There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the House of Representatives passage of HR2749 on Thursday. The bill is being proclaimed by some as the most significant piece of food legislation in over 50 years. But what does the bill actually encompass?
Here is a quick rundown of how the food bill is going to attempt to improve food safety:
NEW FARM STANDARDS
The FDA is to issue new uniform standards for growing, harvesting, packing, storing and shipping vegetables, fruit and nuts. The FDA hopes that the uniform safety measures will eliminate contamination and cross-contamination from occurring at these various stages of production.
Under one of the bills compromises, the new standards would take into consideration the impact on small and organic farmers.
PROCESSOR SAFETY PLANS
Processors will be required to have food-safety plans in place with outlined measures to prevent food contamination. The FDA will inspect high-risk facilities every six months to a year. Other manufacturing plants would be inspected every 18 months to three years. Warehouses would be inspected every five years. In addition to more inspections, processors will be required to pay a $500 annual fee per facility to fund the new oversight.
Violators of the FDA’s safety policies could see fines as high as $20,000 a day until compliance is reached.
Processors of meat are exempt under the rules since they are already under the regulation of the USDA and are regulated with a stricter set of rules.
IMPORTED FOODS
A group of import inspectors would be set up to inspect and regulate foreign processors and imported foods will be held to the same safety standards as domestically produced foods.
FOOD TRACKING
The FDA is required to set up an electronic system for tracking foods to their sources. Food producers and processors will be required to maintain more intensive records of food distribution.
Small farms that sell directly to consumers would be exempt from having to keep detailed records that trace their sales.
RECALLS
The FDA will be empowered to order recalls of contaminated products and it will have the power to quarantine geographic areas in case of emergencies.
It will be interesting to watch these new regulations in action. The FDA has been grossly understaffed and underfunded in their quest for food safety. These new rules are far reaching and will require quite a bit more resources than the FDA currently has. But if the FDA can eliminate just a few of the threats of foodborne illness, it will be worth the trouble. Pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 infect thousands of people every year and complications from these infections like hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) cost the American public hundreds of millions.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2010
