WASHINGTON, DC – Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) made the following statement as the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety released its initial report, Protecting American Consumers Every Step of the Way: A strategic framework for continual improvement in import safety.

“The Working Group’s report has failed to produce even a single recommendation on how to make our food import system more secure,” said DeGette. “The twelve different agencies involved in drafting this report illustrate why the system is broken.  We need one single federal agency to oversee our nation’s food supply.

“We already know what is wrong with our food safety system in the United States. Domestically, giving the federal government mandatory recall authority supported by a national food tracking system will further protect American consumers from harmful contamination of their foods,” said DeGette.

DeGette introduced two pieces of food safety legislation last week. The SAFER (Safe and Fair Enforcement & Recall) Act gives the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to force a recall of contaminated foods.  Under current law, recalls are completely voluntary even when public health is at risk.  The United States is one of the only industrialized countries in the world that lacks this basic recall power, despite having the ability to recall toys and many other products.  The TRACE (Tracing and Recalling Agricultural Contamination Everywhere) Act requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a product tracing system for all food products from their origin to the market, enabling faster recall in the event of contamination. 

DeGette is also a leading cosponsor of The Food Safety Act of 2007, which creates a single food safety agency to oversee our nation’s food supply.