10-27-2009, 06:36 AM
Bill giving FDA new powers to oversee food supply has wide support
Industry and public backing -- a recent poll showed 90% of voters favor measures similar to those in the legislation -- add up to a 'quick win for both parties,' supporters say.
By Andrew Zajac
October 22, 2009
Reporting from Washington - Legislation granting the Food and Drug Administration new powers to oversee the nation's food supply has elbowed its way onto Congress' crammed calendar with bipartisan support and rare agreement between consumer groups and an industry stung by product recalls.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), would require the FDA to step up inspections of food facilities and to issue new rules to improve the quality of imported food and to combat contaminants in fresh produce. The measure also would give the agency authority to recall products on its own, instead of relying on industry cooperation.
"Hardly a week goes by that there isn't a report of an outbreak of food-borne illness or death in America," Durbin said. "The current system really just reacts to food illness. We have to have a system that is protective of consumers" by preventing outbreaks or nipping them in the bud.
The bill is slated for a committee hearing today even as lawmakers wrestle with the tasks of overhauling the healthcare system, writing new regulations for the financial services industry and shaping major measures on global warming and education.
The reason for a sense of urgency is evident from opinion polls. A July survey for the Pew Charitable Trusts found that nearly 90% of voters favored new food safety measures similar to those found in Durbin's bill and a slightly more expansive proposal that the House passed over the summer.
"There's broad public support. It would be a quick win for both parties," said Erik Olson, director of chemical and food safety programs in Pew's Health & Human Services Policy program. "This is a rare situation where the industry is shoulder to shoulder with consumers."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that food-borne illness causes 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually in the U.S.
Beyond hazards to health, the food industry has paid a hefty toll.
Growers and distributors lost an estimated $100 million in a 2008 recall of salmonella-tainted jalapeño peppers and tomatoes initially blamed for the outbreak, said Patrick Delaney, a spokesman for the United Fresh Produce Assn., which represents fruit and vegetable producers.
A similar amount was lost in a spinach recall two years earlier, he said.
A recall of peanut products early this year cost Kellogg Co. about $70 million.
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I gotta ask, why now? They had years if not decades to clean things up in our Food industry, so again, why now?
Industry and public backing -- a recent poll showed 90% of voters favor measures similar to those in the legislation -- add up to a 'quick win for both parties,' supporters say.
By Andrew Zajac
October 22, 2009
Reporting from Washington - Legislation granting the Food and Drug Administration new powers to oversee the nation's food supply has elbowed its way onto Congress' crammed calendar with bipartisan support and rare agreement between consumer groups and an industry stung by product recalls.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), would require the FDA to step up inspections of food facilities and to issue new rules to improve the quality of imported food and to combat contaminants in fresh produce. The measure also would give the agency authority to recall products on its own, instead of relying on industry cooperation.
"Hardly a week goes by that there isn't a report of an outbreak of food-borne illness or death in America," Durbin said. "The current system really just reacts to food illness. We have to have a system that is protective of consumers" by preventing outbreaks or nipping them in the bud.
The bill is slated for a committee hearing today even as lawmakers wrestle with the tasks of overhauling the healthcare system, writing new regulations for the financial services industry and shaping major measures on global warming and education.
The reason for a sense of urgency is evident from opinion polls. A July survey for the Pew Charitable Trusts found that nearly 90% of voters favored new food safety measures similar to those found in Durbin's bill and a slightly more expansive proposal that the House passed over the summer.
"There's broad public support. It would be a quick win for both parties," said Erik Olson, director of chemical and food safety programs in Pew's Health & Human Services Policy program. "This is a rare situation where the industry is shoulder to shoulder with consumers."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that food-borne illness causes 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually in the U.S.
Beyond hazards to health, the food industry has paid a hefty toll.
Growers and distributors lost an estimated $100 million in a 2008 recall of salmonella-tainted jalapeño peppers and tomatoes initially blamed for the outbreak, said Patrick Delaney, a spokesman for the United Fresh Produce Assn., which represents fruit and vegetable producers.
A similar amount was lost in a spinach recall two years earlier, he said.
A recall of peanut products early this year cost Kellogg Co. about $70 million.
I gotta ask, why now? They had years if not decades to clean things up in our Food industry, so again, why now?