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Klobuchar, Chambliss Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Ensure Rapid Response to Foodborne Ills

Legislation uses Minnesota as a national model for food safety

June 17, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) introduced federal legislation to promote a more rapid and effective national response to outbreaks of foodborne sickness like the recent case of salmonella-tainted peanut butter.  The Food Safety Rapid Response Act of 2009 will strengthen federal, state and local capabilities for investigating outbreaks of foodborne disease and tracing the sources of contamination.

“As a former prosecutor, I believe the first responsibility of a government is to protect its citizens,” said Klobuchar.  “When people get sick or die from contaminated food, it means our government has failed in this duty.  By strengthening our nation’s food safety system, we can save both lives and money.”

“The recent nationwide salmonella outbreak clearly demonstrates that there needs to be better coordination between public health agencies when responding to a food-safety crisis,” said Sen. Chambliss, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.   “This legislation will expedite much needed improvements to identifying and responding to food-borne illnesses throughout the country.”

The legislation uses the work involving the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the University of Minnesota as a national model for food safety.  This Minnesota model includes Team D (for “Team Diarrhea”), a group of investigators that races into action when there are suspected cases of foodborne illness in the state.

The Minnesota team was the first in the country to trace the sources of the two most recent nationwide salmonella outbreaks.  Last spring, people across the country were getting sick from salmonella. After cases began to show up in Minnesota, Team D managed to trace the contamination to jalapeno peppers from Mexico.  In the fall, people across the country were again getting sick from salmonella, including nine deaths (three of them in Minnesota).  Again, the Minnesota team succeeded in tracing the source to peanut butter from a processing facility in Georgia.

“The nation should not have to wait until someone in Minnesota gets sick or dies before there is an effective national response to a large-scale outbreak of foodborne illness,” said Klobuchar.  “The problem is that the responsibility to investigate potential foodborne diseases rests largely with local and state health departments, and there is tremendous variation in terms of the priority they give to this responsibility.  Food safety is a national issue that deserves national action.”

The Food Safety Rapid Response Act has three main provisions.
•    Directs the Centers for Disease Control to enhance the nation’s foodborne disease surveillance system by improving the collection, analysis, reporting and usefulness of data among local, state and federal agencies as well as the food industry.

•    Directs the Centers for Disease Control to provide support and expertise to state health agencies and laboratories for their investigations of foodborne disease.  This includes promoting “best practices” for food safety investigations.

•    Establishes regional “Food Safety Centers of Excellence.”  Based on collaborations between selected higher education institutions and state public health agencies, these centers would assist state and local agencies, building on Minnesota’s Team D model for investigating foodborne disease outbreaks.

The Food Safety Rapid Response Act complements the bipartisan Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, introduced in March, which would strengthen the Food and Drug Administration’s authority and resources to ensure a safe food supply.  Klobuchar is also a lead sponsor of that legislation.
 
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