Food safety bill OK’d

WASHINGTON – The Senate’s decisive approval of the first major overhaul of U.S. food safety laws in 70 years marked a major step forward in bipartisan efforts to give the government new tools for protecting consumers against tainted fruits, vegetables, eggs and other foods.

The measure now must be reconciled with a House version that was approved more than a year ago but differs on details.

Food safety experts, agricultural producers and political figures in both parties hailed the Senate action as a sign that final action might be near on the long-awaited effort to increase protection against contaminated food.

The legislation, which focused heavily on the Food and Drug Administration, was designed to transform an agency that primarily has responded to crises into a watchdog that will seek to head off problems by setting and policing stricter health and safety standards.

“It really is a paradigm shift for the FDA. It moves the agency from reacting to outbreaks and recalls to preventing them,” said Chris Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America.

Under the legislation approved Tuesday, food producers would be required to develop plans for reducing contamination at production facilities.

The FDA would gain expanded access to company records, step up inspections and, for the first time, have the power to order food recalls, instead of relying on voluntary action by companies. The bill also includes certification standards for third-party food testing labs and requires importers to verify the safety of foreign suppliers and imported food.

Although the House passed its bill in July 2009, the Senate version was sidelined for long stretches by debates over the health care and financial regulatory overhauls and in recent weeks by opposition from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

But when Coburn’s opposition was overcome on a procedural vote, the bill won final Senate approval, 73-25.

Neither the House bill nor the Senate version addresses the 20 percent of the nation’s food supply, mainly meat, regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.