clip from the AMI letter to Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Member Joe Barton:
We also believe the section providing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with mandatory recall authority warrants review. Meat packing and processing facilities, as do all other food producing companies, have a direct and vested interest in acting quickly to remove adulterated or misbranded products from the market. That fact is an important reason why no meat company has ever refused to conduct a recall, which suggests that mandatory recall authority is unnecessary. Beyond that, however, if the Bill empowers FDA to mandate a recall, it should also provide a measure for accountability in that decision-making process. Just as the persons who produce food are and must be held accountable for their actions and decisions, so should the government with respect to its decision-making.
Food safety in an industrialized world is undoubtedly a complex issue with many points to consider from consumer, industry, and government perspectives. Safe food is, however, in the best interest of all involved, so let’s see what results from the continued chiseling of the Food Safety Enhancement Act and similar legislation.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2010
