Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Local Food Advocates Hold Up Food Safety Bill In Senate
MARY CLARE JALONICK | 11/17/10 03:04 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/food-safety-bill-congress-senate-local-food-locavores_n_784744.html

WASHINGTON — A far-reaching food safety bill that could give the government 
more power to prevent foodborne illnesses has become a target of advocates 
for buying food produced locally.

They worry the legislation's safety requirements could force small farms out 
of business.

The opposition of these "locavores" – advocates for buying food directly from 
the farm or closer to home – and owners of small farms has become a sticking 
point in the Senate, which was to vote Wednesday on whether to consider the 
bill.

Supporters will need 60 votes to proceed on the bill because Sen. Tom Coburn, 
R-Okla., has objected, saying the legislation's $1.4 billion cost isn't paid 
for.

While the bill is designed to give the Food and Drug Administration greater 
authority over the nation's food supply, opponents say it could bankrupt some 
small farms that don't have the means to comply with new standards the bill 
would impose.

Those standards could include registering food safety plans with the FDA and 
documenting efforts to show food is not contaminated as it is produced.

"It's going to put a nail in the coffin of our family food producers," said 
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is planning an amendment to exempt some small 
farms who market food close to their operations. He says many small farms 
already comply with state and local regulations to keep food safe.

Food safety advocates are lobbying against the Tester amendment, saying his 
concerns are overblown and efforts to broadly exempt smaller farms could be 
misguided. They argue that the legislation, which would give the FDA more 
authority to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors 
and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe, is 
crucial in the wake of outbreaks of contaminated peanuts, eggs and produce 
that have sickened hundreds.

"Our view is that food should be safe no matter what the source is," said 
Erik Olson, director of food and consumer product safety at the Pew Health 
Group.

Olson and other advocates say that while small farms may not need to follow 
as many regulations as large corporations, the size of the farm is not as 
important as the safety of the food. Producers of leafy greens, tomatoes and 
other foods that more frequently cause illness should have to follow strict 
standards to keep contamination away from food no matter what the size of 
their operation, they say.

The two sides were working toward a compromise Tuesday. If the Senate votes 
to proceed, senators probably would then consider Tester's amendment as part 
of floor debate on the bill.

Whether the bill could make it to the president's desk during the brief 
lame-duck congressional session is unclear since the House passed a different 
version of the legislation in 2009. Even if the Senate passes the bill, the 
two pieces of legislation would have to be quickly reconciled before the end 
of this session sometime after Thanksgiving.

President Barack Obama issued a statement in support of the Senate bill 
Tuesday, saying the legislation would address "long-standing challenges" of 
the FDA by helping producers prevent foodborne outbreaks and giving the 
government more tools to keep food safe.

Recent outbreaks have exposed a lack of resources and authority at the FDA as 
the embattled agency has struggled to contain and trace contaminated products.

Currently, the FDA does not have the authority to order a recall and must 
negotiate recalls with the affected producers. The agency rarely inspects 
many food facilities and farms, visiting some every decade or so and others 
not at all.