S.510 Passes Committee

If you are tracking current national legislation as I am, you will be happy to learn that S.510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, was unanimously recommended by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The committee ordered the bill to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. Cool. That’s a round-about-way of saying the full senate will vote on the bill. Let’s hope the vote comes soon!

S.510 Summary:

Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to regulate food, including by authorizing the Secretary to suspend the registration of a food facility. Requires each food facility to evaluate hazards and implement preventive controls. Directs the Secretary to assess and collect fees related to:

1. food facility reinspection;
2. food recalls; and
3. the voluntary qualified importer program.

Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare the National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy. Requires the Secretary to:

1. identify preventive programs and practices to promote the safety and security of food;
2. promulgate regulations on sanitary food transportation practices;
3. develop a policy to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs;
4. allocate inspection resources based on the risk profile of food facilities or food;
5. recognize bodies that accredit food testing laboratories; and
6. improve the capacity of the Secretary to track and trace raw agricultural commodities.

Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems. Authorizes the Secretary to order an immediate cessation of distribution, or a recall, of food. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist state, local, and tribal governments in preparing for, assessing, decontaminating, and recovering from an agriculture or food emergency. Provides for:

1. foreign supplier verification activities;
2. a voluntary qualified importer program; and
3. the inspection of foreign facilities registered to import food.

Stay safe! —Kip