Food Safety Bill Clears House and Senate
December 21, 2010
“This bill makes significant improvements to the aged food safety system,” said Pallone. “We have the most productive and most efficient food distribution system in the world – we need to make sure we have the safest food supply. American families need to know the food they select from grocery stores and the meals they put on their kitchen tables is safe.”
Pallone, who has been a long-time advocate of food safety reform, added the most notable reforms in the bill emphasize prevention and safety measures that help ensure food is safe before it is distributed, before it reaches store shelves and before it reaches the kitchen tables of millions of families.
FDA now has the authority to frequently inspect food processing facilities, develop a food trace-back system to pinpoint the source of food-borne illnesses as well as other enhanced powers to ensure that imported foods are safe.
In the past few years, the food industry has been seriously scarred by the spread of E. coli, Salmonella and melamine in mainstay items of the food supply, outbreaks that caused widespread illness and deaths.