The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which represents the largest changes in the country’s food safety laws in more than 70 years.
December 22, 2010
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which represents the largest changes in the country’s food safety laws in more than 70 years. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law before the end of the year.
The legislation, which passed by a vote of 215 to 144, will expand the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by addressing a variety of new changes that will improve the safety of the food system from farm to fork. The law gives the FDA the power to order food recalls (currently, FDA can only request food recalls) and requires it to conduct more frequent inspections of food processing plants in the United States and overseas.
The following additional elements of the legislation are critical to protecting the food supply for generations to come.
- Product tracing—The FDA will be required to establish a comprehensive product tracing system to track the movement of food products effectively from farm to point of sale or service. As the Institute of Food Technologists pointed out in a report issued to the FDA, a product tracing system would make it possible to identify the source of foodborne illness outbreaks earlier as well as contain the outbreaks faster.
- Performance standards—In order to continually reduce the risk of contaminants in foods, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will identify and determine the most significant foodborne contaminants and develop science-based guidance to assist food producers. As a result, action levels (performance standards) will be set to encourage the food industry to strive toward a safer food supply.
- Third-party certification—Designated imported foods will need to be certified by a third party with expertise in food safety and under the oversight of the FDA. This will enable the FDA to maximize resources and increase the number of product inspections to better ensure the safety of imported foods.
- Preventive control plans—Food manufacturing facilities will be required to develop and implement written plans based on science that evaluate hazards that could affect the safety of food, identify and implement preventive controls, monitor the performance of these controls, and maintain records of such monitoring.
The legislation applies primarily to the food supply regulated by the FDA but does not apply to meat, poultry, or egg products regulated by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. It includes exemptions for small food processors and farmers. Many of the provisions of the legislation may take up to 18 months before going into effect.
IFT is holding a special forum to discuss the industry implications of the new food safety legislation in Washington, D.C., on January 7, 2011, at the offices of K&L Gates, LLP, 1601 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The speakers will be David Acheson, Managing Director, Leavitt Partners; John Bode, Principal, OFW Law; Robert E. Brackett, Vice President and Director of the National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT); and Anthony T. Pavel, Jr., Partner, K&L Gates. For more information, contact William Fisher, Vice President of Science and Policy Initiatives, at 202-330-4977 or wfisher@ift.org, or visit www.ift.org. Registration is complimentary for credentialed media. Interested members of the media should contact Mindy Weinstein, Director of Media Relations, at 202-330-4977 or mweinstein@ift.org.
Full text of the bill
IFT press release