A conservative commentator criticized the U.S. Senate saying it didn’t get the message voters gave in the midterm elections when it decided that the first bill it was going to vote on after the election was on food safety. 
I don’t agree. I applaud the Senate for taking up this important matter now.
Every year, 76 millions of cases of food-related illnesses are reported, with more than 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, according the New York Times editorial “The 76 Million Food Victims.”
Imagine how horrible it would be if your child or grandchild died from eating a contaminated hamburger or your spouse died from eating tainted spinach.
Consumer groups, health organizations, and federal agencies support the bill. It has bi-partisan support, with some Republican senators in favor.
Among its provisions, as reported by The Times, are:
- Setting up pilot programs to improve the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to track toxins quickly to any source.
- Providing new powers for the FDA, which has been understaffed and given too little authority to prevent food-borne illnesses.
- Giving the FDA the power to order a mandatory recall of a food product if there was a reasonable probability of causing “serious adverse health consequences or death.”
- Requiring all food processors regulated by the FDA to develop risk-based preventive plans that would identify possible contamination points in each facility.
- Requiring the FDA to inspect food facilities more frequently. Inspections currently occur only once every 10 years.
The differences between the House and Senate bills are being debated.
One amendment seeks to exempt some small farmers and producers from the provisions of the bill due to concerns about their costs. Another amendment to place federal limits on the use of BPA in food and beverage containers failed.
A vote on the bill could come by the end of the week.
