WASHINGTON – Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) today offered the following statement regarding food traceability, the subject of today’s press conference with the Center for Science and the Public Interest (CSPI) and Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

“Traceability is essential to a 21st Century food safety system,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO).  “It is possible to trace the origins of our foods – industry is already doing it. Most of our food products already have labels, many companies already know their suppliers, and the technology already exists to track food from the farm to the fork.  Unfortunately, we have a broken food safety system in this country that cannot determine the source of tainted foods while consumers continue to get sick.  Traceability will allow us to quickly identify the source of contamination while protecting both the American consumer and industry’s bottom-line.”

U.S. Rep. DeGette has championed and advocated for both mandatory recall and traceability for years.  The mandatory recall authority has been included in the Committee’s discussion draft, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008. DeGette is also working with the Energy and Commerce Committee to include traceability, H.R. 3485, in this food safety legislation. At the last Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on food safety, Dr. Acheson of the FDA testified that he supported traceability.

Click here to read the CSPI and CFA press release from the press conference including their urgent plea to the FDA to develop and implement product traceability.