Senate Passes Historic Food Safety Bill

TexPIRG

Statement of TexPIRG Advocate Melissa Cubria on the bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent.

“The food on our tables will be safer now that the Senate has acted to reform the FDA’s food safety authority for the first time in 70 years. 

“The House of Representatives first passed its food safety bill in July 2009.  Since then, there have been more than 100 recalls of FDA regulated food.  

“We applaud the Senate sponsors of the bill for their commitment to protecting the public from preventable food borne illness. We hope that the House will act quickly to deliver this important public health bill to the President’s desk this week.”

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act will protect consumers by:

• Requiring more frequent inspections of food facilities to make sure they are following the rules.
• Giving the FDA the authority to order a recall of dangerous food.
• Requiring the food manufacturers to have food-safety plans that will prevent contaminated food from reaching consumers.
• Setting responsible standards for produce safety, so parents can have confidence that fresh fruits and vegetables are nutritious and safe to serve to their children.
• Setting standards for imported food to end the practice by foreign producers of dumping unsafe food on the American market.