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Klobuchar: Food Safety Legislation Clears Key Committee

Klobuchar calls for swift floor action

November 18, 2009

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 has been passed out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.  Klobuchar is an original sponsor of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, which will strengthen the Food and Drug Administration’s authority and resources to ensure a safe food supply and help prevent outbreaks from occurring.

“Food safety is not only an issue of public safety but also consumer protection,” said Klobuchar.  “Ensuring a rapid response to outbreaks of contaminated food is critical to maintaining public trust in our food supply.  This bill gives the tools and the authority needed to improve the current inspection and recall system.  I am looking forward to this bill moving to the Floor of the Senate.”

The bipartisan bill focuses on four key areas where FDA’s authorities and resources need to be improved: food-borne illness prevention; food-borne illness detection and response; food defense capabilities; and overall resources. Specifically, the bill:
 
Improves Our Capacity to Prevent Food Safety Problems
•    Hazard analysis and preventive controls: Requires all facilities to have in place preventive plans to address identified hazards and prevent adulteration, and gives FDA access to these plans and relevant documentation.
 
•    Access to records: Expands FDA access to records in a food emergency.
 
•    Third party labs and audits: Allows FDA to recognize laboratory accreditation bodies to ensure U.S. food testing labs meet high quality standards and requires food testing performed by these labs to be reported to FDA.  Allows FDA to enable qualified 3rd parties to certify that foreign food facilities comply with U.S. food safety standards.
 
•    Imports: Requires importers to verify the safety of foreign suppliers and imported food. Allows FDA to require certification for high-risk foods, and to deny entry to a food that lacks certification or that is from a foreign facility that has refused U.S. inspectors.
 
Improves Our Capacity to Detect and Respond to Food-borne Illness Outbreaks
•    Inspection – Increases FDA inspections at all food facilities, including annual inspections of high-risk facilities and inspections of other facilities at least once every four years.
 
•    Surveillance –- Enhances food-borne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting, and usefulness of data on food-borne illnesses.
 
•    Traceability – Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish a pilot project to test and evaluate new methods for rapidly and effectively tracking/tracing fruits and vegetables in the event of a food-borne illness outbreak.
 
•    Mandatory Recall – Gives FDA the authority to order a mandatory recall of a food product when a company fails to voluntarily recall the product upon FDA’s request.
 
•    Suspension of Registration – Empowers FDA to suspend a food facility’s registration if there is a reasonable probability that food from the facility will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
 
Enhances U.S. Food Defense Capabilities – Directs FDA to help food companies protect their products from intentional contamination and calls for a national strategy to protect our food supply from terrorist threats and rapidly respond to food emergencies.

Increases FDA Resources – Increases funding for FDA’s food safety activities through increased appropriations and targeted fees for domestic and foreign facilities.
 
Klobuchar has been a strong advocate for food safety.  In April, she introduced the Food Safety Rapid Response Act of 2009 along with Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).  The bill will promote a more rapid and effective national response to outbreaks of foodborne sickness. The legislation uses the procedures of the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the University of Minnesota as a national model for improved food safety surveillance.  Klobuchar will work to include the Food Safety Rapid Response Act when the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act is brought to the floor.





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