Food Safety changes in the US
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act has been approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
This sets the stage for this important piece of legislation to go to the full Senate for final debate and, hopefully, approval. However the bill will most likely have to wait until early 2010 to face the full Senate, due to the time involved in President Obama’s healthcare reforms.
The HELP Committee did make some amendments to the Bill, including the removal of the clause requiring that food businesses pay $500 per year to help fund the increased inspections required by the bill. This has of course, caused some heated discussion, as it will require that the increased inspection program is going to be paid for by the taxpayer. A review of the cost of implementing this program is being done by the Congressional Budget Office.
This idea raises some interesting questions for Australia, about whether such a requirement would work here, or even be needed.
Committee chairman Senator Tom Harkin said that “this is a forward looking bill that comprehensively reforms our current food safety system yet is adaptable enough to keep pace with an evolving industry.” “It recognises that preventive controls are an essential means to improve food safety, and it addresses the need to enhance surveillance, improve emergency response coordination, and heighten the scrutiny of imported foods. Importantly, it also recognises that, while changes to our system must be real and effective, they must not be excessively burdensome.”
The following are some of the new requirements in the bill;
• All manufacturing, processing and packing facilities must tackle hazards and adulteration through risk based preventative control plans
• FDA must have access to all documents in these plans
• Restaurants and most farms are exempt
• The safety of imported food and suppliers must be verified
• FDA can deny entry to foods if they lack safety verification
• FDA must do inspections of high risk plants annually and others at least once every four years.
• FDA will have authority to order mandatory recalls and can detain adulterated or misbranded food.
• FDA will receive greater funding to allow for the increased inspections
The changes to the US food safety controls and legislation are of significant interest to regulators and the food industry in Australia, as the US is a major importer of food from this country.